Genre
Play
Setting and Context
Clybourne Park, Chicago in 1959 and 2009
Narrator and Point of View
An unnamed, third-person omniscient narrator narrates the play.
Tone and Mood
The tone is grim; the mood is depressing.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Bev is the protagonist; racism is the antagonist.
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the play occurs when Bev attempts to sell her house with Russ, and Karl pleads with them not to allow the black family to buy it.
Climax
The climax of the play is reached when it is revealed that Karl actually knows the black family moving in, the Youngers and had previously tried to bribe them.
Foreshadowing
The use of the housekeeper to express an alternative view is foreshadowed by the fact that Russ and Bev wish to remain impartial.
Understatement
The role that racism plays in society is understated throughout the play.
Allusions
The play alludes to the discrimination that African-Americans experienced in Chicago both past and present.
Imagery
The imagery of lavish houses is present in the novel.
Paradox
The fact that Karl is willing to pay money to the Youngers is an example of paradox in the play.
Parallelism
N/A
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A
Personification
The Youngers are personified through the weeds in the garden of the house.
