Snowy Night Discovery

Discovery is important as it inspires people to view life in a new light and gain knowledge about not just themselves, but the world around them. This holds especially true “from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish.” These “real” discoveries often require a shift in one 's personal perspectives which creates a new metaphorical lens through which individuals ' understand and see the world and themselves. The play Away by Michael Gow (1986), and the poem "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" by Robert Frost (1922) explore the notion that "real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish." This can be seen through the use of various dramatic, literary and poetic

The families go “away” to relax, however, it becomes a “spiritual quest.” This can be seen through the characterisation of Coral. She links the school play with a world of distortion and the possibility of restoring this tragic world through love. At the start of the play, Coral is withdrawn from the outside world as she is engulfed in grief due to the loss of her son. The desolate state of Coral can be seen through the stage directions. When Coral was asked a question by Gwen, “Coral stares at her for a moment and then looks away.” (Act 1 Scene 2). This state is further developed through her soliloquy in Act 1 Scene 3. This soliloquy gives the audience insight into Coral’s state of mind and her thoughts become known to the audience, as she shares how she feigns enjoyment to please Jim, her husband. It is clear to the audience that she was suffering from a mental illness. However, during the time in which the play was set, 1967, mental illnesses were not seen as real illnesses. Therefore, her soliloquy and her withdrawn behaviour would have seemed entirely “foolish” and “wrong” to the people around her. However, this is an important process of her self discovery as she goes to a place she thinks might be mentally stupid and foolish, yet still helpful as her acceptance of the way she feels and acceptance of the death of her son, allows her to start healing and rediscover her old self. Similarly, in the poem, “Stoping by the Woods on a Snowy Evening” the persona is alienated from the real world, ready to succumb to the snow, which is a metaphor for death. Frost’s use of metacognitive and internal dialogue accompanies the personas process of self discovery. This dialogue is vastly similar to Coral’s soliloquy as it gives the readers insight on what the persona is thinking and feeling,