Olive Leech Quotes

Manhood cannot be measured by the number of women you’ve been with, it can’t be tape-measured by the size of your biceps and it surely isn’t defined by the numbers in your bank account. So what really makes a man a man questions Menita Jaji.

“ Just be a man.” “ Real men don’t cry.” Do these sayings sound familiar to you? I am sure we have all heard these phrases being used or have used it ourselves. Even I can guiltily admit to using these phrases, as a joke to my brother when he gets sentimental over small things.However, I hadn’t really thought about where it all came from. Recently I went to watch the classic Australian play ‘Summer of the Seventh doll’ written by Ray Lawler; it occurred to me while watching this play that wearisome

Let 's put it this way, why have something ordinary when you can have something extraordinary. What made Roo and Barney such unique characters you ask? We see through Olive Leech, a 37-year-old barmaid female character and also Roo’s I quote, kinda girlfriend, that Roo and Barney differ from the other “ ordinary “ men. By ordinary men Olive is describing all the book blokes and soft city boys. From such a statement Olive suggests that “academic” men can only exhibit modest behaviour and they are not capable of having fun or they don 't know how to to really “ live a little.” Through this we notice Olive’s idealised perspective of Roo and Barney who represent in her mind, ‘real’ Australian men. Olive is also revealing to us of what our modern women want in their men. A rose among thorns. A candle among the darkness. A treasured story in a book of empty words. We don’t want the common or monotonous man as he cannot display the qualities of a real man. We want a man who is distinctive and knows how to fun and cherish

She vividly portrays them to Pearl as the epitome of sexual force, describing them as “two eagles flyin’ down out of the sun and coming south every year for the mating season,” and providing the females in the play with “ 5 months of heaven every year.” This 5 months is called the lay off season in which they party, spend money and live the twenties life. The characters in play are becoming older but the lay off season was an escape from this reality and allowed them to live the the summer party lifestyle as if they were twenty. This had been convenient and effective for many years until it was interrupted with the reality of age and none of the characters were able to adapt or understand this predicament. They are in a childlike state of denial that they will ever age and have responsibilities. Being young and having the energy of youth is important characteristics of a masculine man.

We all know that something can’t last forever and that is the case of masculinity too. Over the course of the play, we see Ray Lawler questions the images of manhood as physical strength diminishes, and charms with women are no longer what they once used to be. This can be seen in our world today by the increase in divorces and one night stands. The decline and challenges to masculinity is visible through our main characters Roo and Barney as both men are grappling to retain their