Arike Jacobs
Character Arc Essay: Risa
In reading the works of August Wilson, one can’t help but note the role of women within his plays. The further one gets in his 20th century cycle the more women begin to have a more prominent role in the work. Wilson acknowledges that the women in his plays “are neither as visible nor as vocal as his men” because he writes from the perspective of a man and womanhood isn’t his perspective living in the world. “I try to be honest in the instances in which I do have women. I try to portray them from their own viewpoint as opposed to my viewpoint.” Clarissa “Risa” Thomas, in Two Trains Running, is a character that exemplifies Wilson’s delving more into the women in the communities he seeks to write …show more content…
Prior to this moment every many had to ask Risa for what they wanted or make the request of her. It’s actually Sterling who notices this tendency “How come you don't give nobody no sugar? You make them ask for it.” Risa’s response “I give it to them. All they got to do is ask” again depicts the assertion of dominance she is able to effortlessly have with men. Whether intentional or not the requests for “sugar” can be read as a double entendre. Risa is asserting that “sugar” must be asked for, not expected and then wasted—as she comments that West does in never using the sugar he takes. Risa only provides something without being asked at that instance and to Hambone who can’t directly ask but whom she understands and has a connection with. Sterling has proven himself and so she asks him if he’d like coffee instead of the other way around.
Though Risa as a female character in a work by August Wilson, a Black Nationalist, doesn’t go through major dramatic changes her character arc nonetheless touches upon the history, culture, and spiritual lives that are dominantly vocal in “Two Trains Running.” Risa does however go on a bit of a journey to find a balance in her life. She at the end of the play is able to have what she wants in life, her own agency, and a partner who doesn’t overshadow who she is or her own
Character Arc Essay: Risa
In reading the works of August Wilson, one can’t help but note the role of women within his plays. The further one gets in his 20th century cycle the more women begin to have a more prominent role in the work. Wilson acknowledges that the women in his plays “are neither as visible nor as vocal as his men” because he writes from the perspective of a man and womanhood isn’t his perspective living in the world. “I try to be honest in the instances in which I do have women. I try to portray them from their own viewpoint as opposed to my viewpoint.” Clarissa “Risa” Thomas, in Two Trains Running, is a character that exemplifies Wilson’s delving more into the women in the communities he seeks to write …show more content…
Prior to this moment every many had to ask Risa for what they wanted or make the request of her. It’s actually Sterling who notices this tendency “How come you don't give nobody no sugar? You make them ask for it.” Risa’s response “I give it to them. All they got to do is ask” again depicts the assertion of dominance she is able to effortlessly have with men. Whether intentional or not the requests for “sugar” can be read as a double entendre. Risa is asserting that “sugar” must be asked for, not expected and then wasted—as she comments that West does in never using the sugar he takes. Risa only provides something without being asked at that instance and to Hambone who can’t directly ask but whom she understands and has a connection with. Sterling has proven himself and so she asks him if he’d like coffee instead of the other way around.
Though Risa as a female character in a work by August Wilson, a Black Nationalist, doesn’t go through major dramatic changes her character arc nonetheless touches upon the history, culture, and spiritual lives that are dominantly vocal in “Two Trains Running.” Risa does however go on a bit of a journey to find a balance in her life. She at the end of the play is able to have what she wants in life, her own agency, and a partner who doesn’t overshadow who she is or her own