Essays --

"I think there’s something about American violence that to me is very touching†¦In full force it’s very ugly, but there’s also something very moving about it, because it has to do with humiliation. There’s some hidden, deeply rooted thing in the Anglo-male American that has to do with inferiority, that has to do with not being a man, and always, continually having to act out some idea of manhood that is invariably violent. This sense of failure runs very deep." (Hall, 94) The shaving of Dodge’s head is not the only violent action of the play. Halie kicks the husks when seeing it, and later, Shelly throws the cup and saucer when being ignored. Nevertheless, the male characters of the play seem more violent than the female characters. It seems like the "real" violence starts when Halie leaves their home, and ends when she has come back. (Tucker, 135) Bradley symbolically rapes Shelly and when the secret of the murder of the incestious child is revealed, it is clear that the violence lies within the male. The quote above gives an idea of how Sam Shepard views the male violence. He believes that male violence is caused by the male himself, not by any female. Furthermore, he is of the opinion that it derives from a lack and also the desire for power. Men use violence not just to suppress the lack they feel inside of them, but also to make the female obey. (Hall, 94) 3.3 Family Roles Generally speaking, the head of the family of most families is the father, since he is the one who takes care of them. However, in BC a head of the family cannot be easily detected. At first, when Halie stands on the top of the stairs, she is in a higher position. She is in control of her husband and tells him what to do, not only because he is the weaker... ... incestious son, is the one with the "family album. [†¦] She’ll set you straight on the heritage†¦" (112), she cannot add new members to the family without the law of the father. Dodge shows that the law of the father of the family is obedient, and displays his control by forcing Halie to deliver her child on her own without any help. It hurt so bad, it almost killed her. Since the baby survived, he goes even further and kills it. (124; Hall, 100) In spite of his weakness, Dodge tries to control his family from the sofa. He can do so, because he is the only one who knows where the child is buried, which is the ultimate power one can have in the family. (Opipari, 135) In BC one family member can be in control of another, yet at the same time one is being controlled by another family member. In this family, there is no clear head of the family, no leader. (Opipari, 134)