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The Mule Bone
This play depicts the life of African Americans, especially those living in rural areas. Written by Hughes and Hurston in 1930 during the economic crisis era, this play draws the folklore and oral tradition of the Southern Blacks (Gates Jr. 1). As such, the play employs a verbal one-upmanship element of “mule-talking.” The drama starts on a Saturday in Eatonville, Florida, where Dave and Jim fight for Daisy’s (a sexy and self-cautious home servant) love. Jim is arrested and tried at Joe Clarke’s barn for knocking Dave using a hock bone of mule.
Although Jim admits that he hit Dave, he claims that it was not a crime while saying that one must use a weapon in a crime, but a mule‘s bone is not a weapon. However, Joe Clarke finds Jim guilty of a felony and expels him from the town for two years. Notably, the players engage in friendly talks while being sarcastic at other times. One of the most exciting scenes is when Teet and Walter argue about Teet’s letter from her “D.I.T sweetie.” In the argument, Walter tells Teet that everyone knew that Dave was Teet’s lover while Bootsie was Jim’s lover.
In this scene, Walter asserts that “I thought all of y’all would’ve done jumped over de broomstick by now” (Hughes & Hurston 7). The primary reason for choosing this scene is because of how it utilizes sarcasm, humor, and idiom at the same time. Besides, this part lets the reader understand how the other persons outside the play know about the player’s relationships. Also, the statement “jumped over de broomstick by now” represents an African-American wedding practice that also connects the reader to the play’s setting.
Works Cited
Gates Jr., Henry Louis. THEATER; Why the ‘Mule Bone’ Debate Goes On. New York Times. Accessed https://www.nytimes.com/1991/02/10/theater/theater-why-the-mule-bone-debate-goes-on.html
Hughes, Langston & Hurston, Zora.The Mule-Bone. 1930.