The Floating World (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Romeril
- First Published: 1975
- Type of Plot: Political
- Time of Work: 1974
- Setting: A cruise ship traveling from Melbourne, Australia, to Yokohama, Japan
- Principal Characters: Les Harding, Irene Harding, Herbert Robinson, The Comic, Harry, McLeod, Williams, The Waiter
- Genres: Drama, Political drama
- Subjects: Culture, 1970’s, Class conflict, Racism, Twentieth century, Class consciousness, War, Ships, Capitalism, Military life or service, Japan or Japanese people, Australia or Australians, Economic policy
- Locales: Oceans, Melbourne, Australia, Yokohama, Japan
The Play
The Floating World opens with a dramatic monologue by Harry, lamenting the sale of Australian rain forests to a Japanese developer. Harry introduces the setting for the following nineteen scenes, a cruise ship sailing to Japan on a package tour arranged by an Australian women’s magazine. Suddenly, Les Harding appears on the stage, which is designed like a ship’s deck. Seasick, he vomits over the railing and is joined by Herbert Robinson.
Their dialogue introduces their opposing backgrounds. Les is a blue-collar Australian former infantryman captured...
[The entire page is 2000 words long]
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