The American Play and Other Works
America is a great country with a confusing culture and magical affair. The play by Susan-Lori Parks seeks to explain the great people who came together to unravel the culture to make America a great nation. The play is about a black man who resembles Abraham Lincoln, an act that the audience paid to watch a reenactment of Lincoln’s assassination. Lincoln is regarded as a great leader in America, a man who sacrificed a lot to change the face of the country. The man sheds light to the audience regarding his life as well as the struggles black people face in America. Years later, his wife and sons dig up the hole to where the man performed the play to share some memories.
Having the black man as the main character of the play was a clear demonstrated the scuffles Black-Americans face in the U.S. Moreover, the main character being black showed that Lincoln cared about the rights of blacks. He was the first President to engineer the motive of giving Black-Americans citizenship so that they can take part in voting practice. He wanted them to feel loved and feel like part of the big family America. In his era, he did not he fought against racism and discrimination. The play depicts Lincoln as a great leader who fought for everyone and a person who consistently fought for the amendment of the constitution to enact laws that will protect every citizen. Some groups did not like the idea of giving blacks citizenship, and that eventually led to his assassination. The blond beard by the actor symbolized the beard kept by Lincoln, and it further illustrated that history is something personal, intimate, and something that needs to be shared. In addition, the digging feature in the theme showed that the actor could not dig graves, and he would be ashamed to do so.