Plot Summary Of The Play 'Mapping Of Mulatto'

Mapping of Mulatto
Exposition (or introduction)-Before the dialogue begins, the author gives a vivid visual description of the surroundings. The audience and reader is aware that the play takes place in a big house on a plantation in Georgia. Within the first few exchanges of dialogue between Norwood, (the owner of the plantation), and Cora, (his house slave and mistress), it is evident how he feels about and treats his own children that he has fathered with Cora.
Complication and development-The complication in this play is that Bert wants to be treated with the same respect his father is treated. He is not accepting of “place” as a Negro. He wants to be treated as he was when he was away at school, as an equal. Bert is angered by the oppression of black people and takes a stand against it. The development begins …show more content…
She is his mistress, but is kept distant. She is never close to him like a typical female that has an intimate relationship with him. She flits about at times trying to soothe him and please him when he is upset. When Bert chokes Norwood she is just out of proximity to make a difference. When she throws herself on Norwood’s body, this shows how much she cared for him. She then rushes to her son, also showing how much she loved him. During her monologue after Talbot and the storekeeper discover Norwood’s body she uses gestures to punctuate her description of what has happened and how it affects her. She kneels and keeps trying to wake Norwood. When Bert returns she locks the door to gain her son some more time from the mob chasing him. She accepts his fate, but still holds up her arms to bar the way up the stairs to him. She tells Talbot, leader of the mob at this point, that “he’s going to sleep. Be quiet, you all. Wait!” Seconds later a single gunshot rings out and Cora calmly states, “My boy…is gone…to sleep” and she makes a final gesture of love toward the room