The Cherokee Night Scene Analysis

The Cherokee Night is a play written in 7 scenes by Lynn Riggs. Structurally, Riggs’ drama can be viewed almost as a series of seven “mini-plays” that are called “scenes.” This is because each of the seven scenes contains different characters, although some of them are included in multiple episodes. Another important structural aspect is that each of the seven scenes has its own unique plot. The scenes are not directly or even indirectly connected to each other; each scene is set in a different time, and the order of the scenes is not presented in chronological order. All the scene do share a common setting though, which is Riggs hometown of Claremore Oklahoma, and the characters of his play also share a key similarity to the playwright. His …show more content…
Viney is quickly established as the product of the society she inhabits, resulting from the white’s education system. She is trained sufficiently pass down the white culture to her students. She openly resents her Cherokee heritage and eventually abandons it and moves to town, where she presumably marries a white man. To Riggs, Viney is a representation of Cherokees of the youngest generation who have given themselves to the materialism and education of the dominant society. Viney is comparable to another one of Riggs’ characters Bee Newcomb, another part-breed Cherokee. As a whore, and later a prostitute, Bee represents the physical and sexual decline of the Cherokee. She has sex with her clients and even with her half-brother Gar. In a pivotal scene, Bee goes so far as to trick Art Osburn, a fellow part-breed, into confessing a murder. Both characters are consumed by greed and materialism, although they have different means of attaining their goals. Riggs’ intention is for these characters to be receive as unsympathetic people who have betrayed themselves and the Cherokee nation for a life of greed