There is a lot to say about Lynn Nottage’s play, “Intimate Apparel”. Through the events of a single African American, or as society labeled her, “Unidentified Negro.” we get an in depth exposure of a seamstress’s typical life in New York in the early 1900’s. Exploring the themes of love, self-identity, racism and gender roles. The set was beautifully crafted, adding to the immersion of actually being in 1905. With the dirty worn out clothes hanging above the audience, set to dry off the old fashioned way. Connecting to the older audience through the sense of nostalgia. While also hinting at the economic status of the protagonist, and the environment she lives in. The changing set played a key role in portraying the characters traits. For …show more content…
They fitted the time period and added to the immersion. That the audience were actually watching people from that time period, along with their accents. Not only that, however they also represented the character’s personalities. I was able to get more attached and understand their personalities. For example, Esther always wore long dresses and couldn’t care less about flashy fashion or appealing to the opposite sex; she was shy and had a low self-esteem. Even though she crafted beautiful lingerie that appealed to the upper class, she wouldn’t wear the same style as them. She doesn’t want to fit in, she wants to be happy by being herself. Which later becomes a life changing decision, and interesting plot twist. A lot of the character were facing identity crisis and searching for a place in the world. Mr. Marks for example, albeit too late, casted away his father’s coat to wear Esther sports coat. Knowing how dearly and special his black suit is to him, and symbolic of his family and religion, he finally casts it aside for the double edge sword that is love. However, it’s too late for him to act on his new courage for he lost the opportunity to capture Esther’s pure love. Which really grabs the audience in this forbidden love dilemma, as the majority of humans love happy endings. The love that could’ve been forged between the Romanian Jew, and the African American Seamstress, would have been the story …show more content…
Religion, a powerful and dangerous topic. Which can control people’s lives and personalities, but also helping them find themselves. Within the play there comes a few issues that arises from religion, mainly when Mr. Marks is embarrassed to physically touch Esther. Which causes her to believe that it’s due to her race, adding to the powerful mentality society still had in the world. To which he assures her; it not be racism but religion, which conflicts with his relationships with the opposite gender. Which now creates a mystical barrier between the two shy love birds. For now he must question his beliefs and his personal desires, will his religion control his future and potential happiness, or will he accept his fate? These are questions and predicaments, people potentially still face in today’s society; where freedom of personal happiness is more prevalent and religious constraints are less
Hairspray, a John Waters’ musical, demonstrates progressive messages about the expansion of race-based civil rights in the 1960s . Although this is typically the lens through which Hairspray is viewed, this is not the only significant societal shift portrayed in the film. The stories of Edna Turnblad and Velma Von Tussle illustrate the progressive shift of women from “old” gender roles such as being excluded from the workplace to “new” gender roles where women begin taking managerial positions.
The play has an example of the technique of foreshadowing when Ruth faints. This foreshadows her later announcement of her pregnancy. The unchangeable setting is considered as a motif. Although the actions that affect the family happen outside. Yet the audience never goes out of the Youngers house. Mama goes out to buy a house, Walter goes to drink and Bennie goes for dates. All these actions are not shown, but the characters go out and come back to tell what they did. By keeping the actions in their apartment only, this reinforces the idea that the family is trapped in their small house and their life is not changing. Hansberry also uses the look of the apartment to convey the situation of the family that they are worn out of this life. Especially when Hansberry says that the furniture is placed to cover worn spots in the rug (loos40).
Georgia Douglas Johnson was a playwright of the Harlem Renaissance whose social commentary delved into the hardships of African Americans in the early 20th century. As an African American woman of the time, Johnson often brought to light the difficulties of her race and gender. In Johnson’s play Plumes she invites her audience into an everyday kitchen, with two hardworking early 20th century African American women trying navigate their way through a racially oppressive and patriarchal society. Johnson uses the characters’ desires to provide for those that they love, as an illustration to the adversity of everyday life of the African American in her time, particularly the African American woman. In this paper, I will explore the complications
In Nella Larsen’s Passing, Irene Redfield and Clare Kendry show us a great deal about race and sexuality in the 1920s. Both are extremely light-skinned women of African-American descent. However similar they appear to be, their views on race, a very controversial issue at the time, differ significantly. Clare chooses to use her physical appearance as an advantage in America’s racist and sexist society, leaving behind everything that connects her to her African-American identity. She presents herself as an object of sexual desire, flaunting herself to gain attention. Irene is practically the opposite, deciding that she wants to remain with the label of being black. She is subtle with her sexuality, never attempting to use her beauty to gain advantages. Linking these two women is a strange relationship, in which Clare and Irene both view each other in a sexually desirable way. Nevertheless, even with that desire for Clare, Irene obviously holds some contempt for her through jealousy, to the extent of wishing that she were dead. This jealousy is also based on social status. Irene is jealous of Clare’s ability to succeed, even though she may not know it. The root of Irene’s jealousy of Clare is in these three ideas of race, sexuality, and class, making Irene despise someone who she obviously also loves.
This theme is evident in the doubling of stockings with the girl’s natural black legs. The red stockings, which represent sexual, material desires, are contrasted with the natural, elegant beauty of the legs of the black girl. The stockings highlight only the legs, separating them from the girl as a whole and allowing for easier objectification, specifically by young white males. However, the girl knows this, as she has put the stockings on and is being told so by the narrator, who represents the black community. The narrator also clearly recognizes the girl’s beauty, and her beauty is further highlighted in the fact that she is clothed in silk, which relates to royalty and comfortability.
In ‘A Streetcar Named Desire’ Tennessee Williams depicts many of the convictions concerning to American society 's mind-set towards men and women 's gender roles in the mid-twentieth century. He deals with both male and female typecasts as well as society 's reaction to those who question these assumptions. In order to shape understanding of gender labels Williams uses a variety of techniques, such as dictions, stage directions, character foils, symbolism, sarcasm, and character. By signifying these truths Williams poses a question to society, as to whether or not these depictions are
Setting in all types of literature is a basic element that at a foundational level provides the reader with an atmosphere and physical place to position the characters. The setting in any dramatic work is an especially vital element since gives the players somewhere to bring to life the playwrights work. Furthermore, “The settings [the playwrights] describe are symbols that give the plays their meaning” (Barnet, Cain 210). Even a bare stage will contribute to the symbolism and theme presented on the stage. Every play ever written has been assigned a setting and each and every one has made an impact on the writing style, topics, and theme encompassed in the play.
In “How It Feels to Be Colored Me,” Hurston breaks from the tradition of her time by rejecting the idea that the African American people should be ashamed or saddened by the color of their skin. She tells other African Americans that they should embrace their color and be proud of who they are. She writes, “[A socialite]…has nothing on me. The cosmic Zora emerges,” and “I am the eternal feminine with its string of beads” (942-943). Whether she feels “colored” or not, she knows she is beautiful and of value. But Hurston writes about a time when she did not always know that she was considered colored.
Malcolmson, Christina. “’What You Will’: Social Mobility and Gender in Twelfth Night” in Twelfth Night. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996.
The early 1900s was a very challenging time for Negroes especially young women who developed issues in regards to their identities. Their concerns stemmed from their skin colors. Either they were fair skinned due mixed heritage or just dark skinned. Young African American women experienced issues with racial identity which caused them to be in a constant struggle that prohibits them from loving themselves and the skin they are in. The purpose of this paper is to examine those issues in the context of selected creative literature. I will be discussing the various aspects of them and to aid in my analysis, I will be utilizing the works of Nella Larsen from The Norton Anthology of African American Literature, Jessie Bennett Redmond Fauset, and Wallace Brown.
The theme to this book is identity, all Esther really wanted to do was fit in. She figured that there was something wrong with her, with others, with society, that she didn’t want what other’s wanted. She didn’t want to get married unlike every other girl that got married because it was the norm. Esther didn’t find it fun nor got the reason why she would have to. The quote connect to identity because Esther wanted to be the same as everyone but she wasn’t she worked hard throughout school and work in order to succeed in life with or without a man. Ester’s identity was being a hard worker, an overachiever, someone who has high ambitions. So when she started to slowly distance from that identity she pretty much ended up in the unknown for her. With the pressures to fit in and be like everyone else with the fact that she was somewhat losing her identity she panicked and tried to go everywhere which eventually took a toll on her mind and body.
Krasner, David. Resistance, Parody, and Double Consciousness in African American Theatre: 1895-1910. Basingstoke: MacMillan, 1997. Print. Mackay, Constance D'Arcy.
Esther's first statement, "It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs" (1) sets the tone for the novel and establishes her preoccupation with death. She alludes to no remorse at the loss of life but rather concentrates on the wonder of execution. This style allows the reader to see the development of confinement; that is, Esther's preoccupation with death entraps her within herself.
In 1979, Caryl Churchill wrote a feminist play entitled Cloud Nine. It was the result of a workshop for the Joint Stock Theatre Group and was intended to be about sexual politics. Within the writing she included a myriad of different themes ranging from homosexuality and homophobia to female objectification and oppression. “Churchill clearly intended to raise questions of gender, sexual orientation, and race as ideological issues; she accomplished this largely by cross-dressing and role-doubling the actors, thereby alienating them from the characters they play.” (Worthen, 807) The play takes part in two acts; in the first we see Clive, his family, friends, and servants in a Victorian British Colony in Africa; the second act takes place in 1979 London, but only twenty-five years have passed for the family. The choice to contrast the Victorian and Modern era becomes vitally important when analyzing this text from a materialist feminist view; materialist feminism relies heavily on history. Cloud Nine is a materialist feminist play; within it one can find examples that support all the tenets of materialist feminism as outlined in the Feminism handout (Bryant-Bertail, 1).
...es these primitive standards, she becomes melancholy because she does not attune into the gender roles of women, which particularly focus on marriage, maternity, and domesticity. Like other nineteen year old women, Esther has many goals and ambitions in her life. Nevertheless, Esther is disparaged by society’s blunt roles created for women. Although she experiences a tremendous psychological journey, she is able to liberate herself from society’s suffocating constraints. Esther is an excellent inspiration for women who are also currently battling with society’s degrading stereotypes. She is a persistent woman who perseveres to accomplish more than being a stay at home mother. Thus, Esther is a voice for women who are trying to abolish the airless conformism that is prevalent in 1950’s society.