Unrealistic Elements In Ishmael Reed's The C Above High C

The C Above C Above High C written by Ishmael Reed and published in 1999 sets an attention-grabbing play that takes place in the controversial period of the 1950’s. The use of unrealistic elements has been used in plays for hundreds of years and has been proven useful in tying scenes and characters together, with the intent of keeping the audience knowledgeable of what is occurring, in crucial turning points of a play. Unrealistic elements are portrayed as the key element that makes a play become art in Modern Japanese Literature (Haruo Shirane). Reed uses elements such as this throughout the entire play. This type of element is best seen when people in the play are talking and discussing topics that the audience is unable to see or do not happen at the same time. For example when Mamie Eisenhower is in the spotlight watching her husband and his mistress as they dance in their hotel room. The audience can see Eisenhower and his mistress Kay. However, the spotlight is on Mamie as she is speaking to the audience while all of

The use of unrealistic elements is where “the most significant transaction of the puppet show ultimately takes place, however, in a parodic scene of discovery in which, as Charles Woods so dryly puts it, “What may be called non-realistic elements are juxtaposed or mingled with realistic elements”” (Lisa Freeman). This transaction illustrates how the use of unrealistic elements can give helpful insight during some of the most difficult scenes for the audience. The writer’s intentions and usage of this element are insightful to the audience, with the intent to clear up any confusion the audience may have experienced while giving detailed insight of other aspects of the characters life, and the emotions they are going through, giving the play a more “real life” feeling and connection between the audience and the characters on