Terrance+Williams

**//Level 8: Battle of the Ages//**

// A bout between the much older candidates of "Taming of the Shrew" and the young, but determined, opponents in "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World." // // A battle of who's the better woman, in the man's eyes //

"Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" is a modern, mutated descendant of its much older, but clearly similar, ancestor "Taming of the Shrew". The resemblance lies in the aspects of a woman's role to be a man's possession in a relationship based on his preferences. In "Taming of the Shrew", Petruchio sees companionship and obedience as a necessity in his relationship with his wife. As in "Scott Pilgrim", the main character, a young adult, too has an idea of what an exemplary girlfriend in a relationship should be, although his perspective reflects the wants and likings of a less mature person.

Ramona, Scotts soon to be girlfriend, shows her efforts throughout the movie by edging Scott toward his ambitions, but not quite being as blunt, as compared to Katherine, who candidly bows to Petruchio, as a pet, acceding his preference for his wife's obedience. Scott and Petruchio too share common ground, but in utilizing the perks supplied by a woman in a relationship. However, Petruchio is more inclined to be more satisfied by his wife, as Scott does not have as high a status with his lady as marriage. So, Petruchio's thirsts for mature characteristics are more viable to be tended to by his more than willing wife, compared to Scott's more youthful obligations, such as wealth and friendship, which are answered with ample attempts, only because of her young age and lack of experience. Both stories prove that a woman's sole purpose in a relationship is to fulfill their male partner's interests as far as possessions and belongings, a reflection of his desires and wants based on his age. But, the performance of the woman in efforts to accommodate those pleasures is a direct correlation of her age and experience.

**//Round 1: The First Hit//**
** "Come, I will bring thee to thy bridal chamber... ** ** My falcon now is sharp and passing empty... **  ** another way I have to man my haggard." **

(Act 4, Scene 1, 178-193)

//At this point in the play, Petruchio is leading Katherine to her room for the night, after refusing her dinner. Although Katherine had claimed she would have enjoyed the food, she never actually put any effort into going against Petruchio; she just let it happen, although she wasn't satisfied. Her obedience was further proven as there was no dialogue by Katherine, after Petruchio commanded her to "come." as he brought her there. He focuses on his perspective of his wife being a pet, as he "brings" her to her room, like a person would bring their pet home on a leash she's human, she has full potential to walk, but Petruchio sees differently. He then discusses with himself how he now is taming Katherine as a falconer would tame his falcon. He is acknowledging that he is viewing his wife as a pet, and is succeeding in one of his many methods of training her, but Katherine doesn't seem to mind any of it.//

//**An awesome play by Katherine. Her effort was calm and quiet, but man did it get the job done. **// A grand total of 27 points for the elder one.
 * Effort: || 8 ||
 * Perfromance: || 9 ||
 * Satisfaction: || 10 ||
 * Total: || 27 ||

//**In "Scott Pilgrim," the man of the of the relationship too values an important characteristic in his girlfriend, but his idea of important varies compared to Petruchio's, although Ramona is less compliant, but still willing, to provide.**//



//As soon as Scott and Ramona's relationship first kicks off, Ramona immediately tends to Scotts by volunteering to be his source for a place to keep warm and sleep for the night, which is great for Scott considering he doesn't even have his own house. Ramona doesn't even wait for Scott to ask for something to keep warm; she immediately gives Scott an impressively diverse list of teas to satisfy his desire for something warm. She allows Scott to sleep there for the night, but only that night. Ramona's efforts at fulfilling Scott's needs were very impressive, but not permanent. Ramona's performance was feeble compared Katherine's, who gave a much more subtle response to Petruchio's needs, but much more satisfying, as Petruchio clearly thinks he is succeeding at "taming" Katherine. Ramona is shown to have the potential to execute, but her young age and lack of experience thwarts her from pleasing 100%, as Scott wakes up frantically wondering whether would be able to come back again. Unfortunately, he doesn't, and is still living in his gay roommate's apartment the next day. The effort shown by both ladies in the different text remains exemplary, but the age difference proves to be the one denominator that results in one male being more appeased than the other.//

//**Another good performance by Ramona, but was she equally succesful? **// **// Ramona fell short just a few points from her older competitor. //**
 * Effort: || 10 ||
 * Perfromance: || 10 ||
 * Satisfaction: || 5 ||
 * Total: || 25 ||

**// After a heated battle between the two avid competitors, Katherine takes Round 1. //**

**//Round 2: The "Submission"//**
** "Thy husband is thy lord, thy keeper...one that cares for thee... ** ** Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway when they are bound to serve, love, and obey... And place your hands below your husband's foot... **  ** My hand is ready, may it do him ease." **

(Act 5, Scene 2, 162-195)

//This scene in the play is one of the most thought provoking scene in the entire book. Petruchio announces that he will hold a competition, testing which man has the most obedient wife. He declared whichever man can get his wife to come to him will be pronounced the winner. Two husbands consecutively fail before it is Petruchio's turn to prove his authority, and without fail she comes. She not only comes to respond to Petruchio, but she goes above and beyond; she brings the other two disobedient wives so they can witness her thoughts on what a wife should be- which strongly resembles that of which Petruchio had required from her throughout the entire play. She exuberantly prances around the room while giving this stunning harangue for the entire ballroom to hear. Katherine admits that, as a wife, she is "bound to serve, love and obey" her husband. Katherine is finally submitting to Petruchio 100%. She says she a wife should serve Petruchio, as if he owns her... and the obedience of Katherine has already been established. At the end of her tirade, Petruchio is so astonished at the performance of his wife; he gives her a full-blown kiss, and then chases her, because he longs for more of that more than satisfactory display from his wife.//

//**Impressive stuff shown by the older competitor Let's see what the numbers look like. **// **// A PERFECT SCORE! That's going to be hard to beat. //** //**Likewise, Ramona eventually submits to Scott completely at the end of the film, but she is not as open and enthusiastic as Katherine was. However, at the looks of Scott's reaction, he seems more than satisfied .**//
 * Effort: || 10 ||
 * Perfromance: || 10 ||
 * Satisfaction: || 10 ||
 * Total: || 30 ||



//A key feature in this film is the reward Scott receives each time he beats one of Ramona's exes, bringing him closer to truly having Ramona for himself. After Scott wins, the losing ex explodes into hundreds of thousands of gold coins, which are actually a legal tender currency in the movie that can be used as money. Each time Scott beats an ex, the reward is more plentiful. It started off with only 35 cents, which he collected when he beat the first ex, and Scott replied with a depressing tone, "This isn't even enough for the bus." But nonetheless, Ramona is right there by his side reassuring him that she will pay for the rest. Ramona remains not only Scott's way of transportation and housing, but his financial foundation as well, seeing as Scott has no job and has quit the band- which was the only opportunity he would ever have of receiving any money. The very last ex that Scott beats, Gideon, is actually not an ex, he is Ramona's current boyfriend. When Scott beats Gideon, the room floods with seven million dollars of gold coins, and under the digits at the top of the screen that reads 7,000,000 is none other than Ramona. This symbolizes that the financial reward provided for Scott, was provided by Ramona, and is Ramona. Ramona is the money that Scott is winning. The bounty that filled the room wasn't even earned by Scott himself. He was assisted in the defeating of Gideon by Ramona and his ex-girlfriend knives as well.//

//"Scott Pilgrim" ends happily, like a fairy tale. After Scott asks if he could "try again," when talking about their relationship, Ramona doesn't say a word. She simply takes Scott by the hand and leads him to a door standing in the middle of a parking lot- the same door they went through the first time Ramona took Scott to her house. The significant difference this time is that Ramona is not only being Scott's source for a home, Ramona says she wants to start a new life, after recently moving from New York to Toronto, Canada. Ramona isn't only willing to share her life with Scott; she wants to share her new life with Scott. When she first came to Toronto, she had to look for a new job. Now, when she leaves again, she'll have to find another one, but she is willing to do it all with Scott.//

//**Ramona strikes again with another good performance, but will it be enough to tie Katherine's perfect score? **// **// OUCH! Only a few points shy from a perfect score. //**
 * Effort: || 8 ||
 * Perfromance: || 10 ||
 * Satisfaction: || 10 ||
 * Total: || 28 ||

**// Another close round. By a score of 28 to 30, Katherine takes round 2 //**

// The Postgame: // // Well, there we have it. The older competitor wins the hard fought duel. It just goes to show you how far a little bit of maturity and experience can go. //

//To Scott, Ramona is his house, his food, his warmth and his money. But, all these things are the trivial desires and needs of Scott, who finds himself being an unemployed young adult without a home or money before Ramona entered his life. These things prove to be irrelevant compared to much older Petruchio who is, independently, financially stable, an owner of an enormous estate and is more concerned with his wife's character than material things. But, nonetheless, Ramona still provides Scott's seemingly inferior desires as his girlfiend, just as Katherine devotes her entire self-being to Petruchio as his wife. These two entertaining pieces show us what males in society expect from their women in a relationship. Younger males tend to want their women to be the provider of earthly possessions, such as money and housing, as compared to older males who tend to require their women to provide themselves, but with specific characteristics and traits that will make the woman his, such as obedience and servitude. As people get older, possessions with momentary value become less important and their eyes are opened up to more relevant things life.//