Monday, March 18, 2013
Buried Child
There’s much more than meets the eye in Shepard’s Buried Child. While reading, I was confused but intrigued throughout because I felt like I was solving a mystery. This piece is drenched in irony, ambiguity and complexity. In fact, after reading I had more questions than answers. For example, I thought Shelly was the buried child for a while. When she and Vince arrived at the “home”, she was scared out of her mind until she started cutting carrots with Tilden. When she woke up the next morning and started talking about how everything was so familiar I thought for sure she was the child that Dodge sent away and just claimed he killed. After hearing the story of the buried child, I changed my mind and thought it was Vince (all that time Tilden spent with him-come on). Also, who are these people? It seems like they don’t know their own kin, let alone themselves which is why I find it hard to believe anything that comes out of anyone’s mouth. Tilden gets into some big trouble apparently, but no one says what he did. Everyone except Halie appears intimidate by Bradley, the man with one leg. Vince disappears and leaves his girl with a family who doesn’t even recognize him. This is a total WTF, but it’s a good one. The most credible people are Preacher Dewis and Shelly (the two that don’t reside in the nut house). Due to this, I never believed that there was a buried child until the end of the piece; I don’t know if that was a choice by Shepard but it definitely worked. The way it ended was really fascinating as well; mirroring the beginning with Haile upstairs and someone on the couch while it’s raining. I think part of what makes this piece work is the fact that so many things are unanswered. Because of this, viewers can fill in the blanks, so everyone will see a completely different play. The structure of the piece is similar to the structure of the family too. Overall, I think it could be classified as a well-made play because it has most of the requirements, but it’s not the traditional/expected well-made play.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I'm with you in regard to how to go about understanding this play. Initially I was in the same boat as you, I really thought that Shelly was the Buried Child for a while, obviously that wasnt the case. At one point I started wondering if perhaps Shelly and Vince entered a supernatural/surreal paralell world within the house and maybe we were witnessing a ghost story....perhaps I was thinking a little too outside the box. But I believe that the ambiguous motifs within the play create that kind of atmosphere and clearly people pick up on it. Anyway, I think you've got a good interpretation of the story man.
ReplyDeleteHey Donavon!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you said that because the play is so full of ambiguity, people can see a completely different play. This is so true! I never at one point thought about the possibility of Shelly being the buried child. But I can see how that can be thought! I just never viewed it that way. That is a perfect example of how this play can be viewed in completely different ways. I also agree that it was very difficult to believe anything anyone said. After the first act, I gave up! I trusted no one, except Shelly. I felt that throughout it all, Shelly was solid and sane. I liked the way you interpreted the play.