David Mamet's, "Oleanna" is story about blackmail, power, and scandal. Carol is a twenty-year-old college student. Naive and insecure at times, she is worried about her grade. She doesn't understand the professor or his course so she feels insufficient, and threatened. Carol clearly states that she can't afford to fail the course. Using blackmail mixed with charm, Carol will go beyond any limit to bring the professor down.
             In Act I Carol puts on a fake innocent and emotional act. Whenever she speaks, she lets the professor cut her off. Later she claims to be confused and frustrated because she doesn't understand John's lesson. "...and I walk around. From morning 'til night with this one thought in my head. I'm stupid." Then Carol turns it around and accuses him of calling her stupid. "You think I'm stupid. You said it." Carol's worries and insecurities spill out during class:
             Nobody tells me anything. And I sit there ... in the corner. In the back. And everybody's talking about "this" all the time. And "concepts," and "precepts" and, and, and, and, and, WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS AND I'M FAILING ...
             Carol uses this long emotional outburst to display her discomfort with the professor's lesson. This is a perfect example that shows Carol's insecurity with herself. She's not strong at all so she panics and uses her emotions to suffice.
             Later In Act I, Carol displays a conniving trait. She pretends to have sympathy for John by asking him about his personal problems. "You said everyone has problems. You do? What are they?" After John discusses his problems with his wife and work to Carol, she uses the conversation in which she initiated against him. Carol filed a sexual harassment report against John, which stated: "He told me he had problems with his wife; and that he wanted to take of...