Who's really stopping you

 

Throughout reading the play Sweat, I’ve noticed many instances where I felt that friends and family members become the barriers to a character achieving his goals. Interestingly enough, I’ve also noticed certain characters supporting one another and being a huge reason in the achievement of a goal. This contrast in character dynamics serves to show that there will always be certain barriers in life, including the people closest to you.  

Friends and family can both support and obstruct one another which can be shown with Brucie’s and Chris’s relationship. Brucie was a role model to Chris since he was young and this made Chris lift him to a pedestal. Because of this, Chris feels the unions fight is also his fight, and he’s “…gonna make ‘em see [him]”(88). This fight, which is prompted by the idolization of his father, comes after the decision of Chris setting his dream off to the side. He wanted to go to Albright to be a teacher, but then we found out Chris “didn’t enroll [that] semester”, probably because of his desire to step up and “be a man” for his family/friends (87). This shows that Brucie and Chris’s loved ones really did act as a barrier to Chris achieving his goals. While unconsciously, they did play a role in his decision to not go to college this semester.

 

This also answers the question of why friends and family become barriers. It is probably an unconscious decision, like in the case of Chris and his father, but it can also be an act of jealousy, like with Cynthia and Tracey. Friends and family can be barriers, but they can also be your biggest supporters.

Comments

  1. AnonymousNovember 13, 2023 at 5:04 AM

    I really liked how you used second person to connect with the audience. Your meme also connected to your piece in a complete way.

    ReplyDelete

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