The Skin of Our Teeth
Review
In the history of the world,
humanity has endured many disasters, natural and manmade, but we always find a
way to pull through and get back on our feet. In the play The Skin of Our Teeth, by Thornton Wilder, we experience the
struggles of the Antrobus Family as they deal with life threatening situations
and the simple disasters of family. Wilder’s use of this theme as well as
unexpected plot choices makes The Skin of
Our Teeth a play that you can’t take your eyes off of.
The first act is set in Excelsior,
New Jersey during the ice age. Wilder’s choice to take a true time in history
and bring it back in the future so that people of our time could experience it
was brilliant. The creative quality of the idea was truly fantastic. The maid
who works for the Antrobus’ is named Sabina. She opens the act by worrying
about if Mr. Antrobus will come home or if he has died out in the freezing
cold. Sabina says, “The fact is I don’t know what’ll become of us. Here it is
the middle of August and the coldest day of the year” (Wilder 71). The family
is faced with a deadly fate and is struggling to get through it, but it’s not
just the ice age that is bothering this family. Mrs. Antrobus and Sabina have a
strong tension from the start. Sabina says, “But it was I who encouraged Mr.
Antrobus to make the alphabet. I’m sorry to say it, Mrs. Antrobus, but you’re
not a beautiful woman, and you can never know what a man could do if he tried” (75).
This statement shows the tension between these two but also touches on another
notion. Sabina speaks of the alphabet and Mr. Antrobus inventing things. This
part of the play symbolizes moving forward in life and making advancements. I
liked this because it shows that even through the toughest of times, people
will always find a way to look on the bright side. Two other characters I
enjoyed was the two children, Henry and Gladys. Mrs. Antrobus says, “Henry!
HENRY. Put down that stone...Gladys! Put down you dress!” (79). Henry and
Gladys are very rambunctious in the first act and they remind me of how hard
children, including myself, are to deal with. Even though the odds are stacked
against them, the Antrobus family does make it through the ice age but there is
still another disaster awaiting them.
The second act takes place on a
boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Mr. Antrobus has just been elected
president and they are at a convention for the Ancient and Honorable Order of
Mammals, Subdivision Humans. Mr. and Mrs. Antrobus both give speeches and their
own watchwords for the new year to come. Mr. Antrobus says, “The watchword of
the closing year was: Work. I give you the watchword for the future: Enjoy
Yourselves” (96). Mrs. Antrobus has a bit of a different view by saying, “My
husband says that the watchword for the year is Enjoy Yourselves. I think
that’s very open to misunderstanding. My watchword for the year is: Save the
Family. It’s held together for over five thousand years: Save it!” (97-98). I
enjoyed this because both of them have somewhat conflicting views which made me
want to know more about their relationship. The tension between the two was
definitely increased by this. A new character that is introduced in this act is
the Fortune Teller. She plays a big role in this section of the plot. She says,
“Everybody’s future is in their face. Nothing easier. But who can tell your
past, --eh? Nobody!” (100). My interpretation of this statement is that
everything from your past is over and can’t be changed but your future can be
full of possibilities. I also believe that Wilder is trying to tell us that you
must take into account what has happened in the past to make your future
brighter. This connects to the theme of dealing with the problems you are faced
with and then doing it all over again when more come. Looking back to Sabina, she
has just won a beauty pageant that Mr. Antrobus was the judge for. Her goal in
this pageant: to take him away from his wife. Sabina herself can achieve this easily,
but the actress who plays her does not wish to do so. Sabina says, “Ladies and
gentlemen. I’m not going to play this particular scene tonight. It’s just a
short scene and we’re going to skip it” (108). In many parts of the play,
Wilder chooses to make the characters come out of the action and act in their
own person. I liked this choice because it let the actors directly interact
with the audience. In this particular situation, I believe that Sabina’s
statement shows how things can be difficult to do but that doesn’t mean that they
can be ignored. The actress doesn’t want to play the scene but that would mean
that the entire production would suffer. They do skip the scene and move onto
the next where we learn that there is a storm warning that foretells the end of
the world. A huge flood is coming but Mrs. Antrobus cannot seem to find
mischievous Henry. When he is finally found, the family hops on a ship that
also carries two of a kind of each animal, just as Noah’s Ark did. This
allusion helped me to understand why the convention was held and the
seriousness of the flood. Sabina, pleading for forgiveness, is also let on with
the family. The act ends with the family making it out alive and arriving at a
new world they must build up to be their own.
The third act takes place during a
time of war. This play was written during World War II so this setting for the
third act makes sense. The act opens with Sabina entering in a uniform yelling
to inform the Antrobus’ that the war is over. Soon thereafter, the stage
manager, an actual character in the play named Mr. Fitzpatrick, comes on to
inform the audience that many of the actors for the final scene have taken ill
and that there must be a short rehearsal. I believe this signifies having to
make quick changes at short notice because sometimes when faced with a
demanding situation, you must act quickly to find your way out. Once the
conflict has been resolved, we are led back to the Antrobus home. Mrs. Antrobus
and Gladys emerge, Gladys with a baby in hand. Sabina says, “Goodness! Are
there any babies left in the world! Can it see?
And can it cry and everything?” as Gladys responds with, “Yes, he can. He
notices everything very well” (124). I really enjoyed this part because I feel
that it suggests the thought of being born into the world and learning more as
you grow up. Sabina, referring to Mrs. Antrobus, says, “You’re going to study
history and algebra…and philosophy” (126). This notion touches upon the fact
that we are all learning each day to try to improve or world. Another part of
this act deals with the fact that Henry was opposite Mr. Antrobus during the
war. This family tension creates a huge plot twist in the story which I loved. Throughout
the acts, we see that Henry is a dynamic character. He is one of my favorites
because I see a bit of myself in Henry seeing as he is a child who is still
trying to figure out where he belongs. As we come to the end of the act, what I
feel is one of Wilder’s best choices emerges. Sabina comes in back in her
maid’s outfit from act one and reopens the play with the same monologue as the
beginning. She informs us that Wilder has yet to finish writing it. I really
enjoyed this part because it left it very open ended and tied into a
reoccurring theme in the play that the past is set in stone but in the future,
nobody can know what will happen.
In conclusion, The Skin of Our Teeth is one of the best plays I have ever read. I
really enjoyed how Wilder took you halfway between reality and fiction. All of
the characters were very well developed and their interactions with each other
enhance the world of the play. The theme of constant and cyclic struggle is
something that everyone can relate to which makes it a good read for all. The Skin of Our Teeth is a play that
makes you think about the struggles that plague the world but as shown in the
play, we will all endure and keep moving forward.
No comments:
Post a Comment