25 English -- Refund

Sketch the character of Wasserkopf.

1 Answers

Wasserkopf is the male lead of Fritz Karinthy's one-act play 'Refund. He is a forty-year-old man. He goes back to the school in which he had studied and demands a refund of the foes he had paid eighteen years back claiming that he had learnt nothing useful at school and he is now good-for-nothing. He is portrayed as a hopeless and sad man by the playwright. The unemployed broke blames his school for not preparing him well during his school life. He believes that his teachers have made him a failure. He presents himself very roughly and insolently in front of the staff of the school. His character is also a reflection of the poor education system. His behaviours show that he has not leant anything about discipline while he was a student. He sounds clever to some extent. His Mathematics Master also regards him as a cunning student. However, his wit stands secondary to his teachers'' as he is tricked into returning home empty-handed. The writer presents Wasserkopf as a stereotype to show the failure of modern-day education.

The play is a satire on the present-day education system. Do you think that our education system does not prepare students for life? Discuss.

'Refund' is a modern western one-act play by a Hungarian novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist and playwright, Fritz Karinthy. The author is well known for his satirical writing. The play 'Refund' written in 1938 is about a man about forty who goes back to the school in which he had studied and demands a refund of the fees he had paid eighteen years back claiming that he had learnt nothing useful at school and he is now good-for-nothing. Through the characterization of Wasserkopf, the...

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Explain the following line of the play:"Because I didn't get my money's worth, that's why!"

The above given line is extracted from a modern one act play entitled Refund by Hungarian novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist and playwright Fritz Karinthy. The author is well known for his satirical wrong. The Refund written 1938 is about a man about forty who goes back to the school in which he had stood and demands a refund of the fees he had paid eighteen years back claiming that he had nothing useful at school and he is now good for nothing.

Wasserkopf addresses the above...

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