Well I would definitely say that this play has some
similarities to a play like Trifles. Everything that happens in the play is
definitely plausible and nothing that happens is impossible, it’s just odd
things that wouldn’t normally happen in life, but that doesn’t mean that it is
impossible to occur in everyday life. And
like life, the play isn’t always very black and white. There is a lot of ambiguity; the whole play
runs on it and on secrecy. An element
that runs counter to the kind of presentational conventions of illusionistic
realism would be the fact that just about everyone on the family seems very
much off their rocker, almost if they all seem like they have some kind of
amnesia or a mental illness, which can run in families but it is very uncommon
to happen upon a situation like this in normal life, which is contrary to the
normal conventions because it is not quite a normal incidence or a “slice of
life.” Another element that was a little
off was the fact that the priest didn’t really react appropriately to what the
heck was going n in the house, he was just kind of chill about the shenanigans
and was very passive saying he didn’t know his place, normally I would think
that someone who was coming over for tea and walks in to that would have some
more extreme reaction, but he didn’t which was a little non-realistic. Another thing that was very off from realism
is the random presence of the vegetables throughout the play, particularly when
Tilden placed the corn all over Dodge’s body, I mean WHAT?! that is not necessarily
something that is realistic and especially since Dodge wasn’t woke up by that or when his hair was being cut
rather violently considering that he was bleeding from the head.
Yvette you make some very interesting points! I had not thought of the idea that the priest not doing anything is very surreal. Normally, anyone would react to the drama that was arising in the house, but he mostly just stood there and did not say much. It makes me question his significance. Maybe him and Halie were having an affair, which explains why he took her upstairs for a bit? An actor playing the priest would have to make strong character choices to bring significance to the character.
ReplyDeleteHi Yvette,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that everything that happens in the script actually could happen. The one thing that happens that makes me think the play isn't as illusionistic as it may appear is when Halie talks about Tilden right in front of him without acknowledging his presence. Sure this could happen in real life, but it happens again with Vince. No one in the family appears to recognize him. Then at one point Dodge does say he recognizes Vince. Those three moments made me seriously question the illusionistic slice of life style that the play can appear to have.
Love,
Austin.
Your analysis raises some very interesting questions about the play, especially regarding aspects of the family’s life that seem particularly “off” to modern readers and audiences. I think what is particularly surreal, though, is the fact that all of this (with the exception of the appearance of the vegetables) is completely normal for the family. The fights and random bursts of aggression are a part of the chaotic stasis that the family has learned to live with.
ReplyDeleteI think that the point about them not remembering each other and events from the past is right on. I also agree with what you said as far as them not reacting to events the way that most people would. I think that a lot of their reactions are not really what people do, and that takes away from the sense of reality in the play.
ReplyDeleteyeh the part about Dodge and his bloody head is something that i still question even now.. still trying to find the significance or deeper meaning Shepard meant as to why that is in the scene. maybe it is as simple as a son emasculating his father or maybe it is just about violence. -btb
ReplyDelete