Cosi by Louis Nowra is set in a mental institution of the 1970s. Nowra challenges his audience to respond in a positive way towards the mentally ill characters of Cosi. This is shown through the sympathy we develop towards the patients, Lewis’ commitment towards the play and by Nowra contrasting the characters that are diminishing towards the patients.
Over time we develop a sense of sympathy for, admiration and understanding of the patients. Through comedic effect, relatable personalities, and pity we connect with each character on a personal level. Roy, for example brings a lot of entertainment to Cosi. It’s his idea to produce Cosi Fan Tutte and his desires for the outcome are the only ones he’ll follow. With Roy’s desires in mind, he
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Doug causes trouble within the institution. His actions have caused commotion by nearly cancelling the play and his frank ways of communication have sparked discussion with characters and also readers. With Doug’s way of speech, he causes reactions or actions towards people. In Cosi Doug is the one to ignite the final confrontation between Lewis and Lucy by mentioning to Lucy about Julie “You’ve been shagging Julie and yet your girlfriend is really attractive”. Even though the information that Doug tells Lucy is false, it results in Lucy confessing her affair with Nick. This confrontation also results in Lewis explaining his true ideas about love and …show more content…
Their opinions are harsh, critical and unformed. Because of their negative views towards Cosi and the mentally ill, over time we come to reject and dislike their views, and also their personalities. Nick is egotistical and only focuses on things that are “important” in this world or bring value to him. We see his superficial values displayed many times throughout Cosi. The first time we encounter Nick, we can already see that his views on the mentally ill are derogative and that he’s only going to assist Lewis for his own benefit “Mad actors are bad enough, but madmen…” and “As long as you do Galileo with me”. When we see more of this behaviour displayed we abandon Nick as a likable and morally correct