Roles Played In American Subcultures

Paper Summary:

Discusses two plays on how people cope with their roles in a subculture. JOE TURNER'S COME AND GONE by August Wilson, and AND THE SOUL SHALL DANCE by Wakako Yamauchi. How each playwright develops a strong sense of the importance of the family bond. A sense of alienation as a divisive force.

From the Paper:

"In the plays Joe Turner's Come and Gone by August Wilson and And The Soul Shall Dance by Wakako Yamauchi, the playwright in each case develops a strong sense of the importance of the family bond as each explores the way people cope with their roles in a subculture within a larger, dominant culture that generally does not value them or their cultural background. In each case, the characters aspire to something better than they have already achieved, defined usually as economic success in the American society of which they are a part. In Wilson's play, these aspirations are found in the black community among people whose ancestors were slaves and who themselves do not feel fully part of American society. In Yamauchi's play, the characters are Japanese immigrants cut off from their homeland and from much of their own culture by great distance as well as ..."

More papers on Roles Played In American Subcultures:

• Term Paper # 124852 : "Cultural Traditions in American Musical Theatre"
• Essay # 143659 : "Escape In American Cinema: Futile Existential State Or Meaningful Striving?"
• Essay # 32411 : "The American Dream in American Literature"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: