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Elements of a Drama


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ð nopsis
‡ This drama is about a greed    Lord
ðeptic whose quest to get more wealth is
assisted b his brainless side-kick, Crouch
whose main dut includes groveling. The
meet a maiden named Rose selling flowers
at a railwa station. A handsome and brave
hero named Perc rescues Rose the
    and in doing so
stumble upon his fortune that has been left
for him b his late mother Lad Gatsb at
the ver same station.
Characters
‡ People or animals in a pla that are
engaged in acting out the plot.
‡   characters : appear most in the pla .
‡   characters : pla a role in the pla
but the are not main characters.
‡ ˜  : leading character.
‡
  : character that is in conflict
with the main character.
‡ µGulp and Gasp¶ is a pla of four parts
(characters).
Lord ðeptic
‡ A  villain in search
for the Gatsb Gold.
‡  towards the poor.
‡  ± read to kill
Rose b t ing her up on the
railwa tracks.
‡    ± onl married
his wife because she owns
a gun factor .
‡
 and talks rudel
to his assistant, Crouch.
Crouch
‡ Lord ðeptic¶s assistant.
‡   a lot just to
please Lord ðeptic.
‡   which
normall causes
misunderstanding and
him being scolded b
Lord ðeptic.
‡  and  when
he forces Rose to leave
the platform.
‡    and follow
orders even as far as
killing someone.
Rose
‡ The maiden in distress.
‡ Used to work in a match
factor but it was destro ed
in a fire and she becomes
.
‡ !  and
 - sells sprigs
of heather to find mone
needed for her mother¶s
pills.
‡ Lives in a room in the attic
that is full of dr rot owned
b Lord ðeptic.
‡ Cold and hungr .
Perc
‡ A   who
does not know that his
mother was killed b
Lord ðeptic¶s father.
‡ Ver  to retaliate
against Lord ðeptic and
Crouch.
‡  ± read to
perform a dangerous
deed to save Rose.
‡ " #  #  and
conducts his plan swiftl .
ðetting
‡ A deserted railwa
station.
‡ The station is
illuminated b a gas
lamp.
‡ A Frida night.
‡ A cold and fogg night.
‡ The air is foul and filth .
‡ A cold, dark and
desolate atmosphere.
The Pla ± scene 1
‡ The train is late and Lord ðeptic and his
assistant are restless and impatient.
‡ Lord ðeptic mentions his plans to take
over all the railwa stations along the
King¶s Cross line.
‡ He wants to find the Gatsb Gold which is
hidden somewhere in the station.
The Pla ± scene 2
‡ A blind flower seller
arrives and Lord ðeptic
wants Crouch to get rid of
the girl.
‡ The flower girl is Rose
and she is ver poor.
‡ ðhe has lost her sight in a
fire.
‡ Crouch orders her to
leave and throws her
flowers across the
platform.
The Pla ± scene 3
‡ Rose is cr ing and groping around for her flowers.
‡ A oung man, Perc appears and helps Rose to
look for her flowers.
‡ He is sad to hear of Rose¶s plight and s mpathises
with her.
‡ Perc is an orphan.
‡ His mother was killed on the same railwa when he
was a bab .
‡ He was found in the litter bin with a little purse tied
around his neck.
‡ The purse contains a tin ke with the letter NðL on
it.
The Pla ± scene 4
‡ When Crouch comes
back, Perc grabs him
b his collar for he is
angr with Crouch for
ill-treating Rose.
‡ He makes Crouch pick
up all the flowers.
The Pla ± scene 5
‡ Lord ðeptic creeps from the shadows and
hits Perc on the head with his stick and
Perc slumps to the ground, unconscious.
‡ Rose is upset and confronts him with a
tirade of accusations and threatens to
expose him to the media.
‡ This angers Lord ðeptic and
he orders Crouch to tie her
to the railwa tracks.
The Pla ± scene 6
‡ As Crouch is t ing Rose to the railwa
tracks, Perc gets up in a daze.
‡ Lord ðeptic reveals that man ears ago,
his father carried out a similar deed.
‡ He had tied Lad Gatsb to the same
track to frighten her into confessing where
she had hidden the Gatsb Gold.
‡ Unfortunatel , she had been killed b the
on-coming train and Lord ðeptic himself
had dumped the bab into the dustbin.
The Pla ± scene 7
‡ As the train
approaches, Perc
appears and
overpowers Lord ðeptic
and Crouch and ties
them up with a chain.
‡ The train screeches to
a halt.
‡ Perc rescues Rose
and holds her in his
arms.
The Pla ± scene 8
‡ Perc uses his blood-
soaked underwear to stop
the train.
‡ He dabs his bleeding nose
with his underwear.
‡ Perc climbs up the gas
lamp at the far end of the
station and put his pants
over the lamp.
‡ It shines dark red and the
train stops because the
driver thinks it is a stop light.
The Pla ± scene 9
‡ Rose quickl told Perc what she has
overheard about Lad Gatsb , the
abandoned bab and the Gatsb fortune.
‡ The quickl go to the locker, open it with
the tin ke and find a big bag of gold.
‡ Perc and Rose declare their love for
each other.
The Pla ± scene 10
‡ The scene ends with the police coming up the
tracks to arrest Lord ðeptic and Crouch.

Ä Ä
Ä
Theme
‡ The meaning of the pla that refers to
its main idea. The theme of the pla
can be understood from several
sources:
‡ It is stated clearl in the title.
‡ It could be understood through the
dialogue as the plot unfolds.
‡ It ma also be less obvious when the
theme will onl surface after some
deliberation.
Themes in µGulp and Gasp¶
‡ Greed
o Lord ðeptic is so greed that he is willing to kill
people in order to achieve his goals to gain more
wealth.
o The evidence is when he orders Crouch to tie Rose
up on the railwa tracks when he threatens to tell
the
 about Lord ðeptic.
‡ Oppression of the weak and poor.
o The poor refers to Rose who was involved in a
strike at the match factor that Lord ðeptic owns.
The strike was triggered b the workers protest as
the have not received their pa . A fire broke out
and man of the poor were killed and Rose was
blinded.
Themes in µGulp and Gasp¶
‡ Heroism
o Perc grabs Crouch b the collar to retaliate
over his harsh treatment towards Rose and
for throwing her flowers all over the platform.
‡ ðtruggle to survive.
o Rose who is blind finds wa s to survive b
selling sprigs of heather. ðhe struggles hard
not just for herself but also to pa for her
sick mother¶s pills.
°oral Values
‡ We must not look down on the poor and the
less privileged.
o Lord ðeptic is an aristocrat that is arrogant
in both his deeds and words. He easil call
Crouch µYou fool!¶ and snaps at him with
words like µðhut up, ou half-wit!¶
‡ We must defend ourselves and the people
that we care for in times of danger.
o Perc manages to find wa s to get the train
to stop so that he could save Rose. He has
managed to escape and comes back just to
save Rose from her ill fate.
°oral Values
‡ We must be quick thinking at all times.
o Perc is quick thinking as the wa he manages
to stop a moving train b doing whatever he
can.
‡ We must retain our dignit to gain respect from
the people around us.
o Crouch is Lord ðeptic¶s assistant and would go
as far as killing a person just to please his
master. He grovels all the time and b doing so
puts himself to be ver much to Lord ðeptic. As
a result Lord ðeptic has no respect for Crouch
who is actuall a ver lo al servant.
Language
‡ When reading a pla , ‡ ˜ : a pla on words that
focus should be put on sounds the same but have
the words, phrases or several meanings and would
lines that reall make an create a certain degree of
impression. confusion.
‡ In µGulp and Gasp¶, most ‡ Example :
scene is full of humour Perc : What a rotter that man
and this is achieved b is! The ¶ve just go on a strike
the use of : on one of his factories. The
all want a shorter wick.
Rose : [laughing] I think ou
mean WEEK. The want a
shorter working WEEK.
Perc : No ± it¶s a candle
factor .
Language
‡ $  : ‡ What Crouch should
the use of different have said is µKiller
words in replace of the veins¶ that means
more appropriate words. killing streak must
‡ Example : have been hereditar .
Lord ðeptic : It¶s just like But instead he uses
the night man ears µkiller trains¶ because
ago. I stood right here as the killing happened in
m father tied Lad a train station and
Gatsb to the same Lad Gatsb was run
track. ðhe was the riches over b a train as
widow in town. He would be Rose.
tricked her to meet him
on this station one dark
night.
Crouch : Killer trains
must runs in our
famil , sir!
Language
‡    % ‡ Example :
a phrase that is µPerc ¶s purse and
intended to be purple pants
difficult to sa , popped these
especiall when plotters and their
repeated quickl pranks¶.
and often. And it
also sounds
comical when the
characters sa
their lines quickl .
Dialogue and Action
‡   : refers to ‡
  %
both the careful choice the determining factor
of words made b the of a pla wright¶s
pla wright and also success depends on
the articulation of the his capabilit to bring
actors as the pla is the characters to life.
performed. ‡ The actors then have
‡ There is no narration to assume the role and
in a pla so the act it out so that what
dialogue that is is said and done would
delivered b the seem to be real or
characters unfolds the close to realit .
plot, provides the
exposition and defines
the characters.
Literar Devices
‡  : a wa of ‡ &   : the use
expression that of s mbol to represent
suggests a different an idea.
meaning of the word. ‡ Example :
‡ Example : Crouch : Because ou¶ll
Rose : Yes, sir. Do bu a own the biggest train set
sprig of heather for a ever.
penn . It ma bring ou (The train set is a s mbol
good luck. of an expensive to that
(Rose is blessed with suggest that Lord ðeptic
good luck herself for is like a little bo wanting
selling it instead of a new to )
bu ing it.
Literar Devices
‡  : words used in ‡ ' : An event
the pla that conjures an that happens in the pla
image or something. as a sign of future
events.
‡ Example :
‡ Example :
Lord ðeptic : I¶ll go up m
Lord ðeptic trips over
office to plot more plans. I¶ll
Crouch
get some ideas on being
as he was telling him about
rich. '   (  #)
digging up the tracks to
 #   . That¶s how
look for the Gatsb gold.
rich! I¶m going upstairs.
(This is the foreshadow that
(The image of slim and
signals Lord ðeptic¶s
thick black oil is conjured
  in the near future)
up to show how ver rich
he will be)
Dramatic Genre
‡ This st le of pla is   where protagonist is
normall the victim of circumstances.
‡ In the end the good characters are rewarded and the
bad characters are punished in a wa that fits the
crime the commit.
‡ It is like a pantomime b having over-the-top villains,
much exaggeration and sprinkled with jokes.
‡ °uch of the humor comes from puns or confused
language.
‡ The audience is encourage to shout, cheer and boo
so that the performance of the pla is usuall quite
nois .
‡ In the scripts, there are signs sa ing GULP, GAðP,
CHEER, BOO so when the pla is performed, a
banner is held up to allow the participation of the
audience.
About The Pla wright
‡ John Townsend ‡ He is now a specialist
‡ A writer of children¶s in designing reading
books and has written materials for reluctant
more than 100 books readers and µGulp and
that includes both Gasp¶ (published in
fiction and non-fiction. 2002) is one of the
‡ He used to be a man .
teacher in a secondar ‡ He is currentl living in
school in which time ðuckle , Worchester
he recognised teenage in the UK.
bo s¶ reluctant to read ‡ The literac Trust (UK)
and decided to nurture includes him among
interest among them. their µAuthor Reading
Champions¶.
 

 
    

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