Try it today! Curse of the Starving Class "balances dark comedy and biting satire in its look at a family fighting to stay alive," according to the Long Wharf Theatre. The conventions of dialogue in the play again present this mixture. In the end he was cheering for the eagle. to read our character analysis for Ella Tate and unlock other amazing theatre resources! SymbolismCurse of the Starving Class uses symbolism a great deal, but Shepard uses it in a jarring way. Paper bag being tucked under one arm. California suffers from rolling blackouts, and the major population centers of the East Coast are warned about similar blackouts or brownouts. In the night. Wesley and Emma then argue over who is going to go add water to the artichokes that are boiling on the stove. However, many of the same issues (such as access to abortions and birth control, equal pay for equal work, and affirmative action) still remain to be resolved. Feet stopping. I could feel myself in my bed in my room in this house in this town in this state in this country. She climbs up and stretches out on it as Wesley, completely naked, enters. While Ella eats her breakfast, Wesley urinates on Emmas charts. Today: Feminism is in its third wave. As many of the issues feminists initially fought for have become law, feminist groups turn their sights on other issues. Continue with Recommended Cookies, Home | The Curse Of The Starving Class Monologue (Wesley). Our Essay Lab can help you tackle any essay assignment within seconds, whether youre studying Macbeth or the American Revolution. Ink and Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus Play with History. Curse of the Starving Class premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Shakespeare Festival, on March 2, 1978, presented by Joseph Papp. 14. What does heartache for the wrong reason (is it ever the right reason?) In addition, playwright Sam Shepard is himself an actor and can be seen in over a dozen wide-release films (many with his longtime partner Jessica Lange), including Country, Places in the Heart, and The Right Stuff. Ella begins to act antsy and Emma realizes that Ella has boiled her chicken. Beaufort, John, Off-Broadway: Tale of a Blighted Family, in Christian Science Monitor, March 3, 1978. Seeking 2 Actor Team for Spring Ellis enters, laughing at the passed-out Weston who is slumped on the kitchen table. As she is falling asleep, and Weston is talking to her about the benefits of sleeping on the hard table, Wesley walks into the kitchen, naked, and takes the lamb outside. Emma, angry, leaves. An enormous explosion is heard. The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. Kissel, Howard, Review of Curse of the Starving Class, in Womens Wear Daily, March 3, 1978. nada! [9] The play focuses on the disturbed Tate familythe drunken father, burned-out mother, rebellious teenage daughter, and idealistic sonas they struggle for control of the rundown family farm in a futile search for freedom, security, and ultimately meaning in their lives. The curtain falls as Wesley and Weston discuss how to rid the lamb of the maggots that are infesting its digestive tract. Cars line up for gasoline, and President Ford appoints an energy czar to head U.S. energy policy efforts. Weston asks where Ella is, and then goes into a rage when Wesley and Emma tell him where she went. As a country whose greatest natural resource has always been its seemingly endless supply of land and space, the United States settlement and development has generally followed the same pattern. Taylor appears and tells Ella that he has the final draft of the deed of sale. As Wesley and Ella argue, Ella speaks of the curse she sees operating on the family. They say that they blew up Westons car. Researchers have studied how much of our personality is set from childhood, but what youre like isnt who you are. "Curse of the Starving Class - Historical Context" Drama for Students Act III The lifters have a sound like nothing else. He tells Wesley to go clean up, and he'll make him a big breakfast. A French Villages Radical Vision of a Good Life with Alzheimers. Taylor arrives for his luncheon date with Ella; the children treat him rudely. Every time I see a fair-to-middling production of a brilliant play by the irreplaceable Sam Shepard, who died in 2017, at the age of seventy-three, I leave the theatre with conflicted feelings. The lights come up on Wesley, building a new door, and Emma, in a Western shirt, jodhpurs, and riding boots, making new charts for her demonstration. eNotes.com, Inc. New York, NY, Accessibility Statement Terms Privacy |StageAgent 2020. Take a look at our library of free monologues . Act-by-act or chapter-by-chapter summaries and reviews of the plays and books I am currently reading. Emma runs away, only to return covered with mud, thrown by her horse. Weston explains his new outlook: He took a bath, walked around the place naked, cleaned everything, ate a good breakfast, and decided to fix things up. She has just started her first period, and has several mood swings during the play. Ella leaves with Taylor, telling Wesley to take the lamb with the maggots back outside. The refrigerator is the focal point of the action; each member of the family is obsessed with its emptiness. ELLA ( after a while) You shouldn't be doing that. Today: After riots, fires, a major earthquake, landslides, and flooding, Los Angeles continues to grow. 353 subscribers Episode 10: Sam Shepard's Curse of the Starving Class Sam Shepard wasn't just a playwright but an actor himself, fully into the arts. Cobwebs moving with them. Bulls. Urban Sprawl eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. They are realistic as stage properties, but the sheer quantity Weston brings home is obsessive, imparting a meaning beyond their food value. If there are three dates, the first date is the date of the original Just sitting. Soon, the music is interrupted by a great rumble, and the kitchen walls break in half. Ellis is a greedy charlatan who tries to cheat the family out of their house. Wesley then begins to gorge himself on all of the food in the refrigerator. Curse of the Starving Class Wesley, in sweatshirt, jeans and cowboy boots picks up pieces of a broken door and throws them methodically into an old wheelbarrow. Emma then yells down that she is going to take the horse and leave. Floating. Sorry! The man tells her that his name is Taylor and that he is looking for her mother. [6], The play was produced at Yale Repertory Theatre, New Haven, Connecticut, in February 2000, directed by Jim Simpson and featuring Kristine Nielsen, Guy Boyd, Mandy Siegfried, Danny Seckel, Paul Boocock, Ron Faber, Steve Mellor, Dan Moran and Chime Serra. Car door slamming. In the fridge, she finds some bacon and bread and, as she fries up the last of the familys meat, Wesley thinks about himself and his father and recalls a memory: I was lying there on my back. Advertising in newspapers around the country, they encouraged people to come to Sunny California! to retire or simply to flee the frigid northern climates or unhealthy cities of the East. Heart still pounding. After the walls split, we see a young man, Wesley (Gilles Geary), picking up whats left of the kitchen door. Ella begins to yell at Weston for pulling a Jekyll and Hyde act by changing overnight. Wesley returns, bloodied by Ellis. Vol. Weston leaves. At the end of the play, the skinned lamb carcass symbolically suggests the sacrifice of Wesley, or perhaps Emma, to a malevolent force. men who came back from the war, had to settle down, raise a family and send the kids to schooland they just couldnt handle it. That was what Shepard knew as a boy. The agriculture drew refugees from the Dust Bowl states during the Great Depression, and poor people thronged to southern California. Ella decides to take matters into her own hands and puts the house up for sale without consulting her husband. Weston stumbles in, even drunker, and wants to know where Ella is. Hello, this is Emma's monologue from Curse of the Starving Class by Sam Shepard. The property requirements suggest a realistic, if not a naturalistic play. He compares it to a zombie invasion and takeover, where the zombies build their own city. Closely connected to the symbolic structure of the play is its use of motif, or a recurring image. Scouting me. . Mans voice. "Curse of the Starving Class - Summary" Drama for Students Ella then asks Emma what she is holding and Emma reminds her that these are her poster for the 4-H project on how to properly cut up a frying chicken that she has been working on quite some time. On the other hand, all the members of the family, except for Ella, are given long monologues which are almost soliloquies. The men tell Wesley, still calling him Weston, that he is to pass on the warning to his father and they leave. Weston tells Ella to let Emma go and then there is a bright flash and a loud explosion from outside. Wesley tells Weston that his creditors are going to kill him. Some population geographers see the U.S. cities of Los Angeles and San Diego and the Mexican city of Tijuana as one immense megalopolis, a mega-city with tens of millions of inhabitants. Even sleeping people I could feel. New York, NY, Linda Ray The last date is today's A. J. Sobczak and Frank N. Magill. Clean laundry is stacked on the table; the room has been swept. He advises Wesley to do the same. After this outburst he passes out. Weston tells Wesley that he has decided to stay and fix up the house instead of leaving, no matter who holds the deed. Emma, by way of contrast, often shouts her lines from offstage. date the date you are citing the material. Weston tells Wesley that he got up early and took a walk around the house and decided he wanted to stay, so he cleaned up, bought food, made a huge breakfast, and did all of the laundry. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. I could smell the avocado blossoms. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! His mother, Ella (Maggie Siff), enters, wondering why her son is doing what hes doingcleaning up after the guy who broke the door down, otherwise known as Weston (David Warshofsky), Wesleys father and Ellas spouse. At first, Weston can't remember who all he has loaned money to, and begins to rant about how this is his home and nobody ought to be able to take it from him because he has nowhere else to go. As Wesley and Ella argue, Ella speaks of the curse she sees operating on the family. Finally, highway patrolman Malcolm appears with the news that Emma, having shot up the Alibi Club, is in jail. These objects are indeed symbolic, but they are meant to hit the audience with their power. Wesley re-enters and starts yelling to the offstage Emma about her chicken. Weston considers fleeing to Mexico, and Wesley muses about finding Taylor to get the money for the desert land back. Sam Shepard's coming of age drama about a dirt-poor 1950's-era farm family. [5] Ella talks about the curse that is plaguing their family. Weston tries to explain the poison to Wesley by comparing it to the way to you poison a coyote by putting strychnine in the belly of a dead lamb. Later, when Weston enters and finds only the lamb at home, he naturally begins a conversation. Hes woken up with dew on the hood before. Emma explains that her father broke the door down the night before in a drunken rage. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Then, far off the freeway could be heard. The Tate family is a lower middle class, rural California family, trying to hold on to the last shreds of a family bond and traditional living. the maintenance!. Mans voice. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. DeRose, David J. Sam Shepard. Mumbling about his experience flying planes in the Second World War, he passes out again. Man yelling. The entire upkeep of the farm falls on the shoulders of their idealistic son, Wesley, the only one who seems to have some hope for the family left. Ella has called the police because Weston threatened to kill her, but she doesnt leave right away; Wesley is upset that his mother has summoned outside forces to their home. My Jap Zero. Watt, Douglas, In the End, Emptiness, in New York Daily News, March 3, 1978. Marranca, Bonnie, ed. Christian H. Moe. Act two opens on Wesley and Emma in the kitchen, where Wesley is building a new front door for the house. Suzie tells a new friend about her older brother. The symbols work together to undermine the realism of the play. Authors Series, this book provides a concise introduction to Shepards life, short descriptions of almost all of his works up to States of Shock, and discussions of the themes and techniques that characterize Shepards work as a whole. "Curse of the Starving . American Gothic: Sam Shepard's Family Trilogy.. The curse on the family is described by both women as something that breeds internally in Weston and Wesley and is inevitable. Emma yells at Ella and exits. Wilmeth, Don B. and Miller, Tice L. "The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre", Cambridge University Press, 1996, Yale Rep Starts Shepard's 'Curse Of The Starving Class' Feb. 3 in New Haven", "Long Wharf Theatre stages 'Curse of the Starving Class' February 13 through March 10", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Curse_of_the_Starving_Class&oldid=1020900821, This page was last edited on 1 May 2021, at 18:23. VerMeulen, Michael. Sam Shepards Curse of the Starving Class is a darkly comic look into the world of dysfunctional Tate family, as they struggle amongst themselves for food, freedom, and meaning in their run-down lives. The film was written by Bruce Beresford and directed by J. Michael McClary. The drama is here to create an impact: whereas the realistic story of the family appeals to our minds and emotions, the symbols affect us on a subconscious level. Emma leaves; then Taylor and Ella leave for a business meeting. Wesley is left on stage, talking to the lamb, when Westons voice is heard outside. publication in traditional print. Monologues. Emerson, a small well dressed thug, enters, giggling about the explosion. Feet and hands tearing. Feet walking toward the door. American Dreams: The Imagination of Sam Shepard. I could feel the headlights closing in. In an eerie way he is speaking neither to his mother nor directly to the audience; instead, the audience is allowed to hear his thought processes. There are three acts. eNotes.com, Inc. 14. Back down driveway. Then, looking in that bloody fridge, he, like his children, finds nothing: zero! Emerson and Slater warn him to pay up. What Price Freedom? The New Republic 178 (April 8, 1978): 24-25. . Their daughter, Emma, is a smart and rebellious teen, itching to get away from her crazy home. I could smell the avocado blossoms. Emma Tate is the daughter of Ella and Weston Tate. How old is Wesley in "Curse ofthe Starving Class"? . 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. 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