How Far Is the Dramatic of Gellburg and Sylvia in This Extract Typical of and Significant Within the Play as a Whole (Scene 11, Page 84-86)

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How far is the dramatic of Gellburg and Sylvia in this extract typical of and significant within the play as a whole (scene 11, page 84-86) The play ‘Broken Glass’ by Arthur Miller was set in American in the late November of 1938; based around the crisis unfolding in Germany with the persecution of many innocent people. This extract is significant to the play because it shows us the extent of Sylvia’s illness and what actually caused it. Miller also makes evident the changes in the relationship Sylvia and Gellburg share, which eventually puts a serious strain on their marriage and how they are able to live their lives. From the very beginning of the play Miller makes it clear for us to see the tension between them both and what didn’t help matters was the fact they did now know how to communicate properly with each other like your average married couple would. Sylvia felt as though she had almost been neglected from the love she believed she should have received from her husband Gellburg; whereas Gellburg was completely unaware of the way Sylvia was feeling because he was too absorbed in his own world and job, but more importantly he thought Sylvia deserved much more than he could ever give her. It wasn’t until towards the end of the play when life as they knew was slipping between their fingers; they were able to finally overcome the fear and embarrassment of telling each other how they really felt. The extract from pages 84-86 supports this as it shows how both characters are now a lot more sympathetic rather than being cold and lifeless. When Hyman suggests that the cause of Sylvia’s illness may not just of been because of the obsessive state she got in over Germany but also because of Gellburg’s behaviour, but he refused to believe it.

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