Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard

1500 Words3 Pages

Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard has always written plays that have numerous illusions to frustrate the reader. Shepard has also been known for several twists in his plays, and also makes the reader believe in something that is not real. Born in 1943, Shepard always enjoyed Theatre and Playwriting. Now, nearly 60 years of age, Shepard is one of the most famous playwrights in America.

In Shepard’s Buried Child, there are many twists and turns that have the reader wondering and wanting more. Buried Child can be similar to classic plays such as Oedipus Rex, where Shepard includes the theme of incest. He has also included many symbolic objects and Native American symbols of renewal with the large quantity of vegetables in the backyard of the family’s house.

There are seven main characters in this play, the majority belonging to one family. The first impression seems like the family in the play are a normal Middle American family. Dodges one-track alcoholic mind, Halie’s irritating personality, and Tilden’s distant relationship with his father seems fairly typical of an elderly family; however, this is far from the truth.

The play begins with Dodge, who is in his seventies, may not have much longer to live. He has an unhealthy cough, which gives the thought that he is extremely ill. In the play, Shepard is pointing out that Dodge is not only sick physically, but also mentally. His vicious cough seems to show the progression of his illness throughout the play.

The introduction of Tilden, Dodge’s son, is quite unusual; he enters the house with an armful of corn and drops it in front of his father. The significance of this action will be noticed further into the play. When Tilden brings the corn in from the backyard, his father looks at him and tells him to give the corn back, thinking he has stolen it. Dodge snaps, "I haven't planted corn back there since 1935, so take that damn corn back form where ever you got it.” Yet, Tilden argues that the entire back yard is filled with tall stalks of corn, carrots and potatoes.

Tilden is a young man living with his parents after getting in trouble in New Mexico. Halie, Tilden’s mother and Dodge’s wife, is abnormally protective of Tilden, which he is not allowed to do or say anything without the permission of Dodge or herself. Halie is constantly worrying about Ti...

... middle of paper ...

...the family, and will hopefully lead them in a positive direction.

The ending of this play comes to the conclusion that this family can never be a normal Middle American family. This family is at a loss, and will probably never see life the way that they have before. I believe the message Shepard is trying to reach out to the reader is that secrets and dishonesty can tear a family apart and make them go insane. Unfortunately for this play, the terrible secret was exposed too late.

Shepard created an ending which the world could appreciate its simplicity yet complications. Buried Child explores the inner tensions of a rural existence, father-son relationships, and the place women hold in an ambiguous domestic atmosphere. Simply poetic, humorous, and mysterious, Buried Child is a vision of a troublesome family transformed into a symbol of America's loss of innocence. This play made Shepard a Pulitzer Prize winner in 1979, and is very much earned.

Bibliography

Jacobus, Lee A. 1994. The Bedford Introduction to Drama--Third edition. Microphil Publications.

American Repertory Theatre. “Past Productions: Buried Child.” Dec. 96 http://www.amrep.org/past/buried/buried.html

Show More
Related

  • Overview: As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

    919 Words  | 2 Pages

    William Faulkner’s novel As I Lay Dying takes place in the fictional town of Yaknapatawpha, Mississippi in the 1920’s. It is set in the summertime in the ‘deep south’, which had continual dry and hot conditions. The novel tells of the quest of the Bundren family to bury Addie Bundren in Jefferson, where her family was buried. The Bundren family goes through many unexpected trials on this journey, but still manages to bury Addie where she requested. Among her children, were two of her four sons, Darl and Vardaman. They both had different perspectives and ways of understanding people and Addie’s death. Darl and Vardaman’s perspectives differed widely because of the age difference and maturity levels.

    Read More

  • In the Fall, by Alistair Macleod

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...e on her part. Throughout the story, the Mother is portrayed as the dominant figure, which resembled the amount of say that the father and children had on matters. Together, the Father, James, and David strived to maintain equality by helping with the chickens and taking care of Scott; however, despite the effort that they had put in, the Mother refused to be persuaded that Scott was of any value and therefore she felt that selling him would be most beneficial. The Mother’s persona is unsympathetic as she lacks respect and a heart towards her family members. Since the Mother never showed equality, her character had unraveled into the creation of a negative atmosphere in which her family is now cemented in. For the Father, David and James, it is only now the memories of Scott that will hold their bond together.

    Read More

  • The Shifting Heart Drama Monologue

    504 Words  | 2 Pages

    The play is about an Italian family who migrated to Australia in the 1950s. There are lots of racist comments and discrimination throughout the play. The characters include Momma, Poppa, Maria, Clarry (Maria’s Husband), Leila, Donny, (Leila’s Husband), Gino and a rather brief appearance of Detective Sergeant Lukie. Momma and Poppa are native Italians while their children Gino and Maria talk in Australian slang and are more Australian like. Leila Pratt is the neighbour to the left with Donny being her husband.

    Read More

  • Free Glass Menagerie Essays: The Destruction of Laura

    1116 Words  | 3 Pages

    Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.

    Read More

  • Effects of Child Favoritism on Jewel and Cash

    631 Words  | 2 Pages

    As I lay Dying’s characters, Jewel and Darl in particular, are largely influenced by their mother’s unequal treatment of them. The personalities of the boys may seem as if they are purely natural, however research suggest that Addie’s favoritism may have played the biggest part in the development of the boys’ personality. An article published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, titled Mothers’ Differentiation and Depressive Symptoms Among Adult Children, discuses the results of favoriting children on both the preferred and unpreferred children. These effects are easily seen in Jewel, the preferred child, and Darl, the unpreferred child.

    Read More

  • Ralph Mccarthy And His Father's Death

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    I think that the father is sick and his health is going to slowly deteriorate as the story progresses. I wonder what is going to happen to the Boy if the Man dies.

    Read More

  • Our Town - An Essay On Theme Of The Play

    519 Words  | 2 Pages

    The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Where Are The Children

    1149 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Come on, Nancy. Tell us the truth. Where are the children?” wrote author Mary Higgins Clark in her chilling novel, Where are the Children. Clark’s thrilling murder mystery describes a toxic relationship between a professor, Carl Harmon, the mentally insane and abusive husband of Nancy Eldridge, a beautiful young mother who is being accused of the murder of her children. Manipulative tactics and gender play key roles in creating discussion and open ended ideas toward the theme of this novel. The reader can see how Nancy has been unfairly accused for the murder of her first set of children. Although in the end Carl is finally identified as the murderer, the entire novel is set to make it seem as if Nancy was capable of harming her own flesh and blood. Mary Higgins Clark writes a happy ending novel to give

    Read More

  • Diary Of Anne Frank Essay Examples

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are many examples where there have been disagreements in this play. To start off, the home lives have shown the siblings’ rivalry. The conflicts between adults, marriage problems, and “favoritism” between parents and children have proved that there have been problems at home for an immense part of history. This play also shows greediness for many adults today. There are many assumptions that the only problems of this depressing time period is where people only worried about Nazis. Falsely understood, there was much more to worry about; such as money, food, safe places, families, and health. The Diary of Anne Frank has shown many home lives relatively

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Beautiful Child By Torey Hayden

    1958 Words  | 4 Pages

    The nonfiction book I read was titled Beautiful Child and was written by Torey Hayden. Beautiful Child follows the life of a special education teacher who is new to a school is met with a challenging class consisting of five children, all with very different needs. The class consists of a child who has tourette’s syndrome (Jesse), a child who we later find out has dyslexia (Billy), two twins who have fetal alcohol syndrome (Shane and Zane), and a young girl who is selectively mute (Venus.) Although through the story we see each child grow and progress, Venus is the main character and we see her open up to Torey through books and most important She-Ra comics. As Venus’ story unfolds, so do the horrendous details of her family that include a past of drug abuse and prostitution. The quietness of Venus that left many confused, begins to make

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Sam Shepard's The Buried Child

    1541 Words  | 4 Pages

    The play begins with Dodge (in his seventies) sounding as if he is close to death. He has a hacking cough, which gives the impression that he is extremely ill. Shepherd is alluding to the fact that Dodge is not merely sick physically, but also mentally. The cough is a way to show this sickness in a way where people can see the progression of his illness throughout the play.

    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

  • How Hamlet's Mental State Changes in the Soliloquies in Hamlet by Shakespeare

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    changing attitudes toward life and the other characters in the play, particularly the women; and his reflection on the

    Read More

  • Parental Roles In Frankenstein And Kafka's Metamorphosis?

    2087 Words  | 5 Pages

    ...hut the child out of their lives. Rather than dealing with the mistake or misfortune as a parent should do and stand by their child’s side, both parents ran away and tried to hide from the problem. The feelings of each character were completely forgotten and lost. Each were treated as some sort of object that could be thrown away and replaced. And ultimately, the outcomes in their lives reflected their poor parenting. The choices they made unfortunately came from the lack of skills they were taught when they were young and impressionable. Neither character knows what it is like to be a part of a loving family because they were both used as objects for money or fame. Sadly, the lack of parenting led to the demise of each and we are reminded, from over a hundred years ago as well as today, that successful parenting today will lead to successful adults for the future.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Sam Shepard's Buried Child

    1616 Words  | 4 Pages

    To conclude one can say that the Post Modern techniques used by Sam Shepard does not allow any enjoyment or the free play to the characters as is the case with the majority of post-modern dramas. The play brings to the forth the sordid and bleak picture of American society, family and culture, of how America at one time was full of glory and happiness symbolized by corn in full bloom in the backyard of Dodge family and how these values were trampled and made to die just like the Buried child. The need of the hour and the constant urge and desire of both the author as well as of characters is to renew the faith, culture and the American dream in this Post-modern world and outlook. The task is difficult but if not accomplished, the consequences can be

    Read More

More about Analysis of Buried Child by Sam Shepard

Open Document