Thursday, April 10, 2008
Blog #6 - Waiting for Lefty by Clifford Odets
I have read "Waiting for Lefty" before and have liked it since the first time I read it. I have noticed that I have picked plays twice in the readings for this class. I don't really enjoy reading plays, but I do like going to them. I thought this play was interesting because it showed the reader every aspect of what was going on. Unlike most plays, stories, and poems, it let you know everyone's story. Most of the time you only hear one side of the story. I think Lefty represents the answer you want to hear, when you are in an argument with someone and think that your side is right. You just want them to agree with you so the arguing will finally be over, maybe because you believe your side is right, or even the other person's side is right, but you don't want to agree with them, or you don't even want to hear their side. Lefty can be all of these things, whatever people are arguing about they have to find out what is really important to them and focus their point on that, not how the other person is wrong, or whatever else they have on their mind. Lefty was thought to be the savior of the group to fix all problems. Sadly, sometimes all problems can't be fixed and you have to go through life dealing with things that can not be fixed. I think dealing with things that can't be fixed teaches us a lot and lets us become stronger and better people that we can make it through the tough times no matter what.
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I also wrote about this poem Jen, and I find your interpretation very interesting. I thought that the play was about solving your problems on your own and being your own "Lefty". Your interpretation of the poem was symbolic as well. I think that this is what resonates with those who read/view the poem in modern day. We cannot really relate to the plight of the union worker, but we can all relate to waiting for someone else to solve all of our problems. Overall, what we can take away from Odets' play is that we only have ourselves to rely on. We cannot wait for "Lefty" to come and save us from our misery. We have to save ourselves from our own problems. I think the fact that we both took this basic theme away from us is proof of this fact. Although we may not understand the basic premise of the play, we can all understand the overall theme.
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