They That Sit In Darkness Essay

In the one-act play, They That Sit in Darkness by Mary Burrill, a black family living in the early 1900s struggles with a lack of birth control and education. Mrs. Jasper is the mother of several children who feels ill during the play as she works hard around the house. The play portrays a lack of education in dialogue, misunderstanding the conceiving of a child, and the outcome of no access to birth control. This play has many grammatical errors, although the family didn't receive a good source of education. The diction illustrates the realistic conversations the characters have with one another. Mrs. Jasper states, “Ef Ah heahs one soun’ Ah’m comin’ in dere an’ slap yuh into de middle o’ nex’ week”(Burrill 1). The author displays perfect wording showing the way they speak and an immediate understanding that this family is not well-educated. At this time not many black folks could learn properly how to read and write, especially women. Although, Mrs. Jasper's oldest daughter, Lindy, would soon be going to college even though she speaks similarly to her family. As not being well educated, Mrs. Jasper doesn't understand the way a child is conceived. Mrs. Jasper says to Miss Shaw, “Ah wonder whut sin we done that Gawd punish me an’ Jim lak dis”(Burrill 1). Mrs. Jasper believes that children are a gift from God and is

Jasper had many children while lacking an education. She was doing hard labor around the house to keep things in order, and her last child made her very sick, leading to her death. Students agreed the play portrays the struggles of a hard-working mother and wife and what could possibly be the outcome. Students also agreed the play is more out of date and not as relevant today with how the dialogue has changed due to better access to education today. Also, women have access to birth control today which has changed from one of the major themes of the