Satirical Techniques Used In Robert Cohen's In The Blood

The production of In the Blood would be classified as a mix between “outside” (external/presentational) and “inside” (or internal/representational). This is an effective strategy because it keeps the audience involved and makes them pay attention to the plot. As Cohen says, “Great acting, therefore, comes from both the inside and the outside”. To continue, according to Robert Cohen, “Presentational performers directly and continuously acknowledge the presence of audience members by singing to them; dancing for them; joking with them; and responding openly to their applause, laughter, requests, and heckling.” (15). For example, as the play begins the children vandalized Hester’s home with the word “slut” and spoke down upon her. However, while doing so the characters engaged the audience. Another example would be when the Reverend performs his service and responds to the audience’s remarks. In some instances it appeared he wanted a response from the audience because he …show more content…
Throughout the play, the audience was introduced to how other who say they had a “better” life than her used her for their own enjoyment and pleasure without having much sympathy to help her. Hester struggled to escape poverty and her peers took advantage of that. For example, the welfare lady boasted about her marriage and her money, but still took advantage of Hester and did little to help her raise Hester’s children. These situations were displayed throughout the play and the central conflict was resolved at the end. As the play closed, Hester’s son tell his mother he knows what word was written on the wall. He goes on to call her a “slut” several times until Hester loses her mind and ends up killing her son. This represented Hester taking control of her life. She had been easily used all of her life and allowed others to shape her future, killing her son represented her taking control of her life