THEME: CHAPTER 4 OUTLINE

3. SON BANISHING THE FATHER- generational changes, to surmount the past one must first understand it

3. You cannot be an artist until you are civilized. You cannot be civilized until you learn. To be civilized is to know where you belong in the continuum of your art and your world. To surmount the past, you must know the past.

Ken (at end of play) moves forward to create art of his own/ points out Rothkos hypocrisy and follies through Rothko;s own words; just new application (learning from the past and surmounting it)

ASSESS THEME THROUGH LOOKING AT : TITLE-

(Generational differences, son banishing father) ROTHKO: Thats like saying red. Dont be enigmatic; youre too young to be enigmatic. (Inability to ever capture something beyond himself tragedy) We seek to capture the ephemeral, the miraculous, and put it onto canvas, stopping time but, like an entomologist pinning a butterfly, it dies when we try .... Were foolish that way, we human beings ... We try to make the red black.

(son banishing father, Rothko becoming insignificant, giving up, like Pollock) ROTHKO (re: the central painting): What do you see? Ken looks at the painting. But then he looks at Rothko. Beat. KEN: Red. Beat. Ken goes to the phonograph and puts on a record. Classical music plays. Ken goes. Rothko seems a little lost. He moves to the central painting and stares at it.

ALLUSIONS- references to other workds of literature/art, events/history, anything outside the play

CLASSICAL LITERATURE: ( ALSO PARALLEL) You cannot be an artist until you are civilized. You cannot be civilized until you learn. To be civilized is to know where you belong in the continuum of your art and your world. To surmount the past, you must know the past.

SYMBOL- something that stands for something else

o o Ken standing in front of central painting end of scene 4 (reminiscent of Rothko in scene 1) Rothko standing in front of central painting at end of play

PARALLELISM- when action repeats, or when text is repeated

o You would have loved Jackson. He was a downtown guy, a real Bohemian. No bankers hours for him, believe you me. Every night the drinking and the talking and the fighting and the dancing and the staying up late; like everyone romantic idea of what an artist ought to be: the antiRothko. ... At his worst you still loved him though; you loved him because he loved art so much ... He thought it mattered. He thought painting mattered ... Does not the

poignancy stop your heart? ... How could this story not end in tragedy? (27). o PARALLEL BETWEEN WHAT ROTHKO ESPOUSES AND DOES: In this scene, Rothko identifies the futility of attempting to create something immortal, beyond me, beyond now, yet fails to see the parallels of his own words to his art and his super-objective. He references the inevitability of popular art becoming overmantles in the homes of the wealthy and affluent, again unable to identify the purpose his own murals will serve in the Four Seasons restaurant.

ASSESS THEME THROUGH LOOKING AT CHARACTER : o How do the characters shed light on the action of the play? Do specific characters embody conventional roles of: RAISSONEUR- the voice of reason CONFIDANTE- who the protagonist confides in!
o Ken plays both for Rothko, he is the captive listener/counselor for his employer CONFIDANTE (from chapter on character): For Ken, complexity comes only in the form of not knowing truly what is that he values, while knowing that Rothkos values are not included in his own. However, this complexity is somewhat immaterial to the play thematically and with respect to contrast as the mere fact that Ken challenges Rothkos views at all provides conflict enough to sketch out the plays central themes. Relationship provides a symbol as Rothko represents the older generation, Ken the younger ( ESP with FATHER/SON relationship.. son must banish father

ASSESS THEME THROUGH LOOKING AT THEATRICAL CONTEXT: o How does it relate to or support the plays main idea? The basic conflict of the play is not generation, time period specific, it is universal and bigger than this time period, this artist, this play. The context is important in establishing this specifc example and manifestation of these thematic ideas but not fundamental to the themes expressed

WHAT makes this play still accessible and moving 30 years form now?

CONCLUSION Final statement of your main idea; this will be related to your preliminary statement and discuss how your analysis deepened or developed from your initial ideas and statement