Black (play)
Encyclopedia
Black is a full-length play by Joyce Carol Oates
first published in Twelve Plays (1991
) and reprinted in The Perfectionist and Other Plays (1995
). Together with I Stand Before You Naked, Tone Clusters, Ontological Proof of My Existence and Bad Girls, Black is one of Oates's most frequently performed plays. The prose version of Black appeared in Witness
in 1989
. A revised version of the play with the title Cry Me a River was first performed in 1997
.
living room in New Jersey
, the play explores the potentially lethal triangular relationship
between a white woman, her white ex-husband, and her African American
lover.
Jonathan Boyd is a 35 year-old photojournalist
who, after months abroad, calls on his ex-wife Debra and her new boyfriend Lew Claybrook, ostensibly to fetch some boxes full of his old things. In reality, however, Boyd has come to his former home to lure his attractive ex-wife away from her black lover and reunite with her. At first the trio are quite good at keeping up appearances, but as the evening progresses the pretence at politeness
gives way to the expression of raw, undisguised emotions.
Boyd's racism
is veiled, if thinly, by his frequent assertions that he considers all Americans equal and that he is glad that Claybrook, a Yale
graduate, has benefited from affirmative action
. Time and again, however, he insults his ex-wife's lover by unwittingly perpetuating racial stereotypes. Claybrook eventually releases his bottled-up anger when Boyd wrongly "accuses" him of breeding pit bull
s and when he realizes that not even Debra understands him:
After being accused in return by Claybrook of exploiting the poor people in developing countries
by taking their photos and then selling them ("that Third World
-victim shit you're peddling [...] Don't hand me that shit, whitey
"), Boyd takes out a revolver
and starts threatening his hosts. In the end he calms down again and leaves with his boxes.
Joyce Carol Oates
Joyce Carol Oates is an American author. Oates published her first book in 1963 and has since published over fifty novels, as well as many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction...
first published in Twelve Plays (1991
1991 in literature
The year 1991 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Douglas Coupland publishes the novel Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture, popularizing the term Generation X as the name of the generation....
) and reprinted in The Perfectionist and Other Plays (1995
1995 in literature
The year 1995 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea is opened by Jimmy Carter....
). Together with I Stand Before You Naked, Tone Clusters, Ontological Proof of My Existence and Bad Girls, Black is one of Oates's most frequently performed plays. The prose version of Black appeared in Witness
Witness (magazine)
Witness is a literary and issue-oriented magazine published by the Black Mountain Institute at UNLV. Each issue includes fiction, poetry, memoir, and literary essays. The magazine has been honored with ten grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, and writings from the journal have been...
in 1989
1989 in literature
The year 1989 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* February 24 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini places a US$3 million bounty for the death of The Satanic Verses author Salman Rushdie.-Literature:...
. A revised version of the play with the title Cry Me a River was first performed in 1997
1997 in literature
The year 1997 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tom Clancy signs a book deal with Pearson Custom Publishing and Penguin Putnam Inc. , giving him US$50 million for the world-English rights to two new books . A second agreement gives him another US$25 million for a...
.
Outline of the plot
Set in a middle classMiddle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
living room in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, the play explores the potentially lethal triangular relationship
Love triangle
A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...
between a white woman, her white ex-husband, and her African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
lover.
Jonathan Boyd is a 35 year-old photojournalist
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism...
who, after months abroad, calls on his ex-wife Debra and her new boyfriend Lew Claybrook, ostensibly to fetch some boxes full of his old things. In reality, however, Boyd has come to his former home to lure his attractive ex-wife away from her black lover and reunite with her. At first the trio are quite good at keeping up appearances, but as the evening progresses the pretence at politeness
Politeness
Politeness is best expressed as the practical application of good manners or etiquette. It is a culturally-defined phenomenon, and therefore what is considered polite in one culture can sometimes be quite rude or simply eccentric in another cultural context....
gives way to the expression of raw, undisguised emotions.
Boyd's racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
is veiled, if thinly, by his frequent assertions that he considers all Americans equal and that he is glad that Claybrook, a Yale
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
graduate, has benefited from affirmative action
Affirmative action
Affirmative action refers to policies that take factors including "race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation or national origin" into consideration in order to benefit an underrepresented group, usually as a means to counter the effects of a history of discrimination.-Origins:The term...
. Time and again, however, he insults his ex-wife's lover by unwittingly perpetuating racial stereotypes. Claybrook eventually releases his bottled-up anger when Boyd wrongly "accuses" him of breeding pit bull
Pit bull
A Pit bull is any of several breeds of dog in the molosser breed group.Many jurisdictions that restrict pit bulls, including Ontario, Canada,, Miami, Florida, U.S...
s and when he realizes that not even Debra understands him:
Shut up! Look, the pit bulldog is a machoMachismoMachismo, or machoism, is a word of Spanish and Portuguese origin that describes prominently exhibited or excessive masculinity. As an attitude, machismo ranges from a personal sense of virility to a more extreme male chauvinism...
breed, black macho breed, got it? That what we're talkin' about? Huh? Baaaad macho breed of killer dog so black men get a charge walkin' the streets with 'em on leashes, sexy feelin', get it?—they give the word, the fucker's gonna tear somebody apart. Real baaad. [...]
You want the sociologySociologySociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, okay, I'll provide the sociology, fucking-A right, the pit bull helps com-pen-sate for the male niggerNiggerNigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
in America being a dog himself but not a killer dog, no way, man, just a runty ole mongrelMongrelMongrel refers to mixed ancestry:* In botany, a mongrel may refer to the offspring of varieties of a species which was in contrast to a hybrid* Among pets, one whose parentage is of unknown or mixed breeds as opposed to purebred...
dog not worth shit. You got it, honey? Like havin' a big cockPenisThe penis is a biological feature of male animals including both vertebrates and invertebrates...
's s'post to com-pen-sate for not havin' nothin'—including, in fact, the cock. Now you got it, honey? (Scene 6)
After being accused in return by Claybrook of exploiting the poor people in developing countries
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
by taking their photos and then selling them ("that Third World
Third World
The term Third World arose during the Cold War to define countries that remained non-aligned with either capitalism and NATO , or communism and the Soviet Union...
-victim shit you're peddling [...] Don't hand me that shit, whitey
Whitey
Whitey may refer to:People:* Whitey Alperman , baseball player* Richie Ashburn , MLB player and broadcaster* Whitey Bimstein , boxer and boxing trainer* James J...
"), Boyd takes out a revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...
and starts threatening his hosts. In the end he calms down again and leaves with his boxes.
Love triangles
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Deterioration of a dinner party
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: Festen