Analysis Of The Play ' Topdog / Underdog '

Being black in America means to exist while subconsciously striving to reach out and own that imaginary white picket fence. You know, that nice house nested inside that white picket fence in that wonderful neighborhood with the perfectly cut grass on top of that sunny hill along with the perfectly paved roads leading up to it. African Americans see it all the time in televisions, magazines and newspaper ads. As poor blacks invest their life’s work in trying and subsequently failing to achieve this imaginary dream, they end up devouring any sense propriety remaining in their life; the play A Raisin in The Sun by Lorraine Hansberry exemplifies this tragedy.

If a viewer was able to overlook the brash language and jokes in Billy Porter’s production of Suzan-Lori Parks’s “Topdog/Underdog” they would get to enjoy a great play. I myself was not overly bother by the swearing and I greatly enjoyed the play. With only two actors in the play, they were able to fill the set with energy and action. Matthew J. Harris brought the Booth/three card character to life. He was upbeat, energetic, and short tempered just as anyone who read the script would expect. But, what was unexpected and a nice touch

Kander and Ebb took a great risk in using the framework of a minstrel show to tell the story in their musical The Scottsboro Boys. Various sources argue that the use of the minstrel show in Kander and Ebb’s The Scottsboro Boys hinders the audiences experience and undermines the importance of this trial. This argument is one of many and goes to show that Kander and Ebb took many risks in using the minstrel show to tell the story of the Scottsboro Boys. Other sources argue that the humor and stereotypes of the minstrel show perpetuate the boys’ lack of individuality. In the article, “Too big for Broadway?:
The limits of historical and theatrical empathy in Parade and The Scottsboro Boys,” it is argued that this lack of characterization “makes it feel as though ‘the Boys’ are being victimized, not by American racism, but by Kander and Ebb” (Stahl 76). With all of the dangers involved in the use of this racist form, it is understandable how the intention of the minstrel show can be misconstrued.

Though there was a heightened sense of tension over civil rights in the late 1950s when A Raisin in the Sun was written, racial inequality is still a problem today. It affects minorities of every age and dynamic, in more ways than one. Though nowadays it may go unnoticed, race in every aspect alters the way African-Americans think, behave, and react as human beings. This is shown in many ways in the play as we watch the characters interact. We see big ideas, failures, and family values through the eyes of a disadvantaged group during an unfortunate time in history. As Martin Luther King said, Blacks are “...harried by day and haunted by night by the fact that you are a Negro, living constantly at tiptoe stance, never quite knowing what

creates a play that illustrates not only the struggle of growing up in a prejudiced world but also

the play are ―rich symbol[s]‖ that convey the barriers of a ―racist society‖ (Kenny par. 18). The

This is significant because it makes the reader or watcher more in tune and interested in the characters

Not only do the roles of the characters compel a reader, they also illustrate the

The people who may be looked down upon, such as those hustlers and thieves like Booth and Lincoln, might have no other choice than to live that lifestyle due to the way that society was set up. They may have tried the hardest to be successful, but there was always an invisible force, perhaps one involving race or social class, which kept them from proceeding to climb up the ladder. In Topdog Underdog, two black brothers directly portray this idea, and deal with the melancholic loss of ideals of whiteness, by resorting to living an unmoral life full of crime. The men feel so mistreated and looked down upon to the point where they do not feel they can succeed, and therefore stop trying after being rejected time after time. Lincoln and Booth compensate through distorted memories of happiness and distorting appearances towards wealth and women.

3. The power of the play is its relevance to today’s society. We are surrounded in everyday life by men and women who might as well have been characters in this play.

Characters – agents of the play, they provide motivation for the plot. “Vivid Characters” are the ones who are faced with “obstacles that we the audience can recognise”.

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.

Topdog/Underdog is a play centered on brotherhood, card games, and disaster. The two brothers, Lincoln and Booth, are complicated guys with different agenda’s. Lincoln impersonates the late president Abraham Lincoln for a living. At one time, Lincoln was the best who ever played 3 Card Monte, but after his friend died because of the hustle, Lincoln gave it up for his job at an arcade. Booth, the younger brother, gets his money from pickpocketing, but really wants to be as successful or even better than Lincoln at 3 Card Monte. Throughout the play, Lincoln and Booth’s brotherhood is tested, and in the end, Booth murders his big brother Lincoln. This shows that there are different types of brothers: one’s who love each other, and one’s who dislike each other and whose brotherhood end in disaster.

Having read Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks before the production of Father Comes Home From The War, I knew to expect commentary on racial issues. I also knew to expect some sense of historification through the use of historical events and figures. However, the play was never predictable and danger lurked around the corner for everyone. Specifically, the characters that were slaves—Hero, Homer, narrators, etc.—had choices defined by that danger and the parameters of their lives. Class time helped me to flesh out this theme: what is a choice and who has the right to it in the societies we create?

Underdogs are not really underdogs at all. Malcolm Gladwell, the author of David and Goliath, believes that we often misinterpret and judge people by their obvious disadvantages and difficulties. We repeatedly make the mistake and assume that they will not succeed. Throughout his book, Gladwell points out that ultimately, the disadvantages that we see of others, are merely advantages for the underdog. These disadvantages and difficulties are also a part of Jamal Malik’s childhood leading up to the show in the film Slumdog Millionaire. Jamal and his older brother Salim are orphaned as children and were left on their own to try and survive a life in the slums of Mumbai. They experienced many difficulties