Analysis Of The Bluest Eye Surprises Us - 854 Words

As is the case for any work that is derivative of another, stage adaptations of novels are often burdened by their prominent and celebrated origins. The process of bending literature to fit the contours of theater often results in a product that is diluted and far less poignant than the original. However, once in a while, a play like The Bluest Eye surprises us by masterfully redefining the function of the central characters, modifying the nature of the work without unduly sacrificing the vibrancy of the story that it seeks to tell, and rearranging essential elements in juxtaposition to illustrate and emphasize important ideas. Diamond’s script indeed accomplishes her aim of presenting the story â€Å"as a tale of the damaging trickle-down†¦show more content†¦In Diamond’s work, on the other hand, the characters introduce themselves and the setting of the story, even narrating their feelings later on. By having the characters address the audience directly and describe the setting of the story at the beginning, Diamond successfully redefines the characters and their arguments and proclamations as communicative devices that convey the message of the play to the audience. This reframing of characters externalizes their sentiments and leaves little room for audience interpretation. For example, while a â€Å"familiar violence rose† (Morrison 108) in Claudia in the novel, she expresses to the audience an â€Å"urge to squash† the little girl and â€Å"perform the same ritual† she â€Å"performed on† her â€Å"white dolls† (Diamond 56) in the play. In so reframing her characters, Diamond leaves little room for interpretation while creating an appropriate emotional distance between the audience and the characters, as the sentiments and messages of the characters are explicitly communicated to the audience are audience members are prevented from completely identifying with the characters, preserving the status of Diamond’s work as more social commentary than true story-telling. I was surprised, however, that Diamond so proficiently adapts the characters into narrative devices without excessively