literature

Who's Afraid of Sojourner Truth? Part 3

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Page 103 (Act 3)
MARGARET [shouting]: Answer it! [softer] You can be our little servant around here for a while, and you can serve us, the nicest, richest white family in America. Doesn't that sound fun? You can start being a servant right now.

NORMAN: Look, lady, I'm no flunky to you.

MARGARET [cheerfully]: Sure you are! You're ambitious, aren't you? You're probably wishing for a better life as we speak.[1] You didn't chase me around the kitchen and up the goddamn stairs out of mad, driven passion, did you now? You were thinking a little about your career, weren't you? You young ones are always about your career. You hardly focus on what's important. [Lost in her imagination like a child playing dress-up] But since I'm from a white family I know what matters. A nice, big house with a white picket fence, and a happy marriage with at least one child. That's not too hard, is it?

NORMAN: You've gone off your rocker.

[Door Chimes again]

MARGARET [calmly, surely]: No, baby, I haven't. Go answer the door, [NORMAN hesitates.] Look, boy, once you aspire to something higher, you get caught in the clouds and can't escape. I thought young men like yourself were good at learning things like that. Now, git!

NORMAN: Aimless... wanton... pointless...

MARGARET: Now, now, now; just do what you're told like a good boy. Show little old Margaret that there's something you can do. Hunh? Atta boy.

NORMAN [considers, gives in, moves towards the door. Chimes again]: I'm coming, for Christ's sake!

MARGARET [tuts at his blasphemy, then clasps her hands]: HA HA! Wonderful; marvellous.

[NORMAN flings open the door, and a hand thrusts into the opening a great bunch of snapdragons; they stay there for a moment. NORMAN strains his eyes to see who is behind them.]

MARGARET: Oh, how lovely!

JAMES [appearing in the doorway, the snapdragons covering his face: speaks in a patently artificial deep voice]: Flowers; flowers for da butiful lady in dis house[2]. Flowers.

NORMAN: [murderosuly] Very funny.

[1] This is a reference to how the American Dream has led to many people, including African-Americans, being willing to perform degrading and menial tasks serving white people. This shows how, despite their antagonistic attitudes towards each other, MARGARET and JAMES have similar beliefs about their situation as African-Americans are unavoidable, highlighting how similar Martha and George in the original play really are. The parallels between the latter couple can be seen in the original play when Martha admits that she loves George due to his ability to understand the nature of her games. The characters both in 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf' and 'Who's Afraid of Sojourner Truth' have stayed together because of their similarities.

[2] JAMES, in keeping with the differences between him and NORMAN, is resigned to the racism that has affected his life. He is therefore playing up racist stereotypes for a joke.
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