Analysis Of Buried Child

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The actors did an amazing job portraying their characters and did an amazing job making you believe this was just happening. I had a lot of reservations about the play before I saw it, not knowing what it was going to be about, but the play was superb, and well worth producing. Even with the small setting of the theater they did a pretty good job with the set design. I believe Buried Child was making a social statement. This family was hiding a huge secret, and because of this, they became a completely dysfunctional family. The secret was that Dodge had drowned a baby that Halie had after having sex with her own son, Tilden. Dodge became a drunk who just laid on the couch, drinking, and watching TV. Halie was out having an affair with …show more content…

The play demonstrated how the situation spiraled out of control, but one mistake after another. This family was completed shattered by the events of the mother having sex with her son, (Tilden) and her husband drowning the baby. This led to Tilden being a complete emotional wreck and having no direction in his life. Tilden seemed like he was mentally handicapped throughout the play. Bradley had lost his leg in an accident and has no purpose in his life except bullying his brother and his father. Bradley also seemed like he was mentally handicapped. Halie yells and screams at all family members; she handles all her frustrations by going out and having an affair with the minister of her church. There was mention of another son, who was murdered on his wedding night. This son, was a star athlete and was the apple of his mother’s …show more content…

Bradley was an angry individual. He bullied his father and bullied his brother. He also seemed like he was mentally challenged. He was very disrespectful to his father. In fact, he was disrespectful to everyone in the play. He was more like an antagonist. Maybe that’s why I felt he was not successful character in terms of likeness. The performers related very well to each other on stage. It was very real. Tilden seemed to listen to what others said to him. Dodge related to everyone, sometimes very sarcastically. Haylie seemed to only listen to herself. She over-spoke over everyone. She only cared about herself and her needs. I liked how Vince’s girlfriend related to the family. She befriended Dodge; and she put Bradley in his place. She also stood up for herself and uncovered the family secret. I felt like Halie may have tried to steal the focus and was only wanting to look good for herself. She treated others rudely, and she tried to make herself look good. I think the most powerful part of the play was when Linden dug up the baby and brought it in the farmhouse. There was complete silence. That was a very powerful ending to the play. The pace of the play was good. It did not drag on; it went by rather quickly. This was a well-executed play. It was not the best play I have seen but it made top five. Maybe if the building was bigger I would have liked to have seen some different scenes and settings. They may not

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