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Topdog/Underdog
Topdog/Underdog
Topdog/Underdog
society, the same roles that black males are portraying within theater.
This paper analyzes a prominent black play by Suzan-Lorie Parks
entitled Topdog/Underdog, where brothers Lincoln (Topdog) and Booth
(Underdog) go throughout their daily lives as black males. This play
tackles the idea of masculinity what it means to each of these
characters. This paper will look at masculinity through the lenses of:
family, women, and measures of success. I will critically analyze the
ways in which both of these characters portray their own manhood, but
also attack one anothers idea of manhood. The end of this paper will
then analyze the final scene of the play in which the Underdog kills the
Topdog, trying to find the symbolism within this action.
Booth and Lincoln are both brothers who live together in a modern day
society. Both of their parents left them at a young age, when then both
brothers split ways. Lincoln currently works as an Abraham Lincoln
impersonator, dying every night in the reenactment of Abraham
Lincolns death. Lincoln is required to where whiteface due to him
being black in order to help portray an accurate depiction of Abraham
Lincoln. Lincoln is the sole financial provider of him and his brother due
to his constant paycheck, yet Booth, Lincolns brother, uses Lincolns
paycheck as freely as he pleases. Though Lincolns job is tedious, and
he must tolerate some mistreatment by his employers, Lincoln
perseveres through his job to be a successful individual. Prior to this
job, Lincoln was a successful 3-card Monte player until the death of
one of his close friends persuaded him to move away from the
business. Despite the youngers bombast, Lincoln earns the salary
they share and, more importantly for this relationship, he has the skill
to run a successful three-card monte hustle.2 When Lincoln realized
that the lifestyle of a hustler was risky, he made the decision to change
his exciting life as a card hustler to the boring security of his current
life as a workingman, pretending to be somebody who he is not. The
way, in which Lincoln lives his life, can be seen as being a successful
black male in society, having the ability to earning a salary in order to
provide fro his family. Though a question that I propose is, is giving up
ones identity worth it in order to earn a salary? Lincoln states that
[They say the clothes make the man. All day long I wear that getup.
But that dont make me who I am. Old black coat not even real old just
fake old. Dont make me into no Lincoln. I was Lincoln on my own
before any of that.3 This indicates that Lincoln understands his
identity as an individual, but a wonder is if he understands his identity
from a societal viewpoint? One may say that Lincoln is giving up any
2 Patrick Maley. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
3 Parks, Suzan-Lori. Topdog/underdog. New York: Theatre
Communications Group, 2001. Print.
4 &ibid
The
way that both characters prioritize money, show the difference in how
they also value money and what money indicates to them. With Booth
not having a steady job, one may see him as less masculine because of
a non-formal way of earning an income, though in this play he is seen
as having the upper hand within the household, making it seem as if
he is more masculine. This dichotomy between the two characters
makes it difficult for the idea of masculinity to be truly defined through
the lens of money. Both characters have different takes on the value of
money, yet they both display masculine characteristics, yet one
thinks they are more masculine than the other. What changes the idea
of masculinity in the middle of this play though is when Lincoln rejoins
the lifestyle of the three-card monte scheme once again and plays
against his brother. When a wager of $500 is put up, you see Lincoln
5 Parks, Suzan-Lori. Topdog/underdog. New York: Theatre
Communications Group, 2001. Print.
never cedes the position of top dog to his brother; he only fills his mark
with the false confidence necessary for an effective hustle.6 The a way
in which Lincoln has created a world in which he maintains his Topdog
status, showing that his masculinity is greater than his brother Booth.
But one may argue that a man is truthful and would not defy his own
family, possibly reducing the masculinity of his character.
A way in which masculinity is also challenged within this play is with
the idea of women and sex. Analyzing both characters, you begin to
see the way in which each character values the idea of sex and how
they treat women. Before Lincoln moved into the house with Booth, he
was previously married to a woman named Cookie, until they ended
their marriage because of parties cheating on each other. When
Lincoln refers to Cookie, you feel a sense of remorse for his actions,
showing that he understands the errors of his ways. Though he
understands the errors of his ways, does this mean that his masculinity
is tainted or not? Is he less masculine because he feels remorse for his
actions or because of the fact that he cheated, or is he more of a man
because he did on a woman? Though he cheated on his wife, Cookie
was also a perpetrator in cheating on her husband, cheating on him
with Booth. Booth constantly mocks Lincoln, bragging about the sexual
6 Patrick Maley. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
By
replacing his symbolic sex life with an actual one. Grace apparently
paid with her life for trying to force Booth to face reality. "Who the fuck
she think she is," asks Booth, "{t}elling me I don't got nothing going
on"
Work Cited
Dietrick, John. "Making it "Real": Money and Mimesis in Suzan-Lori
Parks's "Topdog/Underdog"." American Drama 16.1 (2007): 47-74.
ProQuest. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Maley, Patrick. "What Is and What Aint: Topdog/Underdog and the
American Hustle." Modern Drama 56.2 (2013): 186-205. Project MUSE.
Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.
LeMahieu, Michael. "The Theater of Hustle and the Hustle of Theater:
Play, Player, and Played in Suzan-Lori Parks's Topdog/Underdog."
African American Review 45.1 (2012): 33-47. Project MUSE. Web. 9
Nov. 2014. <http://muse.jhu.edu/>.