Nadia Valentina Valdez Saravia

Professor Dennis Turney Jr.

TH105A

December 7, 2022
God of Carnage
God of Carnage is a play by Yasmina Reza and was set in 2008 originally in French. The

play is about a meeting between among a couple of parents that try to find a solution of an

argument between their children. During this plot a lot of things happen, between them a lot of

arguments, as the fight about a hamster, an old lady that is weak, drinks, between others. The

main purpose of the play of Reza is to demonstrate that no matter the age or the problem, people

(specially adults) will always act with their lowest instincts: as kids. It is interesting that the main

problem is caused by kids and their parents, as the adults that they are, try to find a politic

solution but they end acting as kids. The goal of Reza is demonstrated that no matter how much

progress, technology, or how sometimes we do not act as “animals” because we are civilized. We

back to our basic’s instincts, fighting for what is ours; it could be an interpretation of the

hypocrisy that humans create: “we are not anymore animals, because we have technologies” but

the reality is we always back to the origin. Humans think that they go forward, but the true is

they go in circles, backing where they start their travel. A good example is when Veronica feels

vulnerable and want attention, she cries and make movements exaggerated, as a signal that she is

ill and want attention, she just back to the basic instinct to ask attention as a baby animal asking

for her mother. Other example is when Veronica is angry with her husband and just jump to him

as a signal of anger and defense, instead of showing with words.

The production of the play was great, the way that every detail gives a special meaning to

the play as the wall cracked, that was amazing, the meaning behind this one could be that
characters losing his sanity. Other detail was the red-light highlighting characters in moments

where they were really anger. In general, it was a good play, that leaves you thinking about the

origin of our actions. But what makes that the play was good it was the shape of the scenario,

where you can see the show of three different point. The experience was like the audience were

the walls of the room where everything happens. Also, I would like to highlight, as my position

as a foreign in the United States, that usually for countries that are in developing countries,

usually the United States as culture and country, is always showing as civilized country, a culture

where problems are solved with words, specially in big city as New York. But the reality is

American are also people, people that can be intense, angry, and even crazy. The play can be

also an analogy of how sometimes people of other culture idealized the idea of Americans, their

culture and country, but the reality is they are as the rest of the world having their problems, as

we see how two couples of parents fighting for a problem of kids, that was the most American

thing that I saw in my life.

The play was successful to me, a comparison to other plays that I watched in the past, this

has a modern and serious story. I recommend watching it, because it makes you think if adults

are just kids with a body bigger or how a lot of simple problems can be complicated by adults.

For this reason, I think that have a relevance in our society, specially to be a portray of adults’

actions trying to be solve in a civil manner, but also how we always back to our instincts.

However, no matter the problem, we end acting with our survival instincts: fight and compete for

what is ours. My favorite part was the acting. The actors make all the fight and the situation so

good that, in some point, I forget that I was watching a play and I felt as I was just watching a

fight of my neighbors as I usually did it in Bolivia.