Buried
Child is not a cookie cutter, black and white, this-is-what-this-means type of
play. There is a lot of ambiguity surrounding Vince and the crops and, I think,
the buried child. The play's setting and lines could fall under realism, yes,
because they show a slice of life, with normal dialogue, but there is no real
tie up and explanation at the end. The reader is left with questions.
Who
is Vince’s mother? It seems that Tilden might have been the father of the child
Dodge drowned so if that baby really is dead then who is Vince, really? If he
grew up with the family then who was the mother?
Why
after thirty years did crops start growing again? And why didn’t Hallie notice
until after Tilden had unburied the baby?
The
buried child was Hallie’s, and it is assumed that Tilden was the father, but it
isn’t certain. Why did Dodge drowned it if that wasn’t the case?
There
are a lot of unanswered questions left by the end of the play and so I don’t
think it would be considered a well-made play because the ends aren’t tied up
perfectly. Sheppard leaves a lot for the reader to ponder and decide for themselves.
One of the thoughts I had that sort of makes the play a bit more ambiguous is that Vince might be the reason for the crops growing. It is right before he returns that they start growing. I thought it was sort of interesting.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those plays that was just very confusing for me to read. I had similar questions and wondered if Vince really was alive. Maybe he was some ghost of this "buried child". Didn't quite make sense when I tried adding it up but I felt just overall the insanity of this entire family is affecting how we the audience see things or interpret them. Although we may never actually see the crops or other things they may visualize, I just felt if I imagined it was I going crazy too? I could understand the realistic aspects and then the moments where I lifted an eyebrow. Maybe it was best to leave much unanswered otherwise the whole craziness of it all would not take full effect.
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