Volu m e II - Purdue University Calumet

annoying, screechy voice as she is hollering for Demetrius. Her voice resembles very much so that of a
whining child that will continue to repeat themselves until they get what they want. She hollers his name
over and over again, with each time her voice getting more and more shrill. This repetition and annoying
tone very closely portrays a young child who wants something and will cry until they get it. This immature
tone of voice also plays a part in showing her lack of intelligence because she is seen as a whiny person that
instead of addressing her situation and approaching it through different means, she simply repeats herself
with a more annoying pitch every time in plans that she will eventually get what she wants. After giving up
on the situation and beginning to walk down the steps, she is speaking to herself while thinking about the
situation. In this monologue, she changes her tone of voice while speaking her two opinions as to whether
she is worthy of him or not. When she reaches the conclusion that Demetrius does not view her as fair as
Hermia, her tone slowly begins to get depressing and angry. She begins to degrade herself and enhances it
through this tone in her voice. This is a very childish way of coping with things, as her tone of voice
expresses her lack of self-esteem in the situation and shows her immatureness in dealing with inner
conflicts. Rather than thinking of a better explanation or giving herself a chance, she simply degrades herself
and it is expressed through her tone of voice how immature she is about the situation. In Helena’s next
scene, Hoffman continues to portray her childish and immature ways through her whiny tone of voice. As
Helena is trudging down the street, she is mumbling to herself about her situation with Demetrius. Her
tone of voice is very whiny and it sounds as if she is holding back tears in this part. Through this tone of
voice and mumbling, it portrays how Helena is acting very childish and immature about her situation and
instead of coming up with a course of action, she is simply whining and feeling sorry for herself. She
continuously degrades herself and it is seen through this whiny and frustrated tone of voice which is very
childish of a grown woman to do. Hoffman indeed portrays Helena to be childish, immature, and
unintelligent through her tone of voice throughout the film.
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