School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
century
24
major actions in this play show the character’s need for
escape through a push a pull pattern found within the
scenes. Throughout act two,
the characters constantly
push and pull against one another, unable to keep their
bodies or their mouths still and quiet. They argue and
fight one moment, and then the next, they have nothing
to say. Their restless demeanor illustrates their need to
escape from their family both physically and
emotionally. The language throughout the play conveys
a lot about the characters’ eager attempts to escape their
past. Karen’s undying attempts to make her new fiancé
Steve a part of the family
illustrates her need to
distinguish herself as her own woman. Throughout
second act, she continuously talks about him to the
others, making him out to be the greatest thing that has
ever happened to her. In making Steve a part of the
family and getting her family’s approval, she would be
able to truly distinguish herself away from her
hometown in Oklahoma. She wants to be her own person
with Steve,
living a new, glamorous life away from all
the madness and disorder she once knew. With this
sporadic language, Letts also utilizes contrasting images
of order and harmony to further convey a sense of
disorder. The house is constantly a mess, something that
is inevitable in a household with two substance abusers.
However, Johnna creates a sense of order that the house
does not possess on it’s own.
Letts also uses literal images of the blacked-out windows
at the beginning of the show to create a setting in which
the characters want to escape. . From the top of the first
act, the audience immediately sees a dark, gloomy home.
Another way Letts shows the inescapable feeling in this
School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
century
25
show is through the unbearable Oklahoma heat. The heat
is representative of the intolerable dysfunction present in
Beverly and Violet’s home. Once Beverly started talking
about Violet’s addiction, Johnna physically shows the
audience that she is hot. This idea is manifested
throughout the play to show how inescapable the family
dynamics are. Another example of Violet’s need to
escape through her drugs comes out through her slurred
dialect. In the beginning
scene when she first meets
Johnna, she can hardly get a solid sentence formed.
Through this language, the audience can quickly pick up
on her inability to control the affect the drugs are having
on her body. In an attempt to regain control and make
sense, she tries to over-articulate. But despite her
attempts, the drugs have taken over her ability to do so,
thus causing her to slur her words. Violet is unable to
process her sadness and anxiety. She cannot fathom the
thought of having to take care of the bills and house all
by herself now that her husband is gone. She is slowly
realizing that she will
be the one taking care of
everything now, and cannot deal with all of the
overwhelming feelings that come with the responsibility.
This slow loss of control is shown in her taking pills in
order to escape from her pain.
A prominent theme in
August: Osage County
is the way
shame is used to dehumanize another character. Each
character does it in some form or another, giving him or
her a feeling of false power over the other.
Another theme in this show is the character’s need to
escape their problems with something external, whether
that is drugs or physically leaving home. Barbara and
School of Distance Education
English Literature in the 21
st
century
26
Karen moved away from home and started their own
families; Bill escaped his relationship
with Barbara by
having an affair; Jean escapes her father’s affair and
parent’s separation through marijuana; Ivy and Little
Charles plan to get away by moving to New York
together; Beverly and Violet used alcohol and drugs in
order to escape their troubles.
Dostları ilə paylaş: