essay

Passing strange is a comedy drama talking about a young African American artist’s journey to Europe for self discovery on musical field. In Act one, the narrator describes himself as stew. The narrator and Youth have been interacting with the characters all over the play through their performance as a singer. Youth’s talent developed through continuous attendance to church services of which he had been encouraged by his mom. Youth later joins the church choir because of a young girl whom he had fallen in love with (Citro, 2010). The narrator explain to us that it is not a really love between the two because the girl belonged to the pastor. This period was in 1970s when he became a member of a choir group in South Central Los Angeles neighborhood. With time, he became used in operating the choir instrument such as guitar. Therefore, he became very active in church services. He came to realize what his mom had told him before he started attending church services. According to the show, at first the narrator was not attending church service until his mom convinced him. Matters became worse when Youth informed his mom the church could not encourage his career as a singer.

Later, Youth coupled with what his mom had told him (Citro, 2010). This is clearly seen after frequently attendance of church services. According to the narrator, Youth started going to church and meanwhile he became a good artist. In this act, Youth also tells his mom that the gospel songs were boring as compared to those of rock and roll in an epiphany moments of joy. The narrator urges that Youth could not understand what his mother was driving at. We are told that, she had discovered his talent and thus the reason why she urged him to attend church choir for h...

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...t to have seen his mother dying because he had returned to Los Angeles. He complains that he had no information about his mother’s sickness before he rushed to Los Angeles (Tuan, 2011). Youth copes with his grief after losing his mother. After the death, Youth resurrects his mother’s spirit throughout his art. The narrator concludes that Youth had started to regret what made him not to obey his mom. From my point of view, the show has opposed the themes of love and understanding.

Works Cited

Citro, J. A. (2010). Passing strange: True tales of New England hauntings and horrors. Shelburne, Vt: Chapters Pub.

Knapp, R., Morris, M., & Wolf, S. E. (2011). The Oxford handbook of the American musical. New York: Oxford University Pres

Tuan, Y. (2011). Passing strange and wonderful: Aesthetics, nature, and culture. Washington, D.C: Island Press [for] Shearwater Books. s.