The play True West by Sam Shepard is about two brothers Austin and Lee. Austin is a screenwriter who seems to be very sophisticated and successful, while is brother Lee likes to drink. Austin is staying at his mother’s house writing a play, because she is out of town, so he is house sitting for her and taking care of her plants. Lee goes to the house and he starts to bother Austin who is trying to write a play, he keeps asking to borrow Austin’s car, but Austin really does not want to let his brother use it. As the story progresses, we learn that Austin is having Saul Kimmer, who is a producer come over to discuss one of his plays. Lee decides to write a play of his own and he has his brother help him with him and then Lee shows it to …show more content…
Saul who decides to produce the play. Saul decides to produce Lee’s play and not Austin’s anymore, which makes Austin very upset by this. As we continue to read, we are able to see how Austin becomes Lee and Lee becomes Austin because as we read we see Austin drinking and he eventually gets drunk and we see Lee who is now the one typing up a script for the play. By the end of the story, we are really able to see what success does to someone that is no longer successful; it could actually make them act crazy and do stupid things, like to try and kill your own brother, which is what Austin tried to do to Lee. The story ends with Austin thinking that Lee is dead, but he is not. I agree with Stephen James Bottoms analysis because as we continue to read the play we are able to see that once Austin learns that is brother Lee’s play is going to be produced and his is not going to be they switch roles and we are able to see that they are a double of one another.
We are able to see in the play that even though you start over in life, your past experiences will never be gone, they will always be there is the back of your mind and they will probably haunt you for the rest of your life. An example that I thought was important where we are to see how Austin and Lee change roles in the play and act like one another can be found on page 895, where Lee says to his brother, In this quotation, we are able to see that Lee is now the one who is writing plays and now he is the successful one, while is brother Austin is the drunk and a thief who steals toasters from people’s homes. There is another point in the play where we can see that both brothers switch roles, which is when we find Austin on the kitchen floor drunk, which is something that his brother Lee does. I enjoyed reading the play and I thought that Sam Shepard did a really great job writing it. I thought that the play was easy to follow and understand, but there were times though that I had to reread certain parts because I got confused between the two characters when they switched roles. Overall, I liked how Sam Shepard portrayed both of these characters and I liked how he had them switch roles during
the play. When reading the play I was able to imagine both of these characters in my mind and how they were acting almost as if I was in the play with them.
Overall, I enjoyed this play. Even with the dull ending, I found it to be entertaining and a good use of my time. The cast was great and they made good use of a decent
Their acting chops were very impressive whether it was comedic, emotional, or just stunning overall. Yet, on the other hand, some minor characters weren’t as well heard as others. I feel as the play could be better if some of the minor characters had projected their voice more, allowing their character to be known. However, although some voices were much stronger than others, all actors were full of talent, capable of dealing with script’s requirements, and did a good job
Not knowing what this play was about, I went to go see it Wednesday after noon at Holyoke Community College in the Leslie Phillips Theater. I had many mixed emotions about this play. I thought some parts were very funny, but others were a little uncomfortable because of some racia...
It was very nice to read something that had a lot of drama and suspense. This story has a mix of everything. It has a bit of suspense, drama, and comedy; therefore, it led it to be a very nice play. The people that would most like this play, has to be people who like suspense, drama, and thriller. These people would like it, because this story has a mix of everything, so the people who like to have a mix in their stories, they will love this story. It will suit them, and will give them a pleasure of reading a nice
the play. It looks at the person he is and the person he becomes. It
The brother, frustrated and upset, is unable to "shift the emphasis" that the play has left on these youths, and he feels...
This play shows that lying is wrong and will get you nowhere. At the end, lying will come back and haunt you. Also, lying will get you known as a liar. A liar who no one will believe at the end of the day. A liar that will be hard to be trusted by others. All of this is something that you want to avoid. Never lie and always tell the truth and you will end up feeling better about yourself. That is what I ended up getting from this ten minute play. Never lie because all those lies will be stored somewhere, maybe not recorded on tape like they were for the Person but stored somewhere like ones conscious. Lies will come back soon or later to come and bite you when you least expect it.
Essentially this play can be regarded as the mid-life crisis of Walter Lee Younger, passionate for his family, ambitious, and bursting with energy and dreams. Walter cares about his family, and he hopes that buying the liquor store will being a brighter future to Travis, ?And-and I?ll say, all right son-it?s your seventeenth birthday, what is it you?ve decided?...Just tell me where you want to go to school and you?ll go. Just tell me, what it is you want to be ? and you?ll be it.?(Hansberry 109). Walter Lee, shackled by poverty and prejudice, and obsessed with his own sense of success, which he felt, would be the end of all of his social and economic problems. The dreams he had gave him a great sense of pride and self-satisfaction. Unfortunately Walter had to learn a hard lesson in life; pride and greed will eventually lead to unhappiness.
One of the two categories of people must change in order to resolve the conflict, and three main characters display this need to change more than any others. The first person is John Procter, who changes somewhat throughout the play. The second is Abigail Williams, who attempts to change the people around her. And the third is Reverend John Hale, who changes quite dramatically throughout the play. All of these characters recognize that change is needed, but approach the problem from different perspectives. & nbsp; John Procter is the first person to change the play.
Every time the family comes to a confrontation someone retreats to the past and reflects on life as it was back then, not dealing with life as it is for them today. Tom, assuming the macho role of the man of the house, babies and shelters Laura from the outside world. His mother reminds him that he is to feel a responsibility for his sister. He carries this burden throughout the play. His mother knows if it were not for his sisters needs he would have been long gone. Laura must pickup on some of this, she is so sensitive she must sense Toms feeling of being trapped. Tom dreams of going away to learn of the world, Laura is aware of this and she is frightened of what may become of them if he were to leave.
Besides the fact that I didn't like this play, the actors did do a pretty good job with their acting and memorization of their lines. Couple times Marisol hesitated with her lines but it wasn't too bad. I like the accents they were using. It wasn't to hard to understand what they were saying, but once again there were those times when their accents did effect a little on their pronunciations and my understanding on what they were saying. Overall, I don't think they were too believable with their characters. They didn't reach me.
BC, which also won the Pulitzer Prize in 1979, is one of the plays which he dedicated to his father Sam, who was in the military during World War II in Shepard’s early childhood years. Samuel Shepard Rogers III, born November 5th 1943 in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, is the oldest of three children. He was nicknamed Steve, since his name came down through seven generations of men. He then changed his name into Sam Shepard. (Sparr, 6) His play has been influenced by his personal life, especially by his father. In his play, the men are all alcoholics and bound to the darker side. Shepard lived in a family filled with aggression, where the men around him were mostly violent alcoholics. (Lahr, 27) Alcoholism goes far back in his life, to the point where he cannot remember one single sober man . (Howe, 14) Thinking about his father, he believes that he owes his father a large part of his identity and his damage. Shepard remembers that his father lost his farm in Duarte, after he started drinking, in order to forget his ruined life. (Lahr, 30) This can be put into comparison with Dodge not bei...
life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work.
The theme of the play has to do with the way that life is an endless cycle. You're born, you have some happy times, you have some bad times, and then you die. As the years pass by, everything seems to change. But all in all there is little change. The sun always rises in the early morning, and sets in the evening. The seasons always rotate like they always have. The birds are always chirping. And there is always somebody that has life a little bit worse than your own.
I found the concept of the play to be quite interesting. I learned new things about Martin Luther King such as his smoking habit and that he was a womanizer, both of