Theatre Lesson : (Oct'15) Realism - Character Analysis (Arthur)

Realism: Meeting a Character (Stanislavski Style)

Homesick Character analysis: Arthur Koh

What the author says about ME?

Middle son	Property developer
Based in China	The One out of the five children that frequently returns to Singapore

What I say about ME?

A discerning character : - He remember the father’s birthday. He is very caring at heart. [It is his 70th birthday tomorrow, am I correct?]	Close to the father: He’s very respectful to the father. He knows the father’s secret.
Blunt : - Not good with his choice of words. Not sensitive towards taboos. [I have come to pay respect to our dear father.]	Educated : He knows his stuff. He can discuss and  chat with Manoj about economics and business, global issues, etc.
Business-minded : - Business is his everything. [D: Don’t you carry a phone? A: Yes. For business. D: And I don’t suppose you have another phone? A: For what? ] [Quarantine? For how long? I have an important project in Shen Zhen.]	Conservative/ have strong beliefs in tradition : - He’s very particular in the way one address one other. Salutation is important for him.  [Terms of address matter…. I hope everyone can call me by the name Pa gave me. Weiyang. I’s a real name.]
Empathy : - He’s able to understand Cindy’s and the Father’s situation.

How others see Me?

Herbert: Oh shit! Why is he back in Singapore too? He knows my secret and my weakness. I must make sure he doesn’t go around telling everybody. I’m the big brother now and he mustn’t order me or threaten me.	Marianne: Stop smothering me with Chinese traditions and naming and I will be fine with him. Cindy: Oh, he’s good and he helps me a lot.
Manoj: Just like his siblings, he is in denial of their identity. Most probably, he couldn’t even differentiate between a true china citizen and Singapore0born Chinese.	Daphne: Can’t he get himself a phone? It’s not for his own convenience but others’. He’s Arthur and I’m gonna call him Arthur, not Gor or Gor-gor.
Patricia: He’s very tolerant of the brother. Even though Herbert is very possessive, narcissistic at times to the extent of annoying, Arthur doesn’t throw tantrum when Herbert gets more than him. He’s a good son.	Patrick: -            Why is everybody treating me like a kid? Oh, he’s Weiyang!

How I see others?

Herbert: A snobbish Anglo-Saxon who denies he’s own identity and the existence of his own inheritance, family, and nationality. He’s being untruthful towards himself. I know his weakness and his secret. Hehe-he!! He loves to show that he’s the eldest son.	Cindy: No matter how she disrupt the harmony of one family, one hand doesn’t make a clap. She’s not innocent, but she’s not one sole contributor to the marriage failure. She’s shouldn’t take all the blame. WE should help her.
Manoj: He has a clear vision of what’s happening in the family as he’s from a different family. Not ton say he’s an outsider, but he belongs to not just one family. Thus, he can detach himself and be an audience that sees clearly.	Daphne: A world citizen. Hard to contain. Always travel around the globe. I’m proud of her, if she’s not too busybody.
Patricia: She’s my mother and I love her and respect her decisions. Marianne: Oh, she’s my big sis!	Patrick: Such an ignorant brat.

In my opinion, the super goal/ultimate goal of the character Arthur is Arthur wants the family to be together. No matter how far they were apart, he would always cherish the moments they are together. He’s one the few in the family that would uphold the traditions and see unity as an important element of the formation and destruction of a home. Arthur is not glib nor flippant. He doesn’t really know how to deliver his care and love through words. Most of the time, he’s blunt. He is the typical Chinese/ Eastern male breadwinner figure in literary works and in real life. Most of the father in the world, more so in the eastern societies, tend to talk less, interact less with the family, and focus more on the businesses. They aren’t good in speech, so they show their love with actions. Albeit such an action mostly leads to misunderstandings, and they seemingly looks uncaring, business-crazed, stoic, and etc., their love for the family is indubitably authentic and genuine.

I (Arthur) know secrets, but do I care about them?
I think I don't really care about them. I know I remember them but I don't really put them in my mind all the time. Everyone has their own secrets and I acknowledge the fact that everyone wants their privacy. Even though Herbert and others might thought they should stay away from me in a bid to protect their secrets from being revealed, but no,  I will never use the secrets as a weapon to threaten them. 

Arthur is a socially-awkward freak. He's blunt and he's very controlled (he remembers details-  the birthdays, etc.), but he's not stupid. He's very considerate at heart and very smart.