The Question Of Political Correctness

In the play by Bruce Norris At the intermission, Clybourne Park undergoes significant transformations. Bev and Russ’s old well-kept home ages fifty has deteriorated from an elegant home to one with an overall shabbiness (Page-White, pg 21). The stage’s orientation demonstrates how the setting has been changed. “The wooden staircase has been replaced by a less expensive metal staircase. (...)The fireplace opening is bricked in, linoleum occupies wider portions of the wooden floor, and plaster has crumbled in places from the lath. The kitchen door has vanished.” Karl Linder during the First Act gave a prediction saying that the community would at the one-time change he also said that the neighborhood would degenerate in their prosperity. According to the description in the house, Linder’s prediction has come true. We meet an entire team of character in this act. We find six characters sitting in a circle going through some legal documents of real estate.

Kelvin and Lena, a married black couple, have their strong ties maintained to the house in question.Lena is not only a member of the Home Owners Association b ut also trusting to keep the integrity architecture of the neighborhood. Lena is also the niece of the innovative owners from Lorraine Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun. Steve and Lindsey a married couple has purchased a house, and they have plans to tear down the old house and build a modern house.

During this act Lindsey is pregnant, she makes an effort of being friendly and correct politically. On the other hand, Steve is ready to tell attacking jokes and also discuss on matters of race and class. Steve in this act is the most horrible in the group member just like Karl in the previous act. He does not only act as a catalyst who exposes the other’s prejudgment but also his.

The other remaining characters are; Kathy, Lindsey and Steve lawyer, she tries to maintain the proverbial ball moving. She also gives a tangent when she says that at one time her family lived in the neighborhood.

Tom, he the lawyer of the real estate who represents the interest of Lena and Kelvin’s home

Dan, he is a contractor who intrudes the debate when he found out about the box that was buried in the plot.

Real estate law seems to be a minute as Lindsey and Steve strive to change their house. Lena and Kelvin, on the other hand, want the property to remain as it is.The lawyers want to make sure that every party is following ruled laid down by the authority the page through. The friendly conversation begins with casual mood, for example, Lindsey talked about her pregnancy, and she insists that she does not want to know the sex of the child and Steve speaks of the many destination strips.

Lena’s tension increases because of the interruptions and delays as she tries to say a significant statement to the neighbor. Her speech is put on hold constantly and eventually loses patience. She finally said “No one, myself included, likes having to dictate what you can or can’t do with your home, but there’s just pride, and a lot of memories in these houses, and for some of us, that connection still has value. ”Steve repeats the word “value” making her wonder if it monetary or historical value (Gwinn, pg 39). This makes Lindsey very sensitive and defensive.

Lindsey talks about how much the neighborhood has changed, and Lena tells her to be specific on that she interns use this words ”democratically and historically.” This shows that she does not want to bring the matter directly on the subject of racism Steve gets scolded when he uses the ”ghetto” as her aversion became more prominent. When the conversation removes itself from political property tension eases. Lena checks her personal connection to the home. It becomes a surprised to Lindsey and Steve that this is the room that Lena played in her childhood and even climbed the on the trees at the back of the plot. Lena brings up the story of suicide that place fifty years ago. Lindsey speaks out; “I’m sorry, but that is just something that, from a legal standpoint, should have to tell the people.”

The lawyer Dan who works in the construction interrupts the scene just as Lindsey is talking about the suicide with him he has the trunk that has been dug up from the yard.This just becomes coincident the suicide note of Russ and Bev is contained in the box, waiting to be read. This does not concern the people of 2009 as they too busy with their daily conflicts than opening the trunk. After the interruption from Dan, the construction worker, he leaves the box in the living room so that the debate about the property can continue.

Frustrations grow as Tom the lawyer representing of the Home Owners Associations he tries to get alternatives so as to follow what the neighborhood wishes. Lindsey and Steve are thinking of increasing the height of the house they want to build.However, Kathy who is their lawyer tells them that “you can’t just call an architect at the eleventh hour and snap your fingers.”

Lena agrees to Lindsey that the communities do change, but she wonders who exactly is responsible for the modification.Continuing with her statement that changes happen from one house to another only then Steve realizes that Lena was talking about racism as captured by Karl Lindner from Act One. Hell starts to break on hearing the word racism that is when Kelvin and Lena realize that they have been seen as racist.Lena’s comment is perceived as being motivated by race and Steve tries to justify these suspicions. Lena tries hard to convince them that she complaint was based on the ”inappropriate large house. ”Lindsey denies any logical connection to the husband. All the characters turn against including his wife.

STEVE: ”Every single word we say is –is –is scrutinized for some latent

-meanwhile, you guys run around saying n-word this and n-word that whatever we all know there’s a double standard. ”Lindsey had prevented him from delivering this offensive joke which he had prepared to tell. Steve says the racist joke despite the wife being against it.His jokes consist of rape, racism, and homosexuality. Nobody laughs at the joke; Lindsey, Tom, and Kathy feel offended with that. Lena and Kevin keep their feelings to themselves. To check if anyone was offended, Steve and Kevin go into a joke on racism.Suprisaingly Lena joins in the discussion with a question ”why is a white woman like a tampon?”

Kevin feels offended because three of his relatives work overseas when Steve talks about the white neighbors who are driving with a yellow ribbon. Since Steve is usually the last person to speak he should learn to cut his losses short at this point, this is done behind the back of others in this case. When they came to realize that nothing good was coming off it they announced its dismissal .when Lena and Kevin left Steve talked behind their back calling the blacks a “tampon joke “and goes further to call Lena a “c*nt.”Kevin overhead the insult and threatened to “slap on the face. “Dan intern takes an attempt console Kevin by putting his on his shoulders and telling him “let’s be civilized. ”Kevin says Dan a white man had put hands on him in the neighborhood and looked offended. This also brings memories of Act One where Albert touches the shoulder of Russ hoping to calm him down.

The characters that represent the dominant community takes offenses that the minority dares him in his established territory. Each and every married couple is transited with anger Kevin and Lena also have an argument similar to the one that Francine and Albert are having at the end of Act One. Lindsey and Steve move from the argument of the house to a discussion about the upcoming baby. He finds pressured to be a father and this ends unsolved between them.

When wrangling ended, Dan the lawyer ends up on stage alone. Having opened the box, he begins to read the suicide letter silently with the audience witnessing the memory of Bev saying good night to her son who that evening committed suicide. The son of Bev and Russ (Kenneth) is seen the primary source of conflict in this play.

Works Cited

Page-White, Jennifer Ann. ”Confronting the challenges of participatory culture with lobby display design.” (2013).

Gwinn, Kristen E. Emily Greene Balch: the long road to internationalism. University of Illinois Press, 2010.