In the Blood Play Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Essay
In the Blood Play Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Essay
In the Blood, written by Suzan-Lori Parks (a student of James Baldwin), is a modern day version of The Scarlett Letter and a response to the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that greatly addressed welfare reform. The exploitation and demonization of the main character, Hester, a homeless African American mother of five children from five different fathers, shines a light on the vulnerable conditions of homeless women. In the Blood will have the audience pondering the intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, and privilege. Suzan-Lori Parks is the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize in Drama (2002) and she also received a MacArthur “Genius” Award (2001).
Write a two page response to the play.