A taste of honey †From dependence to independence Essay

Jo, a trapped drillgirl quest sanctuary remote from her unreliable mother Helen, yet finding herself mutualist upon her. The frequent operatement from place to place and no steady mention of income meant that Jo had no real social life at cultivate or at home and few luxuries. Jo relies on a c arfree scurrilous bluejacket for comfort, however, a facsimile of her own life, he is torn away and she is forced to move on. Helen leaves Jo and marries the untrustworthy Peter. A Gay colleague cognize as Geoff now comes into her life, and Jo soon realises he is a reliable person, and begins to count on upon him when she is pregnant. Towards the end, Geoff leaves upon the return of Helen, and Jo becomes the independent woman that she so longed for, perhaps a expiry of her quick taste of honey.In Act 1, Scene 1, we find start ab let on Jos schooling abilities. When she arrives, she wants to find somewhere to plant her bulbs. As she offers, Its nice to gain vigor a few flowers. He len finds some drawings that Jo had through and compliments her by saying, I didnt realise I had such a talented daughter. Jo reveals her childish side by replying with Im non just talented, Im geniused. Jos intentions of leaving school and Helen at Christmas, becomes apparent, as she protrudems to gestate that she is advanced and independent enough to do so. Another sign her naivety. Her view of the new flat withal comes into lilting when Helen says, This is the place, and Jo replies with, And I turn int like it. Her carriage to life is arguably summarised with those few words. She is forever criticising Helen and rarely c totallys her mother or mum. The repayablette are constantly bickering and Jo even says, Im delirious of you. Youve made my life a misery. Her dislike and contempt for life, instantly recognisable, is mayhap due to her loneliness.Her mother gives her very little support so she mustiness seek affection from other sources. Although she seems to hate He len, Jo is very dependent on her and to a certain extent Helen is dependent on Jo. She is eternally making Jo do things for her ( selectting drinks, cooking, etc). There is little doubt that her misery is also due to her unsatisfactory mother. Their relationship is hardly your stereotypical mother-daughter one, which contri just nowes greatly to Jo leaving school and her mother as soon as she has the chance. Helen is not oblivious to her incompetency as a mother who says, I love, Im a cruel, wicked woman, and not using the word mother.Peter is a dodgy car salesman with an eye patch, and one of the reasons that Helen moved. He wants her to marry him but Helen declines. However with persuasion and persistence his charm soon takes affect and she eventually agrees. Jo immediately holds Peter with just as much contempt as her mother. Her spiteful attitude towards him is apt(predicate) because Peter has her mothers love and she does not, though of soma Jo would never admit this. J o soon changes however and asks Peter coyly, Do you attend me? and he responds, Not yet. Jo clearly seeks attention from Peter. He also has photographs of all his ex-girlfriends. Jo makes fun of his eye patch, again expressing her childish ways. We also find out about Jos phobias, Im not frightened of the tail outside. Its the darkness inside I dont like. This tells the commentator that she feels dark and lonely inside, which sheds light onto why she has a depressing attitude to life. Helen neglects her needs, for example, leaving her alone for a weekend while she runs off with Peter. Helen also makes no attempt to help Jo when shes pregnant, if anything Helen is angry, perhaps because Jo has made the comparable mistakes she once made. Being the age of 16 some may say she is quite independent, leaving school and home, however she is still a nave child inside with a thirst for attention and affectionJo is not perturbed by her mothers actions, and is still determined to become ind ependent. Her plans to move out are executed, and she decides she would like to marry a unforgiving sailor. Jo knows Helen go away disapprove, which seems to make it the whole affair better. Jos relationship with the sailor seems niggling and casual. They both say that they love each other but are very relaxed. For example, when he leaves and does not come back she is not worried, likely because she is used to moving on and leaving umpteen things behind. Later on though when talking to Geoff, she says Last Christmas I had him, she obviously misses him, and talks fondly about him oddly when the baby is due.Helens departure has little effect on Jo, which is slightly unexpected, as she now has the independence away from her mother that she always wanted. This is likely because she really needs someone to depend on especially with a baby on the way. Geoff, a gay student is her saviour. He becomes Jos shoulder to cry on, and is keen on becoming a father figure for the baby. Jo se ems to take advantage of Geoffs kindness and oftentimes makes him do stuff for her. Geoff does not seem to mind, even when she makes fun of his sexuality, which many people did at the time. Geoff was her pillar of strength when she had her childish tantrums, such as wanting to cut off the babies head or disown it.Geoff, probably more than she was on her mother. Jo even says, supposedly to the baby, Lets see what big sisters making us.Geoff is a friendly carer and is totally different from the sailor. Whereas the sailor wants a sexual relationship, Geoff is content with caring for Jo and making cakes. Geoff even asks Jo if they should get married and also asks her what shed do if he started something. Jo replies, In my condition, Id probably faint. He adores babies but Jo is less keen on them. Geoff seems to want, more than anything, to be the father of Jos child.To begin with, Jo treats Geoff with little respect, joke around and saying things that could hurt him. As their relation ship progresses and they get to know each other better, Jo respects Geoff more and more. Jo eventually realises that the baby go forth need a father figure and decides to let Geoff stay, but they wouldnt get married.Jo has mixed feelings about becoming a mother. She is intent on keeping the baby at first because she thinks it is cruel to view as them aborted. She does, though, have some doubts. For example, she doesnt want to breast feed her baby. Geoff brings her a hoot to practice holds on. She says the colours wrong the father being black and explodes. She screams, Ill bash its brains out Ill kill it I dont want to be a mother, which makes us think that she may have an abortion after all.Previously though, the baby kicked her and she was overwhelmed. All of these expound then leave us wondering if she is ready for motherhood. It is more likely that she is ready to become a mother because she has matured a kitty since the beginning of the play when she was dependent on Hele n.As the play progresses, we see Jo turn from a nave young girl to a mature woman. She is no longer dependant on anyone and, although she is probably destined to a life living in small flats and houses, the prospects are bright and, as she sings at the very end, a glimmer of hope shines through and we think she may have a happy life.