Does Dottie shoot Chris out of love, hate, or something else?
I think that there was more than one reason for Dottie shooting Chris. Of course the obvious reason is because she became angry, but Im pretty sure she did it out of love too. As lost and confused as Dottie seemed through out, she may have been the only person who really knew what was going on. Although she apears to be an innocent child for the majority of the play, I think she may have saw everything that was coming. In fact, if you ask me, she's the most interesting person in the play; she's kind of labled as "the flunky" of the family, but all the "normal" people (everyone else) seem to have the problem of functioning correctly. They aren't dumb, they just make dumb decisions and what they think is right/wrong is really screwed up-but Dottie never made a decision, she was the decision at the beginning and end of the play. Dottie was the reciever and she was the reliever. It's funny, because as significant as her role is, she and her mother have alot in common; everyone know's she's there but she's sort of just taking up space, everyone thinks she's not that bright so they kind of ignore her and everyone wants to get something out of her. The only difference is that they all loved her, but I'm not sure how giving away someone as a retainer is love...maybe that's just me. Regardless, there's really no conflict until Joe wants Dottie (no offense Chris lol) because the rest of the play is built upon that idea that Dottie is Chris's last posession and he won't let her go. Now whether he molested her as a child or not is a whole nother discusion, but it brings me back to the question. Love...to Dottie, love was what her and a fat kid had once when she was young. In other words, I don't think Dottie knew how to love because she never experienced it before to know how it felt. She knew what love was and I think she had that love for Chris, which is why she shot him. He wanted to start over...again which there's nothing wrong with that, but everytime he started over he failed miserably again. In fact, even when he had something good, he still managed to mess up. So, she set him free from the mess he created, the only way she knew how...she may have been the only character who wasn't selfish at all. I said eralier that I think she killed Chris out of anger too, but it wasn't directed towards him as much as it was the situation. Everyone has a breaking point and I'm almost sure Dottie just got fed up with the bull too. When it happned, it was too much at once and Dottie saw it coming from miles away. For a "stupid" girl, ditzy Dottie was very observant; she knew about the plan, Rex, Joe, all of it. Maybe she thought that they all should've known it too. I think there was something else there too, but I can't explain it. Whatever happned between Chris and Dottie was special, not neccisarly in a good way, but it may have caused her to act like she did. I'm almost certain she shoots Joe at the end, but for a different reason-out of hate. He was manipulative like Chris, but Chris was her brother, he was always there for her and although he failed, he tried to do right. Dottie knew what Joe was doing and she knew what he was about; she didn't have to hear it, she saw it all the first day they met...it was all in his eyes. I'm sure she just wanted to tell Joe that she was having a baby and then that was it. So, I think everyone that tried to control her gets shot, which included her dad, Chris and when the lights go out, Joe.
I'm not an actor or a theatre person so, I'm not in on all the theatre lingo and methods. I thoroughly appreciate and approve of Ball's writing style. He breaks down each term and definition so that anyone, even non theatre people can understand. It should honestly be titled "How to Understand Theatre for Dummies." While reading Shakespeare's plays, I do feel somewhat compelled to read on. I now understand that there is a method to this playwright's madness. Shakespeare along with many playwrights use forwards to "arouse the audience's interest in things yet to come." (Ball, Backwards and Forwards) While reading Ball's explanation of forwards, i said, "Oh, so that's how they do it."
ahhh you didn't post anything for the shape of things, so I didn't know where to put my input so here you go:
I did not like Evelyn. I think she crossed the line between art and the feelings of others. I'll be honest I have dated someone who changed and molded himself to be the way I wanted him to be. I personally would never call that art. He chose to temporarily change to just be with me, just like Adam only temporarily changed for the sex. I don't think he was set in stone that way, I think he was only putting on a mere facade to get in her pants and along the way fell in love with her. I know Adam chose to change and semi set himself up for it, but he did not deserve the public abuse that she gave him. The part that I think is awful, is that she would have the audacity to announce her rejection to his proposal in public and say that their relationship was all just for "art" and that it was subjective. I can only imagine how Adam really would have felt if this was real. I like to think that Adam ended up with Jenny, or would at least love again one day.
Woooo
ReplyDeleteDoes Dottie shoot Chris out of love, hate, or something else?
ReplyDeleteI think that there was more than one reason for Dottie shooting Chris. Of course the obvious reason is because she became angry, but Im pretty sure she did it out of love too. As lost and confused as Dottie seemed through out, she may have been the only person who really knew what was going on. Although she apears to be an innocent child for the majority of the play, I think she may have saw everything that was coming. In fact, if you ask me, she's the most interesting person in the play; she's kind of labled as "the flunky" of the family, but all the "normal" people (everyone else) seem to have the problem of functioning correctly. They aren't dumb, they just make dumb decisions and what they think is right/wrong is really screwed up-but Dottie never made a decision, she was the decision at the beginning and end of the play. Dottie was the reciever and she was the reliever. It's funny, because as significant as her role is, she and her mother have alot in common; everyone know's she's there but she's sort of just taking up space, everyone thinks she's not that bright so they kind of ignore her and everyone wants to get something out of her. The only difference is that they all loved her, but I'm not sure how giving away someone as a retainer is love...maybe that's just me. Regardless, there's really no conflict until Joe wants Dottie (no offense Chris lol) because the rest of the play is built upon that idea that Dottie is Chris's last posession and he won't let her go. Now whether he molested her as a child or not is a whole nother discusion, but it brings me back to the question. Love...to Dottie, love was what her and a fat kid had once when she was young. In other words, I don't think Dottie knew how to love because she never experienced it before to know how it felt. She knew what love was and I think she had that love for Chris, which is why she shot him. He wanted to start over...again which there's nothing wrong with that, but everytime he started over he failed miserably again. In fact, even when he had something good, he still managed to mess up. So, she set him free from the mess he created, the only way she knew how...she may have been the only character who wasn't selfish at all. I said eralier that I think she killed Chris out of anger too, but it wasn't directed towards him as much as it was the situation. Everyone has a breaking point and I'm almost sure Dottie just got fed up with the bull too. When it happned, it was too much at once and Dottie saw it coming from miles away. For a "stupid" girl, ditzy Dottie was very observant; she knew about the plan, Rex, Joe, all of it. Maybe she thought that they all should've known it too. I think there was something else there too, but I can't explain it. Whatever happned between Chris and Dottie was special, not neccisarly in a good way, but it may have caused her to act like she did. I'm almost certain she shoots Joe at the end, but for a different reason-out of hate. He was manipulative like Chris, but Chris was her brother, he was always there for her and although he failed, he tried to do right. Dottie knew what Joe was doing and she knew what he was about; she didn't have to hear it, she saw it all the first day they met...it was all in his eyes. I'm sure she just wanted to tell Joe that she was having a baby and then that was it. So, I think everyone that tried to control her gets shot, which included her dad, Chris and when the lights go out, Joe.
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ReplyDeleteI'm not an actor or a theatre person so, I'm not in on all the theatre lingo and methods. I thoroughly appreciate and approve of Ball's writing style. He breaks down each term and definition so that anyone, even non theatre people can understand. It should honestly be titled "How to Understand Theatre for Dummies." While reading Shakespeare's plays, I do feel somewhat compelled to read on. I now understand that there is a method to this playwright's madness. Shakespeare along with many playwrights use forwards to "arouse the audience's interest in things yet to come." (Ball, Backwards and Forwards) While reading Ball's explanation of forwards, i said, "Oh, so that's how they do it."
ReplyDeleteahhh you didn't post anything for the shape of things, so I didn't know where to put my input so here you go:
ReplyDeleteI did not like Evelyn. I think she crossed the line between art and the feelings of others. I'll be honest I have dated someone who changed and molded himself to be the way I wanted him to be. I personally would never call that art. He chose to temporarily change to just be with me, just like Adam only temporarily changed for the sex. I don't think he was set in stone that way, I think he was only putting on a mere facade to get in her pants and along the way fell in love with her. I know Adam chose to change and semi set himself up for it, but he did not deserve the public abuse that she gave him. The part that I think is awful, is that she would have the audacity to announce her rejection to his proposal in public and say that their relationship was all just for "art" and that it was subjective. I can only imagine how Adam really would have felt if this was real. I like to think that Adam ended up with Jenny, or would at least love again one day.