Topic Suggestions for 2nd Paper
Discuss the role played by the townspeople who are not directly connected to Cabot's farm. Explain how the townspeople are important to the development of the main characters and conflict among these characters.
Discuss the significance of the comparison between the fertile land (the farm) and human fertility. How do the two forms of “fertility” interact in Desire Under the Elms.
Pick a symbol from Desire Under the Elms and explain how this symbol is used to help define different characters in the play?
Are Abbie, Eben and Ephraim admirable characters by the end of the play? Explain why or why not?
Although it is a modern American play, Desire under the Elms has several allusions to classical theatre. Discuss some of this plays parallels with Oedipus the King or with King Lear, and show how these parallels deepen our understanding of this play.
How do homosexuality and racism interact in Streamers? What do the characters' behaviors tell us about these "minority issues"?
Connect the attitudes of several of the characters in Streamers with their attitudes toward war and particularly the Vietnam war. What insights do these "political" views give us?
Critic Walter Kerr wrote that the message of Streamers is that "We are all--black, white, straight, queer, parents, children, friends, fos, stable, unstable--living together in the same 'house.' And we can't do it" (6 McNamara). Using specific support agree or disagree with his assessment.
Rabe's stage directions note that "the War--the threat of it--is the one thing they share" (33). Explain how the play Streamers both criticizes and supports "fear" as a common bond between men.
Crimes of the Heart is the first play we have read that is by a woman. Using one of the other plays we have read for comparison purposes, decide if this play gives a unique perspective not seen from male playwrights.
Crimes of the Heart is set in the deep south of Mississippi. Consider the features of the action and the characters that convey this southern setting. Is the dramatic action of this play a uniquely southern story?
Some of the characters in Crimes of the Heart take on the role of "outsiders." They may be "out" of the small town or out of a given family. How important is the role of the "outsider" to the action that takes place in Crimes of the Heart.
What are the "family roles" of the three MaGrath sisters at the beginning of the play. Do any of the Sisters change throughout the course of the play and if so, does this change affect the dynamics of the MaGrath family?
Decide whether or not the behavior of the white managers in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a stereotype. Depending upon your answer, decide if these white managers' behavior adds to or detracts from the dramatic action of the play.
Some of the jazz musicians in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom see their work as a job, others as an art. How does this difference drive the action of the play?
Can you give a "sympathetic" justification for Levee's behavior in the final scenes of the play?
Is Ma Rainey in control or being controlled?
Consider the differences in which the two plays Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and Streamers deal with racism. Are these plays saying the same thing about Black/White relations in America or not? Alternatively, focus on whether one of the plays is more successful than the other at addressing the issue of racism.
All the plays we've read this quarter could be seen as a study in the limits of "free will." In Oedipus the King, for instance, the God's control the characters' destiny to a great extent. In Man and Superman, the class into which we are born determines our marriage status, earning potential and lifestyle. Consider the same question for any one of the last four plays we are reading. What factor or factors keeps characters from behaving "freely"?