The Effect of Gender and Class on Clay

The Effect of Gender and Class on Clay

Gender and class have had an immense effect on the development of individuals. These two axes have either worked in favor of various individuals or have been used to perpetuate inequality within society. These two inequality axes of gender and class have been intersected to determine various outcomes that can be academic and non-academic. Gender and class discrimination are detrimental effects that have immense effects in patterning and predicting the outcome of a particular action and the success of an individual. In this essay, we will have a closer look into the effect of gender and class in the developmentof Clay, the protagonist in the story, the concert stages of Europe.

The term protagonist refers to any main character in either a play or a film, while an antagonist is a character who is hostile to others more so to the main character. In most of the plays, the authors present both the protagonist and the antagonist to give a flow of events, create conflict, and also capture the attention of viewers or readers. In the case of Jack Hodgins, in his story the concert stages of Europe, Clay pops as a protagonist while his mother as an antagonist. Everything in the story revolves around Clay, while significant opposition to his ideas and wishes come from his mother.

Clay was born in a village in Waterville, Canada. He was the only son in his family, and his mother felt that he was still young to make relevant decisions in his life; therefore, she was could always make decisions for him. Clay’s mother wishes that his son turns out to be a pianist, a dream which she had during her heydays, but was unable to actualize it. In as much as his father tries to bring in issues ofplaying the piano being a feminine career, Clay’smotherinsists on his son venturing into the career of playing piano rather than followinghis dad’s blogging career..

According to Clay, his dream was to be a Finn, but his mother dictatorial tendencies disapprove of the same. Particularly, she argues that he must make a career of her choice. According to Clay, Finns are individuals with good character, and he would, therefore, wish to be one in as much as his mother thinks it is only fools who can aspire to be Finns. This is evident in the play where they tried discussing the issue, and his mum tried to convince him about enrolling piano classes, then Clay said, “Then it isn’t me who should be taking the lessons, it’s you” (pg.26). But Clay’smother could not listen to him; she insisted that it was too late for the young boy to change her mind on taking the lessons. It was against the wish of Clay to enroll for this class because his interest was not in becoming a pianist, but since his mother had already decided on this, he was left with no choice but aligned with his mother’s desires. Initially, when music careers had begun, it was thought to be a feminine field. This is one reason why Clay’sfather disapproves of Piano classes. Nonetheless, Clay’s mother insists on the idea of him being a pianist, highlighted by her mentioning few men pianists she knew.

During the era, only females could enroll in piano classes; as such, this explains why finding a male piano teacher was almost impossible. Implicitly, the issue of gender roles was so firm in this region, but Clay’s mum did not approve of such proposals. According to her, nobody is limited, and that is why she puts pressure on her son to go ahead and take the classes as a way of achieving the dreams she had. She then put him in a class that was taught by their family friend, whom they referred to as an aunt due to their closeness. The lady was so beautiful and had a magical voice, which ended up distracting Clay from concentrating on his lessons. Clay also complains about the lady taking longer hours listening to her voice instead of focusing on him as a student; this makes him leave the classes earlier than the agreed time only to go and swim. Presumably, this was only discovered when he nearly drowned, and his mother had to end the piano classes with the family friend. However, this did not mark an end to the piano lessons because Clay’smother was so determined to turn his son into a great pianist. As a result, she looked for another tutor whose location was far, and Clay had to cycle for a very long distance before getting to class. Especially, this was frustrating for him because of exhaustion and lack of interest in the classes.

After two years of training, Clay is forced to sign up for a talent show by his mother. In as much as he had trained for quite a while, he was not ready to perform in the talent show, but his mother insisted on him performing.Clay’smother convinced him to perform, and Clay then decided to search for votes and money to enroll for the talent show. Interestingly, despite the immense pressure from his aunts not to perform, he was not able to quit courtesy of the immense pressure put on him by his mother. During the performance, Clay made a presentation that irked his father because of the way he answered questions while on stage. According to Clay, his attention was on Cornella, a piano teacher who was in attendance.

His mother despised Cornella and was always against her because of her class, but according to Clay, Cornella was a great pianist. During the performance, Claywas nervous and could not meet his mother’s expectations. He was unable to answer simple questions. As such, he emerged as position five. However, one interesting fact that comes out during the introduction of contestants is the disparity in class. Clay’sfamily considered itself to be classy, more so, this was evident by his mother’s reluctance to be put down in public.

Everyone, including Clay’smother, despised Cornella because of her class. She used to train kids without a piano, and that is why she was never allowed to train Clay. However, this did not act as an impediment to Cornella achieving her dreams. Surprisingly, she participated in the competition and won. Becoming a great pianist does not mean that one should attend expensive classes and have access to the equipment all through the lessons. Tacitly, this is one thing that Clay’s mum did not recognize because she always wanted expensive exposure for her son and did not care how much she spent on the piano classes.

According to Cornella, her dream was to win the contest, which she did, and travel to Hawaii. She achieved all this but still swore never to become a pianist because she lacked interest in thecareer; it is something that she only pursued for fun and not as a lifetime commitment. Cornella was female but did not have any interest in becoming a more magnificent pianist after the trip, yet it was assumed that only females lived and prospered in this career. Clay, on the other hand, a male who was forced into this career by her mother, never showed any interest in the piano career. It is, therefore, evident that gender does not determine what someone can pursue in terms of their career paths.

Passion, commitment, and self-discipline are what make people successful in the journey of fulfilling their dreams—pushing others to pursue goals that are not in line with their interests only yields disappointments and unnecessary frustration. From this story, it is clear that Clay attended the piano classes due to family pressure but not out of his desires. He never had the urge to enroll for the piano classes because, at first, pianos were attached to femininity. Profoundly, the issue of gender in particular careers is a culture that can be associated with the creation of fear n many individuals open to pursuing a particular career path.

Class, on the other hand, influences both Clay and his mother. Clay’s mother cannot afford to take him to particular tutorsbecause she believes they are not of the same class. Notably, this explains why Clay had to cycle for a long distance to attend classes, yet there was a teacher in their neighborhood. Classism in society is what creates gaps between the rich and the poor because they never view one another as equals. In as much as Clay’s mother invested so much in making his son a pianist, she did not get anything in return. Reasonably, it would have been economical if Clay had enrolled in Cornella’s class since it was clear that he had no interest in becoming a pianist.

In conclusion, gender and class act as an impediment to Clay, becoming a great pianist. Essentially, gender and class have also been a stumbling block for many individuals in modern society. Worth noting, while gender and class play a big role in the career development of many people, lack of interest and passion is normally evident in dead dreams. The apparent lack of interest and passion by Clay in piano classes also played a significant role in him not becoming a great pianist.

Work cited

Hodgin, J. The concert stages of Europe. 1978.