GRUSHA:
(to the CHILD): Noontime is meal time. Now we’ll sit hopefully in the grass, while
the good Grusha goes and buys a little pitcher of
milk. (She lays the CHILD down and
knocks at the cottage door. An OLD MAN opens it.) Grandfather,
could I have a little pitcher of milk?
And a corn
cake, maybe?
OLDMAN: Milk? We have no milk. The soldiers from the city have our
goats. Go to the Soldiers if you want milk.
GRUSHA: But grandfather, you must have a little
pitcher of milk for a baby?
OLD MAN: And for a
God-bless-you, eh?
GRUSHA: Who said anything
about a God-bless-you? (She shows her purse.) We’ll pay like princes. “Head in the
clouds, back-side in the water.”(the
peasants goes off, grumbling for milk) How much for
the milk?
OLD MAN: Three piasters. Milk has gone up.
GRUSHA: Three piasters for
this little drop? (Without a word the OLD MAN shuts
the
door in her face.) Michael, did you hear that? Three piasters! We can’t afford
it! (She
goes back, sits down again and gives the
CHILD her breast.) Suck.
Think of the three piasters. There’s nothing there, but you think you’re
drinking, and that’s something.(Shaking her head, she sees that the CHILD
isn’t
sucking any more. She gets up, walks back to the door, and knocks
again.)
Open, grandfather, we’ll pay (Softly) May lightning strike you! (When the OLD
MAN appears
:) I thought it would be half a piaster.
But the baby must be fed.
How about one piaster for that little
drop?
OLDMAN: Two.
GRUSHA: Don’t shut the door again. (She
fishes a long time in her bag.)
Here are two
Piasters. Here are two piaster’s. The milk better be good. I still have two days’
Journey ahead of me. It’s a murderous
business you have here – and sinful too!
OLD MAN: Kill
the soldiers if you want milk.
GRUSHA:
(giving the CHILD some milk): This is an expensive joke. Take a sip, Michael,
It’s a week’s pay. Around here they think we earned our money
just sitting on our
behinds. Oh, on! (Uneasy,
she gets up, puts the CHILD on her
back, and walks on. The OLD MAN, grumbling, picks up the pitcher and looks after her unmoved)
Analysis
The
Song that comes immediately before this extract is THE SONG OF THE FOUR GENERALS:
Shows
Grusha’s optimism that at the end of the war things are going to be better both
for her, Simon and the other brave people.
It also acts as a breathing space before the next scene starts.
Some
of the Main themes evident in this excerpt include:
Effects of war and fighting –The
Soldiers taking advantage of the war e.g. the soldiers from the city have our
goats.
Love
and motherhood- Grusha sacrifices a week’s pay to pay
a pitcher of milk for Michael.
Greed
and materialism – The old man demands for so much money
for the little pitcher of milk and does not care about the welfare of the
child.
The old man is Mean/unkind/merciless
–He refuses to consider Grusha’s request to help her with a pitcher of milk for
the child. He is Exploitative – increases the price of milk due to the shortage
caused by war.
Grusha is Loving/caring –sacrifices a Weeks’s
pay to buy milk for Michael. She is also determined to protect the boy and
carries Michael on her back despite his weight.
Other Sacrifices
Grusha makes for Baby Michael apart from Buying Milk equivalent to one week
wage are
·
Sitting by the abandoned Michael for a
whole night.
·
Enduring marriage to a dying and cruel
man for the sake of Michael
·
Fighting in court with the boy’s natural
mother.
·
Enduring the tiresome journey to the
northern mountains.
·
Crossing the dangerous rotten bridge to
save Michael from iron shirts
·
Hitting the corporal who wants to take
Michael away on the head thus risking her life.
The meaning of
the following phrases used in the extract
a)
Cut throat prices- exorbitant/extremely
expensive/ruthlessly/competitive
b)
a God bless you- a thank you/ a
wish you well
c)
head in the clouds- live in fantasy/ be out of reality
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