Analysis Of The Play ' Seven Guitars '

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This is a two-story house in red brick; the stairs access to the top floor and each floor has a single window fronting the yard; this is a house which I will pass by everyday. As an outsider from another country, I have never concerned about what would take place in those red brick houses half a century ago. However, the play Seven Guitars describes a bitter story taking place in the red brick house in Pittsburgh. In the story, someone has been suffered from the blatant discrimination; someone has betrayed his morality for chasing his dream; someone has killed his “buddy” for money; someone has lost her lover right after she decided to go away with him; some one has hidden a secret; some one has unraveled the mystery of a death, and some one has just witnessed all those things had happened. Hence, seven guitars refers to seven characters depicting the life of African-American people in the 1940s Pittsburgh, the place where I live today. The storyline has been expanded by Louise’s dirty song, when they had come from the funeral of Floyd, which makes me wander why the author —August Wilson arranges the characters to act so clam that Louise still is in the mood of singing and Red and Canewell squabble with each other for a piece of pie after experiencing the lost of their closed friend. Except Vera, who is Floyd’s lover, asks others whether they have seen six angels take Floyd to the sky, the rest of the characters ask Vera for beers and talk about letting the same reverend who appears in Floyd’s funeral preach their funerals as well in a casual tone. Why do they act like nothing bad have happened? Are they trying to conceal their sadness or they accustomed to facing the lost of their friend? These question occupied my mind, while ... ... middle of paper ... ...r, when Floyd and Hedley both had found the money which allows them to accomplish their dreams, Floyd had pulled out his gun towards Canewell, and Hedley waved the machete and killed Floyd eventually. As Floyd is falling down on the stage, my heart is teared apart resonating with miserable life of African-American people in 1940s Pittsburgh. I have seen how people struggle with their assigned and unfair destiny and how the brutal reality smashes their dreams and humanity; I have seen that there were a group of people singing, dreaming, fighting, loving and dying in the red-brick house, which I might pass by everyday, all in this masterpiece of August Wilson. It is always difficult to reopen the grievous wound of the dark period during America history; however, the hurtfulness would be the most effective way forcing people to reflect the consequence of history.

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