An Analysis Of Buried Child

1150 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Buried child symbolism sam shepard

It’s amazing what a secret can do to a person. Keeping secrets among friends can be fun, or helpful when you need to confide in someone you trust. Other secrets can do more harm than good. They can fester inside you and cause endless pain. In “Buried Child,'; this is the case. The family is permanently altered by their secret, which becomes a growing moral cancer to them, leaving each impotent in their own way.
The play takes place on Dodge’s farm. About thirty years ago, the farm was fertile and prosperous. Dodge and Halie didn’t have a wonderful marriage, however. Things took a turn for the worse when Halie became pregnant with someone else. It is suggested that Tilden is the father. The evidence to support this includes the fact that the baby was small, and that Tilden would sing to it and take it for long walks all day, just talking to it and treating it as his own. “Tilden was the one who knew. Better than any of us. He’d walk for miles with that kid in his arms. Halie let him take it. All night sometimes.'; (p. 124) Dodge would not allow this abomination to grow up and live in his family, so he drowned it, and buried it in the backyard. We can guess that this is when the farm ceased to be fertile, and fell into disuse. This is a symbol of the death of honesty and the birth of the family’s terrible secret.
Why exactly does everything go wrong for this family? We don’t know exactly when the problems started, but we know that Ansel died on his honeymoon, Bradley cut off his own leg in a chain saw accident and is now mentally imbalanced, Tilden is nonfunctional and has been driven out of New Mexico, Dodge is a crazy old sick guy, and Halie is doing shady things with the preacher. Vince is the only person capable of facing the world and life, but he too is corrupted by the secret at the end. The answer to the question is that their secret, the dead child, is a secret festering them from the inside out. It is unclear how long this moral degradation took, it may have taken years for all this to happen. We do know that it has left everyone impotent.
Bradley is the most vivid example of this impotence. His false leg is his crutch, both figuratively and literally.

Show More
Related

  • Family Stone Conflict Theory

    1838 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Stone children find out that their mom is dying in the movie, which is a family crisis. The book states that the death of a parent is second on the severity of life stressor with only the death of a child above it. (Lauer, 2012, pg 290) The Stone family shows they are a resilient family and have developed this label from communicating well and have worked together to develop strengths that help them deal with stressors. (Lauer, 2012, pg 302) None of the family members avoid the problem or try to find blame in something or someone for their mom dying. Avoiding the problem and finding blame in others are two ineffective coping strategies that some individuals use. Avoidance can make individuals ignore the problem and turn to excessive drinking to help keep the problem off their mind. Scapegoating is when the individual acknowledges that there is a problem, but they turn on someone else and put the blame on him or her. The Stone family learns to cope with the crisis of their mom being sick in a way that brings them closer. They balance their concern with the concern of their mother and they work together to make a happy Christmas for her. They all realize it is hard to deal with there mom being sick, but they know that together they can handle it and they know their own worth and the worth of their family. In conclusion, the family realized the problem and worked

    Read More

  • Examples Of Secrets In Romeo And Juliet

    324 Words  | 1 Pages

    Secrets by their very definition are truths that are not mean to be known by others. As a result of that, if what is being held in is shocking or revealing, it can be destructive. When the truth behind a secret is revealed, it can lead to a break in trust between people, and conflicts that shouldn’t have happened.

    Read More

  • Richard Kim The Lost Name Analysis

    1593 Words  | 4 Pages

    Consequently, most families could not provide their dead bodies a decent burial. That is, could not afford to bury their dead in private cemeteries or graves. Most dead bodies were all packed and buried in one cemetery which they called a common burying ground. The writer states,” Kim states, about four miles out of town, between our house and the orchard, the cemetery lies at the foot of a hill that gradually rises up to become ...All our known ancestors are buried in the common burying ground…” According to the writer, he accompanied his father and grandfather to the cemetery one winter day, to pay homage to their dead, there they met other family friends and all others who also came to do the same thing and all were weeping which made him also to weep. They found themselves being humiliated by

    Read More

  • Conflict in August Wilson's Fences and How it Affects the Work

    1365 Words  | 3 Pages

    life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.

    Read More

  • Art Assessment Case Study

    1163 Words  | 3 Pages

    For secrets in the family and secrets that he keeps to himself, the client answered yes to both, however the client answered he would not get in trouble if he had told someone the secret. The dynamic of the family portrayed through the interview is that of the grandmother and client being enmeshed while the grandfather is isolated from the duo. The grandfather is viewed negatively and the secret may have to do with family dynamics that is out in the open between the grandmother, grandfather and the client himself as he does not feel he will get in trouble if the told the

    Read More

  • Dinner At The Homesick Restaurant Analysis

    1079 Words  | 3 Pages

    Their father, Beck, left the family when the children were young, the oldest one being about thirteen. Pearl was a major perfectionist, as well as an abusive mother. Of course, this had an effect on her children. Her middle son, Ezra, was the favorite child of the family. He was always trying to pull the family together. One of his tactics was through a dinner- he loved to cook, so he always tried to make a nice dinner for his family, that way they could enjoy one meal together. However, the family never made it through a single meal. Cody, the oldest son, was extremely jealous of Ezra. Every single thing that went wrong in his life, he blamed on Ezra, even though most things had nothing to do with Ezra. This jealously continued well into his adult life, to the point where he believed that even his wife preferred Ezra over himself. Jenny, the only daughter, remained afraid of her mother well into adulthood. She found herself following in her mother's footsteps, by mistreating her

    Read More

  • Autobiography Of Malcolm X Thesis

    865 Words  | 2 Pages

    The author describes the experiences that caused Malcolm to grow up as an angry teenager and young adult. The book helps people to understand why Malcolm changed while in prison. Haley gave examples of how Malcolm changed his life in a spiritual way. The readers of the book can see who Malcolm X truly was at different times during his life. Haley gives the reader a feeling of inspiration and strength because Malcolm X died fighting for what he believed was right for blacks in America and human beings in general.

    Read More

  • The Theme Of Trust In The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Nighttime

    960 Words  | 2 Pages

    Nothing hurts more than being betrayed by a loved one, Christopher’s father has no trust in Christopher and tells him that his “Mother died 2 years ago”(22) and Christopher thinks his mother died of a heart attack. When Christopher finds out his father lied, he runs away to live with his mother and his father despritally looks for him and while looking for him realizes the importance of telling the truth. When someone betrays one’s trust, they can feel morally violated. Once Christopher finds his mother, she begins to realize how unfit her living conditions are for Christopher and brings him back to his father, bring him “[..] home in Swindon”(207) Christopher feels incredibly hurt and distressed he does not want to see his father. Whether a relationship can be repaired depends entirely on whether trust can or cannot be restored. Christopher’s father works very hard to regain his trust, he tells his son “[..] I don’t know about you, but this...this just hurts too much”, Christopher’s father is dealing with the result of being dishonest with his son and himself.

    Read More

  • Naguib Mahfouz' Fountain and Tomb

    1586 Words  | 4 Pages

    An issue which is mentioned throughout the story is the concept of “Ignorance is bliss”, which is an old cliche meaning what we don’t know can’t hurt us. While massaging his naked female neighbor’s body, the narrator is asked if he’s going to tell his mother. No, he answers. “So you even know that certain things are better left unsaid! You really are a devil” (Mahfouz, 13). The neighbor makes the obvious point that sometimes there are things that don’t have to be repeated, for the benefit of all the parties involved. Some might argue that the Truth will always come out, and by hiding it someone will end up being affected by it much more later on. But that is only if the information does get repeated. Knowledge doesn’t always have to be repeated, as was shown by our narrator and his neighbor. If the narrator had told his mother, would any of the parties benefit from this knowledge?

    Read More

  • Assisted Living Vs Nursing Home Essay

    632 Words  | 2 Pages

    Staff is diligently trained for a weeks’ time focusing on the safety precautions, how to handle behaviors, and how to grant that all needs are met. Most often times in nursing homes or even assisted living facilities ISP meetings are held. These meetings occur before a resident is admitted into the facilities as well as once a month to check in with the individual and family members that all needs are being met by staff. In addition to checking in if any changes must be made to their care plans. Many individuals in the nursing home are there for similar reasons. It is more difficult for the family members to provide care due to the fact that they have to watch the decrease in their loved one, not only physically but mentally as well. Some might argue that not having that emotional attachment is beneficial in these types of

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Sam Shepard's Buried Child

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sam Shepard’s Buried Child was first presented in 1978. This play depicts America’s disappointment and disillusionment with the American Dream and other myths that have accumulated in American cultural consciousness and the resulting breakdown of traditional family structures and values. Buried Child incorporates many Post-modern elements such as the mixing of genres, the deconstruction of a grand narrative and the use of pastiche and layering and symbolism within the realistic framework of a ‘family drama’. The use of these post-modern elements is to show the universal frustrations of the American people-a constant sense of loss that haunts the characters. Through their dialogues loaded with lamentations, one gets a clear view of

    Read More

  • Theme Of A Dead Woman's Secret

    1098 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the short story “ A Dead Woman’s Secret by Guy de Maupassant, the basic theme is devoted to family and private relationships. The main characters in the story are Marguerite (the daughter), the judge (the son), the priest, and the deceased mother. Marguerite is a nun and she is very religious. The dead woman’s son, the Judge, handled the law as a weapon with which he smote the weak ones without pity. The story begins by telling the reader that the woman had died quietly, without pain. The author is very descriptive when explaining the woman’s appearance - “Now she was resting in her bed, lying on her back, her eyes closed, her features calm, her long white hair carefully arranged as though she had done it up ten minutes before dying. The whole pale countenance of the dead woman was so collected, so calm, so resigned that one could feel what a sweet soul had lived in that body, what a quiet existence this old soul had led, how easy and pure the death of this parent had been” (1). The children had been kneeling by their mother’s bed for awhile just admiring her. The priest had stopped by to help the children pass by the next hours of great sadness, but the children decided that they wanted to be alone as they spend the last few hours with their mother. Within in the story, the author discusses the relationship between the children’s father and their mother. The father was said to make the mother most unhappy. Great

    Read More

  • Loss In Children

    531 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hearing loss is a non-discriminatory condition. It can happen to anyone, at any age. Children or babies may not understand that they have hearing difficulties. Depending on the cause of their hearing loss they may indicate simply by pulling on their ears. If they are able to speak, they may as “Huh?” frequently or turn up the volume on the radio or television. Preventative care and regular hearing screenings may help significantly reduce the risk of hearing loss in children, or help prevent it from becoming worse.

    Read More

  • Depression: The Symptoms Of Depression

    1021 Words  | 3 Pages

    However, the most common causes include abuse, medications, conflicts, death or a loss, genetics, major events, serious illnesses, substance abuse, and other personal problems. Abuse, which could be physical, sexual or emotional, in the early stages of life can cause depression in the later years of someone’s life. Researchers believe that abuse harms parts of the hippocampus, part of brain, which causes him to be more vulnerable to depression. Specific medications have side effects that is or can lead to depression. Medications can off balance the chemicals levels in the brain, producing depression, An example would be the acne treatment, Accutane or the antiviral drug, interferon-alpha. Someone can also develop depression from the emotional harm done by fighting with family members or a loved one. Experiencing someone close moving out of your life usually always makes a person sad, but depressed people are more than just sad; they believe that their life is unimportant and hopeless. Scientists know that depression is hereditary by studying the patterns of illnesses in families to determine a percentage of how much the cause of depression was caused by genes, which is called the heritability. Specifically they look at a twin who has depression sees if the other has depression and they came to the conclusion that the heritability is 40-50% (Levinson 1). Genes can cause depression, but so can other stressful, more emotional things, like when a major event is stressing a person out. This could mean a new job, graduating, getting married, losing a job, getting divorced, and retiring. Sometimes depression is a reaction to a major illness, or co-exists. Substance abuse and depression is one of those situations of which came first. Sometimes depression caused substance abuse, while substance abuse can cause depression. Adding to this long list, any other personal problems, like being bullied or

    Read More

  • Sam Shepard Buried Child Sparknotes

    811 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sam Shepard wrote Buried Child in 1978, and it was first produced at the Magic theatre in San Francisco on 27 June the same year. It won him the Pullitzer Prize for drama in 1979. Buried Child is the second in series of family plays, which includes the first The Curse of the Starving Class (1976) and others like True West (1980), Fool for Love (1983) and A Lie of the Mind (1985). Although a work of fiction, Buried Child has a number of autobiographical elements from Shepard’s own background. Shepard’s paternal grandfather had a dairy farm in Illinois; Dodge is a Shepard family name, his father struggled all his life with alcoholism, from his several uncles, one of them died in a motel room on his wedding night, like the dead Ansel in the play,

    Read More

More about An Analysis Of Buried Child

Open Document