Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
Pawhuska, Oklahoma, August 2007
Narrator and Point of View
No narrator
Tone and Mood
Tragic, Comic, Dramatic, Family Drama, Outrageous
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist: Barbara. Antagonist: Violet
Major Conflict
Beverly Weston, the family's patriarch, has gone missing and Violet has called her family home to be with her while the police search for him. When the body is found, the conflict becomes the family's methods for grappling with Violet's addiction and abusive behavior.
Climax
The first climax occurs when Beverly's body is found drowned in a lake. The final climax is when Violet reveals to Barbara that she didn't prevent Beverly's suicide even though she knew he was considering taking his life.
Foreshadowing
Steve's creepy behavior towards Jean foreshadows his eventual sexual dalliance with her. Beverly's monologue about Violet's pill addiction and his obsession with suicidal poets foreshadows both his suicide and Violet's violence.
Understatement
Violet understates the fact that she knew where Beverly was the night he killed himself.
Allusions
T.S. Eliot, Hart Crane, John Berryman, Cheyenne culture, classic films, Jean Seberg.
Imagery
The house itself is a striking image, especially when it is cleaned up and the shades are taken down.
Paradox
Violet calls all of her family home to be with her while she waits for Beverly's return. Paradoxically, she knows that he is dead.
Parallelism
The use of T.S. Eliot's poetry in the beginning by Beverly is paralleled in the final scene as Johnna recites a T.S. Eliot poem to Violet.
Personification
Use of Dramatic Devices
Letts uses a prologue to establish Beverly's propensity for the damaged and to allow the audience to glimpse into his and Violet's life.
