The play, Topdog Underdog, is a 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner written by Suzan-Lori Parks. According to Anita Gates of the New York Times (1), this play premiered at the Public Theater in New York on July 26, 2001. Ever since that day, it continues to show in numerous theaters and continues to shock the audience with its raw vision of reality. The play is mesmerizing to read and it plays tricks and games with the audience like a three-card monte. As a reader, they must look beyond the comedy, or deception, to find the truth that may foretell the future of tragic events to come.
Topdog Underdog, is a play about two African American brothers that are living paycheck-to-paycheck in a small cramped apartment. Their parents had abandoned them ever since they were young children and named their sons, Lincoln and Booth, as some sort of dark joke.…show more content… The words were written to be spoken with a musical rhythm, which makes it almost unique and never really seen before. And the dialogue between the two brothers seem to be written in a way in which it is energetic and electric that brings the play to life. Suzan-Lori Parks is able to create such memorable characters. This play at the surface seems to characterize the brothers as stereotypes of African American men making bad choices. However, it has multifaceted meanings. It not only makes a statement of black society, but it is also is a representation of every man and the battle they may have with each other and with their siblings. Men are seen as strong, determined, powerful, and controlling individuals. They attempt to distance themselves from their past tragedies in order to maintain the image of control in their life, of their future, and lives of others. Literature is a reflection of life and brings to light onto humanistic errors. Parks writes to remind society that human nature is inescapable and that society is their own worst enemy in the
