I Object

Author’s note: This is a piece focusing on Text Analysis. I am writing a play of a scene in the book Rules of the Road. The purpose is to show how a teenager can make a huge difference is someone’s life.

Narrator 1: Mrs. Gladstone is an old woman who is facing her fear right now. Her son, Elden is trying to take over her beloved business.

Narrator 2: Jenna has been Mrs. Gladstone’s chauffer and assistant all summer. They have got to know each other very well over the course of this time.

Narrator 1: Mrs. Gladstone explains to the stock holders of her business what happens today this is their reaction.

Mrs. Gladstone: *Standing at podium* I am retiring from my beloved job today.

Jenna: *pop up from sitting in a seat in the back of the room* Mrs. Gladstone, no!

Crowd: *Few clap* *most have their mouths wide open*

Jenna: *walk towards the podium*

Elden: *Whisper Loudly*

Mrs. Gladstone: Oh, but she is a stock holder, Elden. Fifty Shares. I gave them to her.

Elden: *Look disgusted*

Jenna: *Stand at the podium* I got fired today,

Crowd: *Gasp*

Jenna: I’m Mrs. Gladstone’s Driver and personal assistant. Elden has just tried to put me back on a plane to Chicago because I don’t like the way he’s been treating his mother. I don’t like the way he’s been treating this company, either.

Elden: *Stand up* I think that is quite enough!

Man 1: Let her speak!

Elden: *sit down*

Jenna: *Take a deep breath* See I know what selling shoes ought to be because I had the privilege to know Harry Bender. I’ve been hanging with Mrs. Gladstone all summer long. I’ve gotten dunked in what good business should be like so much that I can smell something wrong a mile off.

Elden: *Croaks and Squeaks*

Jenna: I’ve been on the road with Mrs. Gladstone this summer. We’ve visited Gladstone stores from Peoria to Shreveport. And I can tell you those economic brands aren’t doing this company one bit of good. People come into Gladstone Shoes expecting quality, just like people on a paper route expect their carrier to deliver what the customer ordered. You don’t start tossing a Chicago Weekly instead of a Chicago Tribune. You would have no way of keeping your job.

Elden: *Groans*

Crowd: *Claps softly*

Jenna: I am the youngest one in this room by far, but I can tell you that the teenagers I know take their money seriously. We work hard for it just like all of you. We are looking for product to buy that we can trust. We’re looking for respect when we walk into a store. I think one of the best ways to show respect to anyone is to give them the best you’ve got to give. I can believe that is what Gladstone’s has offered to customers all these years.

Elden:*Frowning*

Mrs. Gladstone: *Smiling proud*

Jenna: So I am taking my fifty shares of stock and voting on Mrs. Gladstone to stay with this business, somehow. I know that this isn’t a ballot but that’s what I’m going to write on mine. Because I know that if she stays connected, this company will have a chance to keep the good things that everyone expects from Gladstone’s Shoes that people like Mrs. Gladstone and Harry Bender always kept safe.

Jenna: *Swallow Hard*

Jenna: *Whisper* I’m done.

Man 1: I’m voting with you.

Crowd: *Stand up one by one* Me too.

*Pause*

Announcer: The vote has been approved by the holders of seventy-three percent of the voting shares.

Mrs. Gladstone: *Stand straight and proud*

Announcer: But, over four hundred votes came in for Madeline Gladstone to stay with her company.

Crowd: *Clap*

Mrs. Gladstone: *Ram her cane to the ground* I accept! My son can tell you the woman in my family live to a ripe, old age. So, Elden I’m going to be around for a long, long time. Won’t that be nice dear?

Elden: *Half/ fake smile*

Narrator 1: Elden is now miserable and gloomy because he has to now spend time with the person he hates the most, his own mother.

Narrator 2: This is what happens when you get in between a woman and her business.