BURIED CHILD
Week #14

An eye for eye
only ends up making the
whole world blind.

Mahatma Gandhi


EXTRA...EXTRA
WORTH A LOOK
Loeb Drama Center's Production of Buried Child
The Sam Shephard Web Site
About Steppenwolf's Buried Child

  1. One of Shepard's favorite themes is the decay of the American family, and we certainly see this in BURIED CHILD. What are some blatant examples of this decay?

  2. The one stranger to this decaying family is Shelley. What does she say about the family?

  3. What is the answer to Shelley's question--"What's happened to this family? (p. 1218).

  4. Psychologically, burying or repressing the child means growing away from one's innocent past. How does the character Dodge fit into this scheme?

  5. How does Dodge's son personify the mutilation of Dodge's "inner child."

  6. There are several basic symbols and symbolic moments that foreshadow a rebirth of the family. What are they?

  7. What function does Vince have in the play?

  8. What is the symbolic significance of the fact that Vince is not recognized by his family?

  9. What is the symbolic significance of Shelley's rabbit coat?

  10. What is the significance of the fact that the mother leaves in a black dress and arrives in a yellow dress?

  11. What is the sigificance of the wife's voice coming from upstairs?

  12. What is the significance of the haircut sequence?

  13. Is there any significance that Tilden first brings in corn (p. 1201), and then carrots (p. 1210)?

  14. Throughout the play there is the "All American" motif. What is the significance of this motif?

  15. What is the significance of Vince's final breaking of the beer bottles?

  16. What is the view of religion in the play?

  17. What is the significance of the fact that it Tilden who brings the buried child up to Hallie at the end of the play?

  18. Hallie enters with yellow roses toward the end of the play. What is the significance of these roses?

  19. What the significance of "There's something wrong between the two of you. Something not compatible?"

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