Critical Analysis Of Oleanna

One of the most controversial plays of the 1990s, Oleanna induced aggressive debates about sexual harassment and gender politics. This play, written during the Anita Hill-Clarence Thomas sexual harassment misconduct is about a female student accusing her male professor of sexual offense. Oleanna, an influential two-character dramatization by David Mamet, investigates the danger of miscommunication and extreme political rightness. It is a play about scholastic governmental issues, educator connections, and lewd behavior. The beauty of this play lies within the fact that neither the professor nor Carol is right. Ultimately, both characters are deeply flawed. Throughout the play they scarcely agree or understand each other resulting in the most

The entire conversation that follows is accounted for their failure of communication. Constant miscommunication between the two has lead Carol to make fabricated sexual harassment charges on John. Furthermore, John, an intelligent and meticulous man, is given an offstage life that he may lose if found guilty of sexually harassing Carol. Carol knows all about his family background and with the help of this information, she can churn the information around according to her likes and make John the guilty one. This is interpreted in a way in which Carol is a crazy desperate student who finds minute gestures to be sexual and intimidating and ultimately seeking power over men by fabricating sexual harassment charges on

John initially sympathizes for Carol and offers his help to Carol to understand the lessons thought in class. However after some time nearing the end of Act 1, he states that if Carol wants to attain an A grade in his class, she has to have frequent personal meetings in his office. This can be looked upon as a situation where John, being a husband also has the intention of doing ethically wrong to his student. Carol on the other hand has all the right to defend herself from any sexual proceedings and can therefore charge John guilty of sexual harassment. Carol, being the subordinate amongst the two listens patiently to the conversation between John and the tenure committee. This act had caused frustration in Carol as she couldn’t achieve what she had initially planned to do to comprehend the lessons taught. The frustration that she displayed towards John had eventually turned back on her in a way that is incorrect especially towards women. So this can also be viewed as a situation where Carol is just protecting herself from possible danger.

In this play the relationship between a masculine professor and his feminine student imitates gender roles in patriarchy, in fact, reiterates the power difference essentials in those roles.

The play can also be seen as an attack against Political Correctness or it can be seen as an