A Soldier's Play

Notes

A. 

Within the reading of the play, the setting takes place in the south in Fort Neal, Louisiana and took place during the time of World War II. The south was known for slavery and segregated. The time period within the play was in the year of 1944. 

B.

1) The people in the pictures on the wall are President FDR and Joe Louis.

2)FDR was the third party second president of the United States. HE served from March 4, 1993-April 12, 1945. President Roosevelt was the president during WWII and the Great Depression. Although he tried to keep the U.S. military out of the war, they went to war after the attack on Pearl Harbor by Japan.

PVT. Joe Louis was an African American boxer who fought in one of the most remembered matches against the German boxer, Max Schmeling. The first match he lost, but the second he won was soon an inspiration after he joined the army.

3) FDR and Joe Louis were both important enough to have their pictures on the wall because both were very looked up to. FDR was the president and so many people hoped he'd end the war in a victory. While Joe Louis's inspirational words encouraged other Americans to enlist in the army.

4) Both FDR and Joe Louis were famous at the time. They were both popular during the WWII era, and that is how you know that's the time period that the play takes place.

C.

During the time of 1944, the south was known for segregation. Segregation is known as the act of forceful separation between racial groups. An example would be segregating the whites from the African Americans. 

D.

Black Soldiers: Waters, Wilkie, Cobbs, Smalls, Peterson, Ellis, Louis Henson, Davenport, Memphis

White Soldiers: Captain Taylor

Mostly all of the white soldiers have a higher rank than the black soldiers. The black soldier who has the commanding rank would be Davenport.

E.

Major Characters: Captain Davenport is one of the main characters so far. He is an African American alumni from Howard University and is currently a lawyer working as a military policeman over the colored troops. Davenport was placed at 343rd military Police Corps Unit in Fort Neal, Louisiana becuase the segregated army couldn't find the another place for him. Also, he was also placed there to solve a murder case. I think he will play a major role in this story due to the fact that he faces discrimination, but still takes his job very seriously despite the racist environment he has been placed in.

Sergeant Waters is another African American character that gets killed early on in the story so not much is known about him yet. He is important to the action of the play because his death starts the investigation on the soldiers which reveal more about them, which also makes him the catalyst because his death is what starts the investigation that allows Captain Davenport to probe deeper. Davenport is the protagonist of the story so far because the story at this point revolves around him and his investigation. 

White Butterfly

Regina's Background

Regina's background is a very troublesome and difficult thing for her to look back upon. Throughout her childhood and teenage years she had been abused by the men, not only in her household, but others as well. When Regina's mother left she was left to raise her thirteen brothers. Not only that, her father became a drunk. Facing all this, all she wants is a man to keep her safe and make her feel wanted. That is why she is upset that Easy makes her fell that he does not need anything from her. That is also why Regina is very protective of Edna and of Jesus and called what Easy did to her rape. All she wants in an intimate relationship is to be a part of something, not just to make her man happy and have his babies.  

Davenport in A Soldier's Play

• A captain and lawyer, highly ranked.
• Confident, does not let his race get to him.
• Well-informed, knows what he is supposed to do.
• Educated, carries himself proudly.
• A just man, looks for the facts. 

                    Notes on A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller

Captain Richard Davenport

• A captain and a lawyer, a highly ranked soldier.
• Confident, does not let the color of his skin make him feel any less less important than the white.
• Well-informed, knows exactly what his orders are and follows them.
• Educated, carries himself proudly.
• A just man, looks for the facts and evidence.  

The Piano Lesson by August Wilson

The Sutters and the Charles

Who is Sutter? 

•James Sutter, is the son of Robert and Miss Ophelia, whom originally owned the piano.
•The Sutter family are the ex-owners of The Charles.
•Sutter was believed to have been pushed into a well, by Boy Willie. (pg. 14)
•Sutter’s ghost has been seen/heard a total of twelve times throughout the story.  (pg. 14)
•  -ghost represents Sutter’s vengeance
•  -resides in the piano (pg. 15)

The Land

•Who owns it?
•  -The Sutter’s originally owned it
•  -Size of about 100 acres
•Where is it?
•  -Mississippi
•Who wants Sutter’s land? Why? What does the land symbolize?

 -Boy Willie wants to purchase it because he wants money and to be equal as the white man. (pg. 50)

•Potential land deal Boy Willie offered
  - Offered to Boy Willie by Sutter’s brother (pg. 10)

Ghosts and Dead People

The Charles’

  -Boy Charles I

  -Mama Esther

  -Boy Willie I (carved the piano)

  -Berniece I 

  - Doaker's Dad (Name not given)

  - Mama Nellie

  -Mama Ola

  -Boy Charles II

  -Crawley (Berniece II husband)

•The Sutters/•Others

  -Robert Sutter (James’ father)

  -Miss Ophelia (James’ mother)

  -James Sutter (the ghost)

  -Cleotha (Wining Boy’s friend)

•Victims of the ghosts of the Yellow Dog

  -Ed Sanders

  -Howard Peterson

  -Charlie Webb

  -Robert Smith

  -Bob Mallory

  -Three hobos (burned in the boxcar)

Myth of The Yellow Dog

•The Yellow Dog is the train.
•Boy Chares II and the three hobos were burned in the Yellow Dog, thus considered the ghosts.
•The ghosts of the Yellow Dog are after the “white folks” and push them into a well

  -”..a well got a wall around. It’s hard to fall down   a well…the ghosts of the Yellow Dog must have   pushed them..,” page 85.

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Reading Challenges of 'Salem's Lot

        For someone like me, reading a novel is not a common thing. As I have been reading more difficult novels, there have been challenges that also came along with them. When I read the novel 'Salem's Lot, by Stephen King, not only was a whole new world of vampires opened to me, but a few challenges arose that I needed to face. Those challenges were getting used to reading a long novel, learning how to deal with new vocabulary, and reading with meaning. 

        Reading this long novel of approximately 653 pages, it was easy to fall behind in the assigned reading dates. I am not used to reading much so I would brush off any chance i got to read. It left me with a full chapter to red right before class. At times it became a very stressful situation. As the novel went on, I began to get used to the idea of reading. I now began to read during my spare time. I noticed the difference of stress levels right away. I was reading the chapters sooner and was ready for class.

        Reading more advanced novels does not always mean you are smart enough or prepares enough to read them. Reading one Stephen King's books I was really surprised at all the vocabulary I did not know. Almost on every page there was a word that I had no clue what it meant. For instance, words such as rudimentary, jibes, or vivacious were all new to me. I ignored them but soon realized how important it was. I was missing out on important information and effects the author was trying to give me, the reader. So I started to use the dictionary on my phone more often every time I came across a new word. It really made a big difference because I understood the effect much more than before and i became more interested. Even if it took a while to look up the words, I made it work.  

        As I got more into the novel, I began to become defocused from what I was reading. I was not focused because I had a lot on my mind and other personal problems. I usually have a bad habit of doing this and reading the same things over and over a multiple of times. However, I had to understand what I was reading for the discussion in class and to get a good grade. So what I began to do was read with no music, television, or any other noise to distract me. That way I was able to focus more and take in what i was reading better. 

        'Salem's Lot as a whole was a wondrous novel to read. I learned what type of reader I was and found many weaknesses such as problems with reading long novels, learning to look up new vocabulary, and reading with meaning and focus. Even if this was a horror genre, I did not feel very frightened or scared. I was greatly disappointed at the fact that others were experiencing fear or nightmares and I was not. I love to get scared so maybe I am more of a film person than a reading person. I would, however, recommend this book to anybody. It had great adventure and story to it. Stephen King lives up to his name. 

'Salem's Lot by Stephen King

Analyzing Father Callahan

        In all the novels we read, we encounter numerous amounts of characters. Each and every single character is unique and serves a purpose in the story. An example of a good author who is greatly known for this and does this well is Stephen King. King takes his characters into great consideration and portrays them in a very descriptive manor. An example of such is in his novel, 'Salem's Lot. Father Callahan, a priest and one of the characters, has his own values, goals, and we are even presented with some flaws. 

        Father Callahan expresses multiple values that he cares for deeply. There are two, however, which I have chosen to be the most valued. First, Father Callahan values his "Notes" that he spends so much of his time contemplating and writing about. With those Notes he hopes to one day make a religious book. Now he writes them with no hope or plan that the book will ever be written. Interestingly enough, his drinking problem started the same time he started his craze for writing. For the second value, Father Callahan values the truth. When he is true to himself, it makes him feel like a better person and he despises when he can tell someone is lying to him, such as Sandy McDougall. He explains, "Know the truth and it will set you free. Bully for the truth" (Ch. 6, Scene 9). He values these things highly and thinks about them daily. 

        Father Callahan's goal is very compelling that it can relate to so many of us. It is the obsession with fighting "EVIL" for the Lord. He has seen everyone around him fighting some type of evil and wants to take part but has no idea what evil to fight against. He has gotten himself so far into the idea and he does not even have a basis for reasoning about it anymore. He had pushed himself to the conclusion there was not just one "EVIL" but just evil that is a part of life. Only an evil that should not be taken seriously but to just accept at every moment it shows its face. "At moments like this he suspected that Hitler had been nothing but a harried bureaucrat and Satan himself a mental defective with a rudimentary sense of humor..." (Ch.6, Scene 9). This thinking brings us to his character flaw: that Father Callahan does not have the confidence to accomplish anything. There are so many things in his head and has already decided none of them will ever get done. 

        Father Callahan overall is a character that has really great intentions. He was a great example of how in only once scene, we are able to get all this information about him. We were able to grasp his values, goals, and even flaws. This character could not have been more real in such a few pages of writing. It is amazing how such a character can come alive in our minds and is relatable in many ways to us.