Buried Child

Buried Child

Choose two characters form Buried Child, compare and contrast them, and say what each say to the contributions to the action to the play… DODGE Vs. VINCE The character is Dodge and Vince I have chosen to look at for a comparison in Buried Child. Dodge is chosen because he seems to be at the centre of many of the reasons why this family is in the state it is in. He acts as catalyst in this dysfunctional family. A good example of this is, is his relationship he has with Halie. He has no respect for her, and in fact for no one in his own family, as even in the first scene they are shouting at each other.

From the very beginning you can see the different relationships these to characters have to the rest of the family. In ‘Buried Child’ the household appears poor, or marginally but not hopelessly so. Vince, we are not enlightened to what level of wealth he has reached, but from him re-visiting his family, we get the impression, that he must of done well for himself. The set we are first introduced to is a living room. “With pale frayed carpet”, “an old dark green sofa with the stuffing coming out in spots” and an “old-fashioned brown T.V”. However, their material need is so the issue, unlike what would expect in the ‘American family’. This “well worn” furniture reflects a resignation to a tired and despondent life. This is further illustrated in the character of Dodge. Dodge the alcoholic wants to die, by ‘not taking his pills’; Dressed in a “well-worn T-shirt” and so on, he appears withdrawn from life, reconciled to mundane existence, in complete contrast to Vince seems to live up to some who has reached the ‘American Dream’; dressed in his cowboy attire. “plad shirt, Phat farm jeans, dark shades, and co...

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...eat detail, does he trouble in securing an heir for. His central role reflects what I was saying earlier, of him aiding his own downfall and that of his relatives, both by what he does and treats everyone around him. Dodge has lost is hope. With no faith in anyone around him, he lives in fear of some thing more freighting then death, the past catching up him. He wants bury and forget the past, not just in a literally sense. He at the same time feels frustration. So, he claims he told Halie they move to the country in the first place, she then blames him for the splitting and disintegration of the family. This problem with taking the responsibilities shows us again disjointed relationship, for a supposedly married couple. And idea of having an illegitimate child with an unknown father and hanging round with a man of cloth at the same time, giving us a group of sinners.