Racial tensions have been prominent for centuries, as kingdoms expanded and people immigrated towards new opportunities. These tensions have led to violence, rooted in the mentality of the superiority of one race over the other. American society has also seen these racial tensions throughout its history. Although significantly improved, racial tensions are still prominent in American society today. Lynn Nottage explores this through several characters in her play, “Sweat.” In her interpretation of the scope of race, Lynn Nottage implies that discrimination and subjugative behavior still occur between races through her descriptions of the treatment of minorities; she uses this to call for change in American society to avoid an imminent disaster. …show more content…
She also has a child who is seeking to go to college, Chris. Tracey’s son, Jason, is friends with Chris and her spouse is dead. Jessie has been divorced from her spouse. In the story, work is a major motif as they work through tensions such as strikes and wage issues. Another major setting in this story is the bar, where Stan, an older white man, is the manager. Oscar, a middle-aged Latino man, works for Stan in the bar. The bar serves as a place where the characters go to enjoy themselves and share their problems. Through these characters, Lynn Nottage explores the importance of race in the story. Lynn Nottage portrays frustrations that arise from race through the change in Cynthia’s standing among her friends. The first set of tensions arises when Cynthia and Tracey both decide to apply for a job promotion to a managerial role. Tracey puts this job off, as she believes that it is very difficult for either of them to get it. When Cynthia ends up getting the promotion, Tracey starts to feel frustration: “Tracey’s been going around town whis-pering that the only reason Cynthia got the job is because she’s Black. Two months ago she couldn’t give a shit, and suddenly—” (Act 1, Scene …show more content…
Just trying to help. TRACEY. Can you, like, give me my space? (act 1 scene 5) In the story, Oscar is seen as an invisible character since he is rarely regarded by other characters. The few times that he is, Oscar is met with rude remarks such as his conversation with Tracey. The dehumanization of Oscar is furthered when he finds a job at the factory at a time when the other workers are locked out. In frustration about this, Tracey retorts, “Hey Jason, he’s heading out to cash your check” (Act 1 Scene 6). Tracey further exemplifies her distanced relationship with Oscar as she disregards his employment. Tracey believes that Oscar is taking work away from them, ignoring that Oscar is trying to support a family like the rest of them. This further leads to growing frustration among the workers, as they believe that having people like Oscar in the community is taking work away from them. Oscar faces a severe downturn in the story, as he is attacked by Jason and Chris. Through this, the author shows that upholding the values of racism leads to a universal struggle in society. Although Oscar was hurt, Jason and Chris’s ambitions were put to a halt as they were sent off to jail for their