sets+create+and+reflect+conflict+and+tension


 * Topic: ** How the respective sets reflect conflict and create tension within Frederico Lorca’s __The House of Bernarda Alba__ and Lao She’s __Teahouse__.


 * Thesis Statement: ** In their plays __The House of Bernarda Alba__ and __Teahouse__ respectively, both Frederico Lorca and Lao She utilize sets to reflect conflict and create tension within the audience.


 * Topic Sentence: ** Pictures, doorways, and furniture used in both plays’ sets reflect conflict within the plays.
 * Example: ** In __The House of Bernarda Alba__, there are fantastical pictures of nymphs and kings hanging on the walls of the set, reflecting the sexual repression of the Alba sisters by their mother, Bernarda and the resulting conflict. In the second act of __Teahouse__, traditional Chinese decorations and furniture are replaced by foreign cigarette ads on the wall and by new, more modern chairs and tables, reflecting the conflict between foreign and Chinese values present within the play.
 * Topic Sentence: ** Both sets are reflective of the conflicts among characters regarding their urge to escape their homes and lives.
 * Example: ** The walls of the Alba house are very thick, reflecting how Bernarda keeps her daughter’s inside against their will, as if they are in a thick-walled prison. There are birds kept in cages on the set of __Teahouse__ that act as symbols. Like the birds in their cages, Wang LiFa feels trapped within his teahouse, but at the same time the teahouse serves as a safe haven from the outside world for many characters, including himself.
 * Topic Sentence: ** Tension is created within the audience by color as well as by pictures and furniture on the set.
 * Example: ** In __The House of Bernarda Alba__, the set is very empty at the beginning of the play, with no one on stage and barely any furniture or décor. The eerie emptiness creates tension within the audience, giving them the feeling that something is not quite right in the Alba household. The set of __Teahouse__ has a sign that reads “do not discuss state affairs”, creating tension by informing audiences that it is dangerous for people to talk about the government, and that is inevitable that characters will discuss state affairs in the near future.