Drama Analysis Theme

1. What is the central intellectual concern (or theme) of the play? State it in a declarative
sentence. Is the author trying to make some point about people? about life? about
society? about something else?
 The central intellectual concern of the play is tradition and race. In the start of the
script and the play, the main character talked about tradition, whether it is stated
in the dialogue or the song which is delivered. The author wanted to make some
points about the tradition such as the matchmaking. The matchmaking itself,
however shows the similarity to nowadays society where people see the ideal
husband when he is well of. The author also wanted to show that it is okay to
ignore what society sees, and it’s okay to defy the tradition that have been lasted
for a long time.

2. Most dramas involve a central "problem" that is revealed as some sort of conflict. How
does the author represent this conflict in the play? How does the author resolve the
conflict?
 The author represents the conflict on the character between Tzeitel and her father,
because she wanted to defy the tradition that have been lasted for a long time. The
author resolves the problem with the marriage of Tzeitel and Motel in the end.
Another conflict is when Teyve’s second daughter also defy the tradition and
because of that, for the second time Teyve allowed her daughter to marry the man
without matchmaker. The last conflict is when the Jewish were evicted by the
government of Russia to leave Anatevka, the author resolves the conflict by
making the family leave Anatevka.

3. What is the point of reading a play that is "old" (Oedipus Rex is 2400 years old, for
example, and Hamlet is 400 years old, and A Doll's House is 100 years old). Do "old"
plays have anything of value to say to us today, or is performing them simply like
keeping them stored in a museum for us to visit occasionally? Are the concerns in "old"
plays relevant only to the times in which they were written, or do they remain relevant to
us today?
 The point of reading an old play is that there are many things that can be learned.
By knowing what problems occur in the past, what the society opposed in the
past, and many more things that existed in the past and how they can face it.
Those things can be a meaningful value for us nowadays. Even if it’s not relevant
enough for the present time, the play’s concern always has many things to be
learned. It’s not only relevant to the times in which they were written, but also
remain relevant to us today. It’s because in the past and in the present we still face
the same issues, and that’s why it’s still relevant.
4. Should plays deal with "universal" issues and problems? Or should they concern
themselves primarily with issues and problems that are unique to the times in which they
are written? What makes a play "relevant" or "out of date"?
 The issues of the play are free, and it doesn’t depend on the time of the plays were
written. Literature is not limited by anything. The point is, it should contain the
value of the art itself. Furthermore, most of society like the play that have a
realistic image. Then, it going to be a good play if the problem in the play is
relevant to the problem that occurs in the time being.