BC, which also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979, is one of the plays which he dedicated to his father Sam, who was in the military during World War II in Shepard’s early childhood years. Samuel Shepard Rogers III, born November 5th 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, is the oldest of three children. He was nicknamed Steve, since his name came down through seven generations of men. He then changed his name into Sam Shepard. (Sparr, 6) His play has been influenced by his personal life, especially by his father. In his play, the men are all alcoholics and bound to the darker side. Shepard lived in a family filled with aggression, where the men around him were mostly violent alcoholics. (Lahr, 27) Alcoholism goes far back in his life, to the point where he cannot remember one single sober man . (Howe, 14) Thinking about his father, he believes that he owes his father a large part of his identity and his damage. Shepard remembers that his father lost his farm in Duarte, after he started drinking, in order to forget his ruined life. (Lahr, 30) This can be put into comparison with Dodge not bei...
Laramie project is very sensitive and crucial issue which was wisely broad up in the form of a docudrama in front of the community. The story of Matthew Shepard's highlighted many issues like hate crime, gay/lesbian relationship and personal identity which are still considered as tactful for many peoples. This play also described the role of media, police and an individual in the entire process and shows the influence of this incidence on a person's life.
the play. It looks at the person he is and the person he becomes. It
...d few such as Anna, Stella, and Alice who broke free of the poison, lived their lives as Sam Toms’ did who rooted the family. They as he did lied, cheated, manipuled, and kept secrets to try to live a happy life which in actuality their lives were anything but.
Undoubtedly, Michael Tritt uses a psychological strategy to critically analyze “Young Goodman Brown”. He carefully constructs his criticism through quotes from other critics and the short story. Sigmund Freud is also quoted because he theorized the projection process.
Baldwin’s story presents the heart breaking portrayal of two brothers who have become disconnected through respective life choices. The narrator is the older brother who has grown past the depravity of his childhood poverty. The narrator’s profession as an algebra teacher reflects his need for a “black” and “white,” orderly outlook on life. The narrator believes he has escaped life’s sufferings until the death of his daughter and the troubling news about his brother being taken in for drug possession broadside him to the reality of life’s inevitable suffering. In contrast, his brother, Sonny has been unable to escape his childhood hardships and has ended up on the wrong side of the law. While their lives have taken ...
Then, in the play, Wilson looks at the unpleasant expense and widespread meanings of the violent urban environment in which numerous African Americans existed th...
My response to this play I will detail in five sections. This play was written by Tennesssee Williams and premiered in the mid 50s. This play is a southern drama with subjects involving death, mendacity, alcoholism and family disagreement.
The writer of the world’s most enduring children’s classic did not come from wealth or outstanding intellect; he began his life in Florida, Missouri. Samuel Clemens’ father, educated in law, modeled the motivation that often defines the American dream; with determination and hard work, success can be achieved (Erskine). Unfortunately, Clemens’ father was never able to achieve his dreams, and he died shortly after moving his family to the banks of the Mississippi River (Erskine). Jane Clemens, his mother, became the central influence of his life, and would later influence his choice of a wife (Erskine).
In the novel Ragtime, many aspects of the American society are explored. The reader gets an understanding of the history and hardships of different social classes, races, and cultures during the last century. A persistent theme established is the existence of the American dream. Doctorow expresses his fascination of the social mobility since it includes the impoverished and underprivileged. However, he highlights that when attempting to reach success, one is required to make sacrifices, negotiating his morality and identity. Tateh and Coalhouse are crucial examples of how the demands, prejudices, and opportunities of the American society can change a man’s mentality.
In The Glass Menagerie, by Tennessee Williams, we embark on the task of seeing a family living in the post WWII era. The mother is Amanda, living in her own world and wanting only the best for her son, Tom. Tom, a dreamer, tired of Amanda’s overbearing and constant pursuit of him taking care of the family, wants to pursue his own goals of becoming a poet. He is constantly criticized and bombarded by his mother for being unsuccessful. This drives him to drinking and lying about his whereabouts, and eventually at the end of the play, he ends up leaving. An example of Amanda and Tom’s quarrel I when he quotes, “I haven’t enjoyed one bit of this dinner because of your constant directions on how to eat it. It’s you that makes me rush through meals with your hawklike attention to every bit I take.”(302) Laura, on the other hand, is shy and out of touch with reality because of a slight disability, in which she is comfort...
In Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, the interconnection of people and events, that might ordinarily be viewed as disconnected or unrelated, is implicitly presented in the characters section. Dual roles are implemented by a playwright that has one actor portraying the roles of two or more characters, with or without thematic intentions. The use of “dual roles” in several scenes of this play can be viewed as a demonstration of Kushner’s effort in maintaining the interconnectedness between characters, communities (i.e. queer, heterosexual, AIDS and political communities) and events to which they are relative. This essay will argue that Kushner’s use of dual role’s effectively interconnects characters, events and their communities that may be seen as usually unrelated. Analysis of four specific characters, Antarctica, Oceania, Australia and Europa, in Act Five, Scene Five of “Perestroika”, will demonstrate the connection of each Act Five, Scene Five character, to the actors main character based on the implicit evidence presented in the actors “primary” and “secondary” roles, the scenes dialogue and the character interactions. As one will see, by implementing dual roles, Kushner is able to expand or preserve the concept of a major character while the actor portrays another character, keeping the audience from having to completely renegotiate their knowledge between what they physically see of new characters and actually use the new context to view triumphs and struggles for a major character.
... the miserable life that African Americans had to withstand at the time. From the narrator’s life in Harlem that he loathed, to the drug problems and apprehensions that Sonny was suffering from, to the death of his own daughter Grace, each of these instances serve to show the wretchedness that the narrator and his family had to undergo. The story in relation to Baldwin possibly leads to the conclusion that he was trying to relate this to his own life. At the time before he moved away, he had tried to make a success of his writing career but to no avail. However, the reader can only be left with many more questions as to how Sonny and the narrator were able to overcome these miseries and whether they concluded in the same manner in the life of Baldwin.
In conclusion, the short story "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin brings out two main themes: irony and suffering. You can actually feel the pain that Baldwin's characters experience; and distinguish the two different lifestyles of siblings brought up in the same environment. The older brother remaining nameless is a fabulous touch that really made me want to read on. This really piqued my interest and I feel it can lead to many discussions on why this technique was used. I really enjoyed this story; it was a fast and enjoyable reading. Baldwin keeps his readers thinking and talking long after they have finished reading his stories. His writing technique is an art, which very few, if any, can duplicate.
McHaney, Pearl A. Lecture on The Glass Menagerie. Engl 3860-American Drama. Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA. 20 June 2006.
Tennessee Williams play The Glass Menagerie relives the horrors of the Great Depression and the effects it had on many people's lives. The story is in many ways about the life of Tennessee Williams himself, as well as a play of fiction that he wrote. However, the story is based on Tennessee and his family's struggle to emotionally deal with the harsh realities that followed the crash of 1929 (807).