RESEARCH

THIS IS RESEARCH FOR THE CHARACTER BENNETT

Doing research for Bennett, I felt like it was the easiest thing for me and was pretty much already done. This is because I based my Bennett of, of typical high school TV shows, American and English, for example, Steve Harrington from season one of Stranger Things [an American TV show]. As the show continued Steve became a much better person and undoubtedly my favorite character, and that’s why I’m narrowing it down to only season one when he fits the criteria for Bennett. Steve was a stuck up, piece of trash that thought the world revolved around him, he thought of himself as the best athlete, the most popular kid, and coolest kid, when in reality he was just a big softy in the inside and was afraid that he would loose that status he owned if he revealed his true self. And I also looked at Adam Groff from Sex Education [English TV show] which resembles Bennett so much it was great research. Adam is quite a nasty character who resembles Bennett in many ways, such as being a bully, at the start of the show he is very nasty, but as the show goes along he keeps getting ridiculed along the way. His main victim is Eric, and he bully’s Eric because hes gay, a looser, and because of the stuff he wears. Adam is also from quite a wealthy family just like Bennett, but time and time again he disappoint’s his parents just like Bennett, Adam and Bennett are both not that clever and to top it all off, they are both secretly gay/bi. I have decided to take aspects from both these character and apply it to the way that I will act as Bennett, causing it to be the foundation for my Bennett.

Animals my character would be and why

I had a look at three different animals that would suit Bennett but in drastically different ways.

First of I had a look at a lion, because in the school hierarchy Bennett is the top dog, and every one fears him, just like in the animal kingdom, However lions are quite graceful and lazy creatures which does not suit the character of Bennett, but you could look at it as a pride of lions is the equivalent of Bennett’s family, and whilst his family is quite graceful and posh, Bennett isn’t, and a lions laziness can be looked at as Bennett’s laziness to doing school work.

Secondly I looked at a snake, now snakes do not suit Bennett as a character not even close, but I thought it would be show aspects of Bennett that other animals would not be able to show, for example Bennett is mean and kind of a snake in a sense, we know this because in scene 1 Bennett says “Cissy told me about your fantasy, did you hear this Nicholas” which shows that if someone tells him something, and tells him not to tell, he would go around spreading the news like wildfire. Also I thought a snake was good because of the symbolism behind it with Adam & Eve and Satan who took the form as a snake, because Bennett kind of is the Satan of the school, everyone fears him apart from his friends, and he is the top dog of the school.

Last but not least i thought of a orca whale (killer whale) I didn’t do much research around this creature it just came to me and I was like “ooh this creature actually reminds me a lot of Bennett” and this is because killer whales are mean, they are soo mean to the point they literally bully penguins and seals for the fun of it. If there is a seal just chilling on top of a little ice raft a orca will just pop up and decide to break the ice, and throw the seal about and eventually drown the animal, not because they were hungry, but just because they find entertainment and pleasure in bullying weaker creatures than themselves.

I found that all these animals resembled parts of Bennett and all of them combined would completely resemble Bennett’s personality.

Uta Hangens nine questions

Who am I? I am Bennett Francis, a sixth form grammar school student. I am 17 years old, average height of 5’8, dark blondish hair, and grey eyes. In school everyone fears me, as i am the top dog that rules the school, I like to pick on people weaker than myself because i find a sense of satisfaction in doing so. my main target is Chadwick as he is an extremely easy and fun target to bully, I hate Tanya because she is always getting in my way and I also find pleasure in bullying William. I also have a big secret that no one can ever know because it will make me look weak, and i would loose my status as top dog if anyone were to find out, id like to open up about me being Bi curious but i can never do so nor find the right moment.

Where am I? I am currently the the upper school library with Nicholas, Cissy, Tanya, and Lilly. I am also currently waiting to go to a dentist appointment that I am terrified of.

What time is it? Its is Monday 10 November, 8:27 a.m. , and the year is 2009.

What surrounds me? There are a lot of book around me, my girlfriend and best friend is close to me too, William, Tanya, and Lilly are here too. Outside of the window I can see many cars and people, some of which are very late to school. Personally I don’t like this library its too nerdy for my taste, however it is a good ambush spot for Chadwick so I’ll sit and wait patiently.

What are the given circumstances? My given circumstances are that I am mean, scarred of the dentist, I’ve got a stuck up little sister, I like bullying Chadwick. I am dating Cissy, I think that Lilly and Nicholas are attractive. I don’t like revising, and I’m not revising.

What are my relationships? My best friend is Nicholas Chatman, he is also kind of my lackey, i like him because he is useful, strong, popular, and he is attractive. My girlfriend is Cissy Franks but that’s only because she was the most attractive girl in the school, I’ve gotten a bit bored of Cissy and tried to make a move on the new girl Lilly Cahill. I’m friends with Lilly Cahill because she’s fun, smart, a bit of a Tomboy, and she’s my best friends girlfriend. I absolutely hate Tanya Gleason, because shes always getting in the way and trying to stop me from messing with Chadwick, and she is unattractive and fat. I don’t really care about William Carlisle but if I see a good opportunity to mess with him and push his buttons i will do so because i find it hilarious. I absolutely love messing with Chadwick Meade, it is the most entertaining thing I could ever do, and have done. I hate and fear my little sister since my parents don’t like me and think of me as a disappointment, and anything Lucy Francis says will 100 percent will use it against me.

What do I want? I want to be considered as the top dog, of the school and be feared by others. But I also want others to know that I am Bi curious, and I also want to continue messing witch Chadwick.

What is in my way?nothing is in my way of being top dog, because I already am top dog, but if anyone could get in my way of that it would be Nicholas. The thing that is stopping me from revealing my secret about being Bi curious, is my status, and fear that if people know I’m Bi I will be bullied. And Tanya is the only thing trying to stop me from messing with Chadwick but she cant do anything about it.

What do I do to get what I want? I bully people into fearing me so I can rule over the school with fear, in a sense I’m a bit of a tyrant king. I would slowly open up to the people closest to me that I trust the most telling them I’m Bi curious. I wait in the library every single day for Chadwick to come in so I can mess with him.

Bennett’s psychology

As I explored the character of Bennett more, and learned more about the play and all the different characters i realized that Bennett shows psychopathic traits.

The term psychopath “isn’t a official medical diagnosis” however it does have meaning. A psychopath is someone who lacks empathy and they are emotionally ‘depraved’ of kindness. I got this from the way Bennett acts around Chadwick and William, since he has no hesitation using brute force and fear to get what he wants, and in scene 4 Bennett calls William a “brother fucker” here he is talking about Williams dead brother and insulting William at the same time.

Home Life

It is not stated in the play if Bennett has a good home life or not, so I used ‘magic if’ (go to Autumn commission -> unit one -> techniques) and Bennett’s and Lucy’s small interaction in scene 3 as my base for Bennett’s home life and relationship with his parents. In scene 3 Lucy say’s “mum say’s you’ve got to hurry up” showing that she is the favorite child and still in the same scene Bennett say’s ” My mum is already here to collect me. I saw her. I decided to just walk straight past her” this can be interpreted as Bennett not having a good relationship with his family. But why? so i decided to go back to the beginning and this will also explain why Bennett acts how he acts now. As a child Bennett had it tough growing up, he had to keep up with his parents expectations and so he had to study a lot, so in school he was considered a nerd and bullied for it, and when he didn’t do well enough he would get beaten by his parents and labeled a disappointment and it was like this most of his life, and then when Lucy came his parents treated her like royalty and this really got on Bennett’s nerves and made him snap and now whenever he sees a nerd in school that reminds him of his old self he wants to teach him a lesson, because nerds remind Bennett of his old self, and it is Chadwick who reminds him of his old self a lot so he wants to make Chadwick go through the same thing he went through. And because of all these events Bennett hates studying so he rarely does it, and so his parents call him a disappointment again and again.

Punk Rock Music List

from scene 1-7