What Is The Suspension Of Tension In God Of Carnage

1. I think this play has one prevailing main plot with lots of exposition which could appear as subplots. Everything serves the main issue, which is their resolving the altercation between their children. More and more becomes revealed about both couples. Things such as their marital issues, their work, upbringing, and parenting styles, but each of these conversations merely add to the complexity of the main conflict at hand. They highlight the similarities and differences between the characters as they navigate their way to a resolution to their conflict. These expositions are what I would classify as a “suspension of tension.” To be more specific, I would call page 22-23 the height of the “suspension of tension,” when Alain and Michel argue about the corruption of pharmaceutical companies and the “status” of their respective jobs. This juxtaposes their earlier bonding over boyhood gang activity, and is also placed right before Annette vomits. …show more content…
God of Carnage is an undivided play. I disagree with Archer, in the case of this play, that lacking act divisions is a problem. I think this argument can change from play to play, but for God of Carnage specifically, there are several points I can think of to defend Reza's decision. Firstly, the play itself is too short to be divided into acts. Reza also neglects shorter divisions such as scenes and I think this is because the narrative of the flimsy guise of sophistication, the destruction of civilized behavior and the art of coexisting is much more poignant when there is no step by step stages of how one gets from one end of the spectrum to the other. I think having the story be continuous helps to blur the lines from manners to pure impulse. The events in this play are marked by the introduction and destruction of various symbols, such as the tulips (p.5), the clafoutis (p.9), and the art books