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2020281077

Evrim Ersöz Koç

AKE 3030 Major American Playwrights

22.04.2023

The Trouble with Inequality and Sociopolitical Criticism

I want to begin with the problem of general discrimination almost we all get through.

This discrimination may vary as gender discrimination, class discrimination, race

discrimination or more. The system we are in feeding with all those discrimination, injustice,

inequality and more. In those plays, we see how different people from different time lines,

races, genders and social classes have how different sociopolitical problems.

In the play named “The Danube” by Maria Irene Fornes, although it had seemed like a

monotone story at first, I realized a surrealistic atmosphere ruled over in general. The illness

that Paul suffers from represents the brittleness of people’s lives. Paul falls in love with a

Hungarian girl and eventually decides to stay with her in Hungary. As a consequence of this

decision, they both get sick and the play makes us feel that the sense of reality changes.

Initially, I thought that Paul suffers from PTSD due to historical trauma that affects

individuals. However, the play does not give us the details about the condition of Paul. Also,

Paul’s illness may be perceived as a metaphor for the political and social issues that have

taken hold of society and Hungary. This play was kind of mind-blowing because of the

surrealistic components and time deviations that appeared in the play.

“One Flea Spare” play by Naomi Wallace explains how unequal conditions have

effects on people’s lives just to survive, for both the poor and wealthy sides in society. In the

play, the plague is used as a symbol of the reason for social class discrimination in those
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times in London. During the Great Plague, the people of London suffered the most from the

illness. The Royal and bourgeois class survived with the minimum damage. At the beginning

of staying together in the same quarantine house, the wealthy couple tries to assert dominance

over two poor people. This situation is can be explained as a recall of the ruling class

oppressing the low class in British society in the 17th century. The play evokes the fact that

the only matter the wealthy and poor are equal is death.

Despite that illnesses are not the major theme that have a significant role in the

“Heroes and Saints” play by Cherrie Moraga, they still can be seen as political and social

criticism on American society. At first we can get confused about how an illness can be

politic. However when we go down deep, we actually realize that illnesses are the

consequences of social inequality and inequity. Due to the fact that some communities and

individuals can not reach the health assistance freely, Juanita’s cancer goes bad. Chicano

community is forced to solve their problems on their own and the only way to stand is

supporting each other and being together. Because minorities in America have suffered from

racism, economical exploitation and injustice exceedingly and the only way to get rid off it is

seek each other’s rights.

I could not see any illness part mentioned directly in the “We Keep Our Victims

Ready” performance by Karen Finley. Nevertheless, the aforementioned sexual assault, rape

and domestic violence that were performed in the play may end up with several mental

illnesses and disorders. If we go around this type of illness, the social and political impacts of

any type of assault on, especially women, the individual would be huge. I personally think the

political impacts of sexual assault are way more important than the social impacts because if

the government had given the most dissuasive punishment, women would have walked more

freely at night than how it is now. Mentioned illness part also may seem as a metaphor for the

mental damage that victims experienced as a result of psychological and physical violence.
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She also uses foods as stage properties for a metaphor for the abuse and objectification of

women's bodies.

The system will never change, it is a beast that feeds on capitalism. It is a huge wheel

which includes all humanity and the wheel will keep turning. Do not try to change the world

or you will eventually give up and join the little wheels that create one huge wheel. Only

change yourself and support the people who are with you. If everyone changes themselves,

the world eventually changes. Each of those plays is about people who are trying to escape

from the system’s claw.

Works Cited

Koç, Evrim Ersöz, et al. “Food in American Culture and Literature.” Google Kitaplar,

Google, 2020,

https://books.google.com.tr/books?hl=tr&lr=&id=20bhDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA9

6&dq=we%2Bkeep%2Bour%2Bvictims%2Bready%2Bplay&ots=BFUKWNixmY&sig
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=oj4i10r3alhyvXb9gFHHJWIEltw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=we%20keep%20our%

20victims%20ready%20play&f=false.

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Evrim Ersöz Koç

AKE 3030 Major American Playwrights

06.03.2023
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Response Paper on The Danube

While I was reading the play, I had waited for an action in any seconds but nothing

interesting had happened. It was purely realistic and about slice of life. A boring lovestory

between a young American soldier and an Hungarian girl named Eve. Except the

weirddialogs of waiter and barber that gave the play an odd and magical touch.

“Tell me. Is it permitted? Please, tell me.What does one say? I want? I want milk?

Please, give me beer? Meet? I am very hungry? It is the heart of the nation. It is cold. The

earth is cold.” says Barber. In this scene, those words came from almost out of nowhere after

Paul said he was a soldier. In the play, this and waiter part were the ones that gained my

interest. It was just like a man who had PTSD symtomps when he heard that Paul was a

soldier. Nothing really comes to my mind other than this. I am very confused.

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2020281077

Evrim Ersöz Koç

AKE 3030 Major American Playwrights

12.04.2023

Response Paper on We Keep Our Victims Ready

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Karen Finley's performance may seen as a pornographic or irritating food-included

action for some audience. However, the point that Karen Finley is trying to give us is the

downtrodden statue of women and how American men are arrogant about sexual assaults

towards women. Moreover, she even mentioned about the women's abortion rights.

My favorite part was "It’s my body it’s not Pepsi’s body it’s not Nancy Reagan’s body

it is not Congress’s body it’s not Supreme Court’s body it’s not Cosmopolitan’s pink twat body

it’s not George Bush’s ugly-conscience never be responsible let the world rot body...IT'S NOT

YOUR BODY" because of the decision taken by the USA last year. This performance was

clearly seeing the future about one of the most fundamental rights of women body. She was

also criticise the unpleasant aspect of American society on gay community and AIDS people.

İnce 1

Sıdıka Cansu İnce

2020281077

Evrim Ersöz Koç

AKE 3030 Major American Playwrights

13.03.2023

Response Paper on One Flea Spare

[EN FAZLA 50 KARAKTER OLACAK ŞEKİLDE KISALTILMIŞ BAŞLIK] 7

This play shows us the fragility of life and the changeability of human conditions in the

time of crisis. The play is about a married couple and two strangers that broke into their house

to flee the plague. The play also addresses upon the theme of humanity. As the characters get

close each other, they begin to develop empathy and overcome social barriers. The play

highlights the importance of human connection and importance of unity in times of crisis.

The quote "all their belongings tied up in a handkerchief, like they was setting out on a

journey" emphasizes how transience the life was during the plague. People were forced to flee

from their homes, their belongings and even their loved ones in search of safety. As the

characters struggle with the uncertainty of their own death and their relationships, this sense of

transience recurs throughout the play. This sense of impermanence is a recurring theme in the

play, as the characters grapple with the uncertainty of their own mortality and the fleeting

nature of their relationships.