Summary
Carol abruptly redirects the conversation, restating that she would like to discuss her grade. John offers to make her a deal, saying that he will restart the course and give her an A if she will stay in his office and discuss with him. Carol is confused by John’s suggestion that the course can just be restarted and he clarifies that he is willing to break the rules and create a one-on-one course because he likes her.
Carol seems to agree to John’s proposal and continues with her questions, asking about his writing on hazing. John explains that higher education resembles hazing insofar as it is a cultural norm in which every person is expected to participate. Uncertain of the validity of this claim, Carol begins to doubt John’s assertions. In response, John pushes her to recall an example he gave in class which, under pressure, she is unable to articulate clearly. John clarifies that the example he gave was about the right to a fair trial, free of prejudice. Likewise, he says, one has a right to avoid a societal prejudice toward higher education. Carol seems to object to the notion that it is prejudice to go to college and John encourages her to articulate these feelings further. However, he continues to talk over her, leading Carol to scream “I’M SPEAKING.”
Carol’s outburst rattles John, who apologizes for talking over her and asks her to continue. Carol identifies the irony in presenting the claim that college education is prejudice in a college classroom. John justifies his claim by stating that it is his job to provoke students. This leads John to recall an anecdote he heard as a child. Rich people, he says, copulate less than poor people but take off more clothing when they do. Despite knowing that this piece of information is undoubtedly false, he has remembered it throughout his life. Like the anecdote, John says, Carol has been trained to see higher education as an unquestionably positive force, regardless of its actual value.
Carol remarks that she is keeping John from his other responsibilities, which leads John to scribble down a note. He explains that Carol’s aside reminded him about his home life, specifically his frustration toward paying school tax despite sending his child to a private school. While talking, John notices that Carol is dutifully taking notes and remarks that since it is not a lecture she should feel free to just listen. Carol replies that she is taking notes because she wants to be sure to correctly remember what he is saying.
Guiding the discussion back to the material, John suggests that the two of them review some statistics on wage-earning ability and college education. Carol clarifies that she cannot understand the statistical charts and, when John tries to explain, grows frustrated. Increasingly angry, Carol says that she spends the whole class smiling, unable to understand John or the discussion. In an attempt to calm her down, John walks over to her and puts his arm around her shoulder. Startled, she screams “NO!” which leads John to attempt to soothe her by telling her to relax and forget about her anger. After calming down a bit, Carol reiterates that she is distressed because she cannot understand John, which leads her to feel bad about herself. With John coaxing her along, Carol begins to confess a secret.
The phone rings before Carol can reveal her secret. John picks it up, telling the party on the other end that he is still busy. The audience hears only half of the conversation but it appears that John’s home-buying plans have fallen through. John grows increasingly angry, cursing about a disagreement relating to the home’s easement. After John hangs up the phone, Carol asks why he is upset. Rather than answer directly, John reveals that he is supposed to go to a surprise party to celebrate his tenure announcement in their new home. Carol suggests that John may need to leave in order to make it to the party and John agrees. The scene ends with John remarking that a surprise is a form of aggression.
Analysis
In this section, Carol and John’s conversation turns in a more serious way to the content of John’s class, which Carol again emphasizes that she does not understand. He is a professor of education, which causes the conversation to become confusingly self-referential. It is John’s belief that higher education is not an intrinsic good. The fact that many people believe it to be so, according to John, results in all kinds of unnecessary pain. Students are forced to learn and regurgitate information, and are punished or humiliated when they cannot retain this information. According to John, everyone might simply be happier if education was not considered necessary.
This revelation leads to some interesting insights about both Carol and John. Carol, who is by turns confused and displeased by John’s philosophy, is a student with a clear investment in her education. She is terrified of failing John’s class and even more terrified by the possibility that she might not have a place at the university. Carol takes it for granted that education is good, and though John’s class makes her miserable, she clearly wants nothing more than to reap the benefits of it. John’s belief that education makes people unhappy provokes Carol’s fear that she does not belong in his class. After all, if John is correct and higher education is not universally, or even usually, desirable, than why should he care about helping Carol do well in class?
John, meanwhile, seems even more baffled by his own beliefs about education. As Carol is quick to point out, there is a deep irony in the fact that John uses his platform as a professor to claim that the university is a harmful institution. The irony is deepened by John’s use of academic language, which Carol finds confusing. Even as he explains his belief that institutions of higher learning are cruel to their students, John continues to upset and demean his own student. He cannot help but reinforce the power dynamic between teacher and student, in spite of the fact that he criticizes it. The revelation of these ironies at the core of John’s character show that his position is unsustainable. Regardless of Carol’s actions, Mamet hints, John cannot go on like this, lecturing about a philosophy that is fundamentally at odds with his powerful role as a lecturer.
The mood of this scene becomes increasingly tense, with the conflict between the two characters growing louder, angrier, and more physical. Therefore, it seems that Carol might be the breaking point in John’s career. Though his lifestyle is clearly too full of contradictions to continue as it is much longer, Carol brings these contradictions to the fore and forces John to acknowledge them.
