Millennium Approaches 1.6: Difference between revisions
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==Summary== | ==Summary== | ||
Louis is crying in a restroom in the building of the Brooklyn Federal [http://www.fedcir.gov/ Court of Appeals], where he works as a word processor, when Joe, a chief clerk for Justice Wilson, enters. Joe starts to ask if everything is fine, finds out that a friend of Louis is sick and tries to comfort him. Louis then makes a comment about Joe calling him a gay republican. When Joe denies being gay, Louis takes advantage and teases him. After a short chat Louis introduces himself and leaves having kissed Joe on a cheek. | |||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
*Macho - is a Spanish word that means "male", which refers mostly to animals; or "manly", someone with prominently exhibited masculine characteristics. | |||
==Commentary== | |||
The scene 6 of the first act introduces the first discussion about politics in the “Fantasia on National Themes” through a clash between two characters from the opposite wings of a political spectrum – [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal liberal] Louis and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservatism conservative] Joe. | |||
Joe is a closeted homosexual who is “coming out” and struggling with that as he becomes more and more aware of his being gay (Jacobus 1635). Louis, who is also a gay, notices that oddity in Joe the very moment the latter enters the room because, unlike his three other colleagues, he did not open the door saw Louis crying and fled (35). On contrary, even though he does not know Louis’ name, he remains there to check if the guy in the men’s room is OK. This decision reveals the inner part of him, the almost-as-sensitive-as-women part of him that is untypical among men. | |||
When Louis notices a small distraction in Joe after he calls Joe “A Gay Republican” (35), he starts to tease him: | |||
Louis: [http://www.rnc.org/ Republican]? Not Republican? Or… | |||
[…] | |||
Louis: Oh. Sorry. It’s just… | |||
[…] | |||
Louis: Well, sometimes you can tell from the way a person sounds that… I mean you sound like a… | |||
If Joe was not gay, he would be insulted by the way Louis talks to and probably beat Louis up or at least get out. But Joe does not become angry and stays calm throughout the entire conversation. | |||
Kushner planned the play to be “a pointed attack on conservative values” (Jacobus 1636) and “A Gay Republican” is an irony aimed at those values because the republican administration of President Reagan opposed homosexuals. Yet Joe is a Republican, he voted for [http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/rr40.html Reagan] twice (35), and is gay. | |||
==Study Questions== | |||
#Why is Louis crying? | |||
#What did three other Joe's colleagues do when they came into the restroom? | |||
#What does Joe give Louis? | |||
#How many times did Joe vote on Reagan? | |||
==Works Cited== | ==Works Cited== | ||
Jacobus, Lee A. ''The Bedford Introduction to Drama''. 3rd Ed. Boston: Bedford, 1997. | |||
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Latest revision as of 16:45, 24 April 2006
Summary
Louis is crying in a restroom in the building of the Brooklyn Federal Court of Appeals, where he works as a word processor, when Joe, a chief clerk for Justice Wilson, enters. Joe starts to ask if everything is fine, finds out that a friend of Louis is sick and tries to comfort him. Louis then makes a comment about Joe calling him a gay republican. When Joe denies being gay, Louis takes advantage and teases him. After a short chat Louis introduces himself and leaves having kissed Joe on a cheek.
Notes
- Macho - is a Spanish word that means "male", which refers mostly to animals; or "manly", someone with prominently exhibited masculine characteristics.
Commentary
The scene 6 of the first act introduces the first discussion about politics in the “Fantasia on National Themes” through a clash between two characters from the opposite wings of a political spectrum – liberal Louis and conservative Joe.
Joe is a closeted homosexual who is “coming out” and struggling with that as he becomes more and more aware of his being gay (Jacobus 1635). Louis, who is also a gay, notices that oddity in Joe the very moment the latter enters the room because, unlike his three other colleagues, he did not open the door saw Louis crying and fled (35). On contrary, even though he does not know Louis’ name, he remains there to check if the guy in the men’s room is OK. This decision reveals the inner part of him, the almost-as-sensitive-as-women part of him that is untypical among men.
When Louis notices a small distraction in Joe after he calls Joe “A Gay Republican” (35), he starts to tease him:
Louis: Republican? Not Republican? Or… […] Louis: Oh. Sorry. It’s just… […] Louis: Well, sometimes you can tell from the way a person sounds that… I mean you sound like a…
If Joe was not gay, he would be insulted by the way Louis talks to and probably beat Louis up or at least get out. But Joe does not become angry and stays calm throughout the entire conversation.
Kushner planned the play to be “a pointed attack on conservative values” (Jacobus 1636) and “A Gay Republican” is an irony aimed at those values because the republican administration of President Reagan opposed homosexuals. Yet Joe is a Republican, he voted for Reagan twice (35), and is gay.
Study Questions
- Why is Louis crying?
- What did three other Joe's colleagues do when they came into the restroom?
- What does Joe give Louis?
- How many times did Joe vote on Reagan?
Works Cited
Jacobus, Lee A. The Bedford Introduction to Drama. 3rd Ed. Boston: Bedford, 1997.