4 short questions

Question The word ‘ Authentic’ is the first one that comes to my mind based on my first impression of the August: Osage County play. The play is directed by Tracy Letts and it is an award winning play. The reason for describing the play as authentic is due to the fact that Letts captures all complexities of the human character, together with the controversy and frustration of the family dynamics. As a result moving along with the play I did care for the family because the characters exhibited by each member of the family provide very realistic representations based on real people and the situations that they encounter and deal with in life. The play was a major success because of the great measure of its development and the subsequent production offered by the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. As a result the play was made into a film based on the audience reaction (Letts, 12).
Question 2
The poet T. S. Eliot is quoted and referenced in the play due to the fact that the main concept put across is that of life. Letts uses quotes from one of his poems ‘ The Hollow men’ which is a poem that talks more about broken souls. The reason for this is because the play focuses on a dysfunctional family that is in a crisis and is broken. The theme of broken souls based on the poem is followed throughout the play as the drama unfolds. ‘ Life is very Long’, this is a quote that is referenced by Beverly when she expounds about life and poetry to Johnna (Lett, 14).
Question 3
Based on the interview conducted on Letts, I do not agree with the blogger’s statement. This is because most of the people in Oklahoma are of the Native American background and thus for Letts to include this character there was strong thematic resonance involved. There was also need to connect with most of the audience that were within that background. Johnna character purpose was to be that of a carer to the family and thus her roles were aimed at providing care and support service especially to Violet who was an addict of prescriptions medicine. Her presence does not affect me as a reader as her character represents a real life situation in Oklahoma (Letts, 16).
Question 4
The character that I identified with is that of Barbara, the eldest daughter. This is due to the fact that she portrayed the role of being a devoted daughter despite the crisis that was in the family and the fact that her mother was an addict. For instance, during a family dinner in act two she stood up in front of everyone and declared that she was going to run things from then henceforth. This scene shows that she was concerned in ensuring that her mother as well as the rest of the family were in line especially with regards to her mother’s pill addiction (Letts, 18). The members of my family that keeps secrets are my eldest sisters due to the fact that they are introverts. In the play Karen is an introvert due to the fact that her character depicts that of a quiet and stereotypical librarian. She manages to keep her love affair with her first cousin as a secret as the drama unfolds. The play is also about an American tragedy due to the cultural secrets that relate to the different ethnicity groups referred to as the drama unfolds. For instance, it’s no accident at all that the housekeeper in the play is of Native American origin and that Caucasian characters were tip toeing as a result of their cultural differences. This is a macrocosmic element because it focuses on the physical aspects based on the western tradition. There is tension that tends to reflect on injustices that happened in the postcolonial periods based on the perception of the cultural differences in the characters origin. The character that best illustrates this aspect is that of Johnna due to the roles that were involved in her work being a Native American lady.
Questions
1. Opportunity for theatricality is represented during the dinner meetings. The characters know what they are to do. Realistic representations is that though there is dramatic expressions people can actually relate their personal lives to that staged play.
3. My view on this statement ‘ her presence does not affect me’ is that her character is not brutal in contrast with the others. She is morally grounded and compassionate person; if she was brutal in expression as the other characters then her presence would have bothered me. I am supporting the inclusion of her character in the play.
Reference
Letts, Tracy. August Osage County, USA, 2013.