Whaddayacallit? 4000 Miles by Amy Herzog.

In 4000 Miles, they tend to interrupt each other a lot. This befits the play because there are a lot of elements in the plot that “interrupt life.” One example of this is Micah’s death. Though cliché, his life was interrupted by death. For Leo, he seemed to be putting life off by going biking across America, never getting a job. He interrupted his own life, again and again probably because he didn’t want it to start again. Leo’s relationships were also interrupted. His relationship with his mother became distraught after he kissed his sister. He left home and avoided going back. His relationship with his sister was also affected because he made her feel like she wasn’t his sister. Because she was adopted this bond was fragile to begin with. Leo’s ex-girlfriend Beck also disrupted their relationship by breaking up with him. Another possible motif is the act of characters in the play speaking loudly, especially when they don’t have to. This motif also occurs a lot in life. They do this because Vera wears a hearing aid. However when she says, “what?” she is usually asking for clarification, not repetition. Another motive might be how the text almost never takes place in two consecutive days. The most noticeable motif in the play, however is the repetition of Vera forgetting her words and repeating the phrase “whaddayacallit.” Vera can’t seem to get her ideas together, or find the words to express herself.

Judith by Howard Barker

When I was reading Judith the question, “Will Judith kill Holofernes?” never came to mind. I did not wonder about this throughout the entire play, in fact I had no idea it was going to happen until the servant pointed out the sword, and even then, I wondered if I was wrong. While I was reading the play, I even wondered if it had a major dramatic question. If I had to pick one for the play it might be, “Why is Judith whoring herself out to Holofernes?” That is something I wondered. I wanted to know why she was there, what is the purpose of this? Is she really a prostitute? It didn’t even seem like Holofernes had hired her, she just seemed to show up. The play didn’t seem to have a plot until that moment when the servant pointed out the sword. Until then the play was about two people talking, trying to love, trying not to love, trying to “fuck,” trying not to “fuck,” and meanwhile discussing death. I wasn’t rooting for anyone, and what I felt toward Judith is entirely different from rooting, it was begging her not to and questioning her words and actions. However, the question, “Why is Judith whoring herself out to Holofernes?” is not a major dramatic question. Perhaps it could be rearranged to, “Will Judith sleep with Holofernes?” It makes more sense because you can tell that Judith doesn’t want to, and the play makes you beg her not to. Not only that, but Holofernes tells her he doesn’t want to, but then asks her to take off her clothes. Before the true plot is revealed, Holofernes and Judith give mixed signals to each other and the audience. Even once her clothes are off, you wonder if they might not do it. Then their purpose is revealed and you know that her intention was not to whore herself out. They kill him. You are made to believe the question has been answered, but then Judith proposes to sleep with the man she has just killed and that her servant has just decapitated. Then, the answer is fully revealed, and the play ends.

Night, Mother

The question, "Will Jessie kill herself?" is the most obvious choice for the major dramatic question (MDQ.) However, there are some alternatives such as, “Will Thelma (Mama) call the police/Dawson/anyone?" or "How will Thelma react to Jessie's suicide?" I believe that the most productive, or more interesting question would be, "Will Mama prevent Jessie from committing suicide?” Though the answer to this question and “Will Jessie kill herself?” are the same, the focus of each is slightly shifted. Once Jessie commits suicide, Mama goes to the kitchen, picks up her pan, and calls Dawson. This is where the play ends. As we read the play, Mama keeps trying over and over again to reach out for help. She attempts to pick up the phone several times. The play asks you to sympathize with the mother and to root for her. "Night, Mother" makes you hope that Mama will succeed and get Jessie to give life a chance. You want Mama to do what she can to get Jessie to change her mind. Essentially, the more interesting focus of the play is not whether or not Jessie will go through with it, it is whether or not her mother will have an effect on that decision. The entire play is about her mother trying to stop her, not her suicide. That is why the question, “Will Mama prevent Jessie from committing suicide?” is a better and more productive MDQ. The MDQ also often coincides with the protagonist’s main objective. In the case of “Night, Mother”, the main objective is to stop Jessie from killing herself, which coincides with the suggested MDQ. Furthermore, the suggested question answers all of the alternative questions, further suggesting that it is the most productive and efficient MDQ.

Trifles by Susan Glaspell

I personally liked Trifles more than Overtones, but that is because I'm a sucker for complexity and micro symbolism. I really liked the big picture image of the women solving the murder that the men were trying to figure out. You start to wonder why the saying, "Look at the big picture" is much more popular than, "It’s all about the little things." In fact, if you were to say the latter phrase, someone might call you narrow-minded. In Trifles, that's exactly what the men think of the women, narrow-minded, lesser-minded, less educated, and unsuited for "a man's job." If the women were in any way unsuited for solving crime, it was because they withheld evidence and protected a criminal. I don’t blame the women for feeling guilty. I don’t blame them for sympathizing with Mrs. Wright either, and I certainly don’t blame them for feeling offended by the men’s criticizing and misunderstanding of Mrs. Wright. It doesn’t justify what they did for her, but it allows the reader to understand why they did it. I think that Mrs. Hale and Peters know that what they did isn’t justified, but because of their guilt, feel they are justified to make up for their lack of care in the past. In the end, the women solved the case the men believed they didn’t have the ability to, they outsmarted the men and hid from them the truth of the crime, and allowed the men to assume they had the power they believed themselves to have. Towards the end of the play, they even jabbed at the fact that Mrs. Peters was “married to the law” by being the sheriff’s wife. However, the women jabbed back with the use of wit when they said, “knot it.”

Overtones

I feel as though this play is a representative of the inside of every girl's mind. I'm not saying that all girls are conniving or deceitful. What I am referring to is the dichotomy created between Harriet and Hetty, and Margaret and Maggie. Every girl fights with herself and more often than not, girls are a bit conniving. Much like the characters of this play did, girls often use the power of conversation to get what they want by making others think they are getting what they want. This is exactly why men say that girls are crazy, and it is also exactly why they're right.