Charlie Binge Eating Play Essay

Food is great! In fact, it’s essential in sustaining life, providing an individual’s body with the energy and nutrients necessary for human existence. Additionally, the human body craves nutrient dense foods, being crammed full of calories, through the means of foods that are packed with fats and sugars. Certain foods contain an abundance of flavors, and tend to prompt a dopamine response in the brain, signaling a feeling of pleasure due to the amount of energy the body receives. However, some people tend to “abuse” food, constantly receiving their dopamine rush through the means of binge eating, usually with foods that are deemed “unhealthy.” Undoubtedly, binge eating is a problem in America due to the abundance of fast food and processed

foods, as well as their relative ease of access. One such example of binge eating is reflected in Samuel Hunter’s play, The Whale. The protagonist, Charlie, uses food as a coping mechanism, which deteriorates his health, and ultimately leads to his demise. In determining the comprehensive issues of identity depicted within this play, the elements of social identity, sexual orientation, and religious background must be assessed. Thus these issues, indeed, correlate to the aspects identity and revolve around Charlie’s crazy life.
To prelude my analysis, I will give a brief synopsis of the overall plot.

The play is set in Northern Idaho, present day, and begins with Charlie having a brief heart attack. His life is completely changed when Elder Thomas arrives and saves his life. Through the story, we begin to understand Charlie’s unhealthy habits in life, which are perpetuated by his friend and nurse, Liz. Later, we learn about Charlie’s separation from his wife, Mary, and his daughter, Ellie, in the pursuit of love with another man. The story continues through the interactions between these characters with a focus on Charlie’s life life story. Through these interactions, the various issues of identity become abundantly self

evident.
First, there is the issue of social identity, which is broadly apparent among all the characters within the play. Today, the global population exceeds seven billion people, allowing for diversity to circulate among society. Indeed, every person comes from a different background, reaching their personal goals based upon their distinct personality. Furthermore, an individual’s moral values are dependant on the converging factors of nurture and nature. That is to the say, people act a certain way due to the way they were raised, as well as the social values presented to them during their lifetime. Nonetheless, these distinctions allow for innovation, ingenuity, and societal prosperity due to humanity's ability to come together through the dissemination of ideas. However, society tends to set standards on personal beliefs through the idea of “normal.”
Many people prefer a sense of conformity in search of societal connectedness.

Indeed, this idea of conformity promotes individuals to act based on other’s actions in order to be associated to some form of social group. For example, a child tends to emulate the actions of their parents and peers due to his or her relationship with them. Therefore, many individuals seek social inclusion and a feeling of normality, in opposition of being held as an outcast to society. On the contrary, certain individuals seek social isolation in preservation of their values. Charlie is a prime example of staying solitary in social obscurity in coping with his personal dilemmas and

beliefs.
Throughout the play, Charlie seems to crave food constantly. He undoubtedly uses eating as a coping mechanism in forgetting the unfortunate events in his life. As humans, we all have methods of coping with our emotions, yet many of them seem to have a negative effect on our lives. In fact, some of the most common coping mechanisms in society involve around food, drugs, or alcohol. By these means, we seek the pleasures in life which allow our focus to proceed toward something other than our pessimistic or stressful thoughts. This, entirely, makes sense in Charlie’s case, as he has plethora of problems within his life.
Charlie left his wife and daughter for Alan, a devoted Mormon, who abandoned his religious values in pursuit of his affection to Charlie. Furthermore, we later learn that Alan was mentally impacted by his father’s sermon. Through discussing Jonah and the whale, Alan is mentally perturbed about his existence, and is driven into insanity. In fact, Alan’s death was most likely slow and painful as he refused to eat due to his psychological instability. Charlie became mentally unstable when Alan passed away, leading him to use food as a coping mechanism. The two diverged in opposition, as Alan starved himself to death, whereas Charlie ate himself to death. Through coping with Alan’s death, Charlie damaged his body over the years, which led to devastating effects, especially to his heart.
Another character who vastly depicts issues of social identity is Ellie. Throughout the play, she is depicted as a rebellious, carefree teenager who struggles in finding her meaning in life. Through excessive drug use and bullying, Ellie copes with her personal dilemmas in a reckless and bewildering manner. Furthermore, Ellie is quite nefarious in her actions, shown as she repeatedly forces drugs upon others. Not only does Ellie force marijuana onto Elder Thomas, but also drugs Charlie, her own father, with Ambien. Additionally, Ellie runs a blog page where she makes fun of others due to her own personal insecurities. I believe this is caused by Ellie’s adverse experiences during her childhood as she struggles in finding her own identity. Indeed, Ellie was brought up by an alcoholic mother, without a father figure, and rejects societal norms due to her unfortunate situation in life. Additionally, Ellie is perpetuated by her mother’s permissive parenting as well as her poor habits, such as alcohol or tobacco. Furthermore, Ellie neglects compassion for others, being inherently selfish in her actions, depicted through her reckless actions. Thus, Ellie dictates a character with major flaws that has a disregard for good morals.
Next, the character Mary depicts many social issues within the play. Indeed, Mary struggles in life due to her husband abandoning her for Alan. Mary was challenged in having to raise Ellie by herself, which most likely led to her to alcoholism. Perhaps alcoholism is Mary’s coping mechanism, as it gives her pleasure and allows her to forget her troubles in life. Furthermore, Mary struggles in seeing the damage that Charlie has done to himself through years of binge eating. Because of this, I believe Mary struggles through the largest crisis within the play. Not only did her husband leave her to care for a child alone, but also had to watch Charlie slowly deteriorate into a dead whale.
Following this, Elder Thomas, also known as Joseph Paulson, depicts one the more moral characters within the play. Being a devout Mormon, Elder Thomas strives in spreading his religion to others through his missionary trips. Although at first, Elder Thomas appears to be quite angelic, he has flaws within his identity. First, he changed his name in order to continue his mission and completely abandoned his previous life. Additionally, Elder Thomas smoked marijuana with Ellie due to peer pressure, abandoning his morals and leading to Ellie sending a picture of him smoking to his parents. Through this, Elder Thomas is reputably socially distinct as he literally hopped into a new life in order to continue his religious mission.
Finally, there is the character Liz, who is Charlie’s nurse and caretaker. Although Liz admirably looks after Charlie and attempts to keep him alive, she ultimately leads him to his demise. Through providing Charlie with a surfeit of junk food, bolstering his binge eating disorder, and deteriorating his health. However, this is because Liz is Alan’s sister and feels a deep connection to Charlie, providing him with whatever he wants. This creates a moral dilemma, as Liz seeks Charlie’s happiness, but also impairs his long term health. Through this, Liz is indirectly becomes the most harmful person in Charlie’s life.
Indeed, the five characters portrayed within the play display copious issues regarding social identity. Furthermore, the play lays a focus on Charlie and his unprecedented decisions in life. Indeed, Charlie is his own greatest enemy as he battles against his gloomy emotions and attempts to cope through his interactions with the other characters. It was Charlie’s loss of love that led him into spiraling depression, yet he fails to assess and fix the problem at hand. Rather than eating himself to death, Charlie could have attempted to find love from a different individual. Despite Charlie’s choices in life, his sexual orientation is a key aspects within the play, and plays a significant role in the plot.