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Analysis Of Git On Board By George Wolfe

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Recommended: Racism in american literature

Throughout The Colored Museum, playwright George C Wolfe’s develops a unique comedic world which comments on African-American history. He incorporates various scenarios to illustrate his ideas like “Git on Board”, which opens the play and introduces his audience to his piece. As Miss Pat interacts with the audience and treats them as passengers on a plane, or slave ship, she gives an overview of black history and major events which shape its culture. As Wolfe develops unrealistic situations, he breaks boundaries and gives way for Miss Pat to grow hysteric as time progresses. While the subject matter appears serious, her acting combined with Wolfe’s stylistic writing turns this scene into a comedy. Essentially, “Git on Board” grows comical …show more content…

Only shortly after Miss Pat begins her introductory speech, drums and music interrupt her. While she initially proves determined to keep her audience, her devotion to her work comes to a high point throughout high turbulence and a violent storm (288). By incorporating harsh environmental factors, Miss Pat can have a stronger character which is solely influenced by the surrounding actions. Her resilience truly shines through in the final moments of the scene, where she still gets up and finishes her speech even after the storm knocks her out (289). When her environment tests her work ethic, Miss Pat rises to any challenge and continuously moves forward with her rehearsed …show more content…

Miss Pat pushes boundaries throughout the scene as she engages her audience in various ways. For example, she uses props like shackles and a basketball while discussing slave ships and millionaires (288). These specific props are unexpected and catch audiences off guard, as they are not necessary for communicating Miss Pat’s message. However, their presence exaggerates her speech as it makes the overall image larger than life. She then continues on to introduce various songs to her audience, trying to gain their participation to drown out drums in the background. Eventually, she goes as far as to point out how “the” should be pronounced “de” (288). Through including details which are miniscule when looking at plot, Wolfe exaggerates stereotypes and mocks how outsiders view African-American culture. This exaggeration of common caricatures grows increasingly funny as Miss Pat continues to push limits of acceptable

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