Preview

Neil Simon Biloxi Blues Play Analysis

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
904 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Neil Simon Biloxi Blues Play Analysis
The comical, semi-autobiographical and prejudicial play written by Neil Simon, Biloxi Blues, captured my attention years ago. This play was actually the sequel to Simon’s, Brighton Beach Memoirs, however, it isn’t necessary to have seen or read the first of the sequel, but the play does pick up or continue with the main character and others heading to boot camp. For me, born into a military family, and then marrying a retired military man, the choice to read and write about this play was quite easy for me. The military stories shared throughout the years of my life made this two-act play comfortable to follow. From the beginning of the play, the characters draw the reader into the experiencing they are currently facing. Over the course of my analysis of this play, the plot, characters, theme, diction, music, spectacle, and convention will …show more content…
The reader or audience could definitely find themselves connecting with one or more of the characters. A train depot, the Mississippi murky waters used for physical training, a city hall used for the USO dance and a soda shop used for one of the scenes are just a few of the conventions used in this play. Also, I would have to include in this component is the way the main character, Eugene Jerome, speaks his personal thoughts directly as though he is narrating the story. Biloxi Blues, a Tony Award Winning Comedy, is another great play written by Pulitzer Prize-winning, American playwright, Neil Simon. Even though this play was part of a series, the play provides enough entertainment to stand alone. Every component of this play captured my attention, maybe I am partial to the setting or maybe partial to the theme, whichever it may be, it is a must read and a must

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Throughout “Redeployment” Phil Klay looks to bring what the front lines of war look like, with example of firsthand accounts. Klay portrays what happens during the actual war in Iraq, with specific details from the characters, such as deaths of members in the character’s platoons or specific duties given to the characters such as killing wild or food-deprived dogs who eat whatever they can off of corpses that they find, but Klay also speaks of what happens after the veterans come home, touching on the subject of disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder, or controversy with their branch of military, whether it is directly or indirectly related to them. By the end of “Redeployment,” Klay has effectively proven that different forms of…

    • 249 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Did you know that fiction books make you sympathize others? That’s because when you read, you go on an “adventure” alongside the characters and gradually relate to them. To achieve the effects, you must have a deep understanding of the characters’ personalities, thinking, backgrounds, attitudes, and more.…

    • 686 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A collaboration of short stories behind the scenes of an exciting era in American history. The author portrays many different point of views throughout the stories from the actual soldiers to the people who worked around the bases of Iraq and Afghanistan to the priests and chaplains that helped keep the soldiers sane. Though the book suffered slightly from its overuse of military jargon it flourished with great imagery and the clear, enjoyable voice. Also, the different point of views help correlate the different perspectives and at times touches upon Phil Klay’s personal connections to the book.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    War forces young soldiers to grow up quickly in Stephen Crane’s immortal masterpiece about the nightmare of war was first published in 1895 and brought its young author immediate international fame. Set during the Civil War, it tells of the brutal disillusionment of a young recruit by the name of Henry Fleming who had dreamed of the thrill and glory of war, only to find himself fleeing the horror of a battlefield. Shame over his cowardice drives him to seek to redeem himself by being wounded; earning what he calls the “red badge of courage.” Praised for its psychological insight and its intense and unprecedented realism in portraying the experience of men under fire, The Red Badge of Courage has been a bestseller for…

    • 1873 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The way each particular character speaks gives us an inside view of their life and…

    • 874 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It asks us to read these plays to learn about the horrors that African Americans have faced during their period of enslavement, and how freed slaves attempted to bring these atrocities to light through writing literature. It also helps us understand how theatre was used as a tool to assist in the freeing of millions of enslaved people, as well as a way to mock an entire race. It is important to search for the inspiration behind any theatrical style and determine what the motivation was in developing it into a staged production. From the extremely racist motives behind minstrel shows, to the noble cause of the slave narrative, by determining the motivation behind each theatrical movement, we can attain a more comprehensive understanding of the…

    • 467 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If one were reading a simple plot summary of this play, it would appear to be a typical story of young men entering the army. Six boys deal with leaving their homes for a place that seems like the middle of nowhere, a stern, intolerable, and borderline insane sergeant, repulsive army food, and each other, while training to be shipped to World War II. Biloxi Blues is the Tony Award winning second installment of a comic trilogy depicting Simon's life and his journey to become a writer. It chronicles the coming-of-age of the main character, Eugene Morris Jerome, who is the autobiographical depiction of playwright Neil Simon himself. In many ways Biloxi Blues is not your typical army story. The hilarious aspects and serious undertones of this compelling story would require excellent acting to fully convey the meaning to a theatre audience, while in reading the play one can easily pick up on Simon's meanings.…

    • 760 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Despite that the characters are in fact fictional, the reader feels personally connected to them. As I got deeper…

    • 345 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The author of this play, Tennessee Williams, is very famous for many of his controversial works that are based on his own personal life experiences. Growing up Tennessee Williams…

    • 1242 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The story also offers a small ensemble cast and each one of the characters feels very distinct and complex. There’s an identified central character in Rachel.…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Cited: Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 6th Compact ed. New York: Longman, 2010. 50-70. Print.…

    • 1275 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The plays of David Ives are certainly clever and comic. There is no doubt that Ives gives us inventive scenarios that smartly use language and test our knowledge before we chuckle. But what does it all mean, anyway? What do we gain from the techniques he uses in the one-act plays of All in the Timing? Are they meaningful works, or simply highfalutin vignettes? To answer these questions, let’s consider three of his plays: “Words, Words, Words,” “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” and “The Philadelphia.” By examining these works, it will be clear that the devices Ives uses do little more than facilitate the telling of humorous sketches, and that they don’t generate any substance or lasting meaning.…

    • 996 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most used and obvious dramatic device used is the colloquial American dialect. The way the play is written makes the reader read it with an American/Italian accent. For example Arthur Miller has swapped words like ‘you' for ‘yiz' in the sentence ‘ill see yiz later' or abbreviates words in the appropriate places for example ‘my mother'll know her' This shows the actor how to speak in a casual working class American/Italian accent and get into character better.…

    • 672 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Wilson emerged in the 1980s as a significant voice in American theater. His dramas, for which he has variously received such coveted prizes as the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Pulitzer Prize, are part of a planned play-cycle devoted to the story of black American experience in the twentieth century. "I'm taking each decade and looking at one of the most important questions that blacks confronted in that decade and writing a play about it," Wilson explains. "Put them all together and you have a history." The leisurely pace and familial settings of Wilson's dramas have evoked comparisons to Eugene O'Neill's works. Praised for their vivid characterizations, Wilson's plays often center upon conflicts between blacks…

    • 1346 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Neil Simon

    • 1520 Words
    • 7 Pages

    As one of North America's leading playwrights, Neil Simon has definitely been instrumental to the world of theater. He has experienced a somewhat shaky personal life, but he has found that this only adds to the texture of his work. He began his career working on radio and television, and found that writing for stage was significantly different than his previous experiences writing. His first attempts at theater were rough, but it didn't take him long to achieve excellence. He has also achieved great success with his work in the film industry. He is very fastidious when writing his work, and also quite critical of both the final written product, as well as its resulting production. However, no matter how uncertain he is of his work, it is apparent that audiences worldwide appreciate his writings, and he has been awarded numerous times to prove it. It is quite clear Neil Simon holds a place of importance in the world of dramatic arts.…

    • 1520 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays