Thoughts on The Dutchman PDF

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Thoughts on The Dutchman What seems to begin as a somewhat typical situation- a guy on a bus gets hit on by some girl looking for a bit of fun- quickly escalates into a terrible scene of racism and eventually murder. The climatic stabbing of Clay near the end of the play would never have been considered by an audience at the play’s commencement, and the denouement is equally as terrifying, as Lula’s next victim boards the train. The way that the bystanders acted in the play made me realize the symbolic significance of the performance. That is to say, the other train passengers willingly disposed of Clay’s dead body out onto the train tracks altogether too willingly, as if they were puppets or something. This play deals with issues of racism. Clay was preyed upon by a white person who demeans his intellect and forces him into stereotypes. She enjoys taking control of him and exercising her power over him. The rest of the people on the train play a significant part in the way that they seem too apathetic to take part, a commentary on the vast majority of people in the world. But why call this play about racism, concerning a white woman and a black man, the “Dutchman”? It is possible that Baraka was referring to the legend of the “Flying Dutchman” a sailor doomed to sail the seas eternally. Baraka may be insinuating racism as an issue that will be forever present in some form or another. It is a powerful play, and an angry one. The playwright’s own stance on racial discrimination is very clearly portrayed. He also captures the complex interplay between white and black people, and manages to personify two very different perspectives on race through his characters....