A taste of honey †From dependence to independence Essay

Jo, a trapped schoolinggirl want sanctuary away from her un true(p) acquire Helen, yet go uping herself dependent upon her. The universal sustainment from place to place and no steady source of income meant that Jo had no substantive social life at school or at home and rough luxuries. Jo relies on a carefree pitch dimmedness sailor for comfort, besides, a facsimile of her protest life, he is torn away and she is strained to move on. Helen leaves Jo and marries the untrustworthy scratch. A ethereal colleague k outrightn as Ge murder at present comes into her life, and Jo briefly realises he is a reliable person, and begins to depend upon him when she is pregnant. Towards the end, Geoff leaves upon the return of Helen, and Jo becomes the independent cleaning lady that she so longed for, perhaps a subject of her quick taste of h integrityy.In morsel 1, Scene 1, we find out somewhat Jos schooling abilities. When she arrives, she wants to find someplace to plant her bulbs. As she asseverates, Its straightlaced to turn over a hardly a(prenominal) flowers. Helen finds some drawings that Jo had done and compliments her by saying, I didnt realise I had much(prenominal) a talented daughter. Jo reveals her childlike place by replying with Im not just talented, Im geniused. Jos intentions of going school and Helen at Christmas, becomes apparent, as she waits to think that she is mature and independent beseeming to do so. An some other sign her naivety. Her as certain(a) of the new flat alike comes into calorie-free when Helen says, This is the place, and Jo replies with, And I dont similar it. Her attitude to life is arguably summarised with those few words. She is forever criticising Helen and rarely calls her puzzle or mum. The pair are ever bickering and Jo level says, Im sick of you. Youve made my life a misery. Her dislike and despite for life, instantly recognisable, is possibly collectable to her loneliness.Her become give s her actually dwarfish support so she must judge fondness from other sources. Although she seems to hate Helen, Jo is very dependent on her and to a certain extent Helen is dependent on Jo. She is incessantly devising Jo do things for her (getting drinks, cooking, etc). There is slender doubt that her misery is also due to her unsatisfactory mother. Their consanguinity is hardly your stereotypic mother-daughter one, which contri notwithstandinges greatly to Jo leaving school and her mother as soon as she has the chance. Helen is not oblivious to her incompetence as a mother who says, I know, Im a venomous, wicked woman, and not victimization the word mother.Peter is a dodgy car salesman with an meat patch, and one of the reasons that Helen moved. He wants her to tie him but Helen declines. barely with persuasion and persistence his charm soon builds affect and she finally agrees. Jo immediately holds Peter with just as much contempt as her mother. Her spiteful attit ude towards him is presumable because Peter has her mothers love and she does not, though of black market Jo would never admit this. Jo soon changes however and asks Peter coyly, Do you fancy me? and he responds, Not yet. Jo clearly seeks attention from Peter. He also has photographs of all his ex-girlfriends. Jo sires fun of his eye patch, again expressing her childish ways. We also find out about Jos phobias, Im not frightened of the shabbiness outside. Its the offness within I dont like. This tells the reader 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 wholly for a weekend while she runs off with Peter. Helen also makes no attempt to tending Jo when shes pregnant, if anything Helen is angry, perhaps because Jo has made the aforementioned(prenominal) mistakes she once made. Being the age of 16 some may say she is instead independent, leaving school and home, ho wever she is unsounded a nave child inside with a thirst for attention and affectionJo is not perturbed by her mothers actions, and is still determined to become independent. Her plans to move out are exe signed, and she decides she would like to marry a black sailor. Jo knows Helen will disapprove, which seems to make it the whole affair better. Jos kind with the sailor seems short 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, probably because she is used to moving on and leaving many things behind. Later on though when talking to Geoff, she says Last Christmas I had him, she plainly misses him, and talks fondly about him especially when the blow is due.Helens departure has little matter on Jo, which is slightly unexpected, as she now has the independence away from her mother that she forever wanted. This is possible because she really needs individual to depend on especially with a baby on the way. Geoff, a funny student is her saviour. He becomes Jos shoulder joint to cry on, and is keen on go a mystify figure for the baby. Jo seems to take advantage of Geoffs kindness and much makes him do stuff for her. Geoff does not seem to mind, even when she makes fun of his sexuality, which many volume 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 discard 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 neighborly 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 tha n anything, to be the father of Jos child.To begin with, Jo treats Geoff with little respect, joking well-nigh and saying things that could hurt him. As their relationship progresses and they get to know each other better, Jo respects Geoff more and more. Jo eventually realises that the baby will 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 retentiveness the baby at first because she thinks it is cruel to cause them aborted. She does, though, have some doubts. For example, she doesnt want to breast feed her baby. Geoff brings her a doll 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 miscarriage after all.Previously though, the baby kicked her and she was overwhelmed. solely of these details 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 lot since the showtime of the play when she was dependent on Helen.As the play progresses, we see Jo turn from a nave young girl to a mature woman. She is no longer dependent on anyone and, although she is probably destined to a life living in lowly flats and houses, the prospects are bright and, as she sings at the very end, a glimmer of fancy shines through and we think she may have a happy life.