responses+to+oppressive+environments

In __The House of Bernada Alba__ by Federico Garcia Lorca and __Teahouse__ by Lao She, Adela and Wang Lifa’s responses towards their oppressive environments are progressive throughout the respective plays, with Adela becoming increasingly defiant and rebellious, whereas Wang Lifa becomes more desperate and desolate. In both plays, the characters are set in a tense and oppressive environment, with Adela living in a restrictive household dominated by her mother, Bernada Alba, and Wang Lifa living in an unstable Chinese society with rampant civil violence and the deterioration of morals. In __The House of Bernada Alba__, Adela subtly opposes her oppressive environment, while in __Teahouse__, Wang Lifa accepts and adapts to his environment. Adela’s rebellion is expressed through dialogue with her family members, and through the green dress and the fan with red and green flowers. Wang Lifa adapts to the changing times, shown mainly through the renovation his teahouse and the ‘improvement’ of the services. As the play progresses, Adela openly opposes her environment and her reactions become increasingly defensive and aggressive, while Wang Lifa is becomes increasingly desperate and uses drastic measures to cope    with his environment. Adela’s interactions with Poncia and her sisters are much more passionate and aggressive, as she openly defies the restrictions set by the houseohld. Wang Lifa turns to immoral acts like giving bribes and considering turning his teahouse into a prostitute house. Ultimately, at the end of both plays, desperation forces Adela and Wang Lifa to use death as a means of escape from their environment, emphasizing their hopelessness and helplessness in changing their environment. While both are driven by desperation, Adela’s death is more reactionary, which she does out of impulse when she assumes that Pepe is dead, and that she has lost her only hope in life. On the other hand,Wang Lifa’s death can be seen as progressive decision, his acceptance that there is no hope in changing or adapting to his environment.