curse of the straving class

A detailed Summary of curse of the straving class


The production Curse of the Starving Class depicts the 'starving' class of America and exposes the reality of a poverty-stricken family. It tells the story of a deteriorating farming family attempting to hold onto their personal dreams of a better life while their family as a whole is being destroyed. The cunning manipulation between the estranged parents, Weston and Ella, their disoriented son Wesley, and restless daughter Emma, is what ultimately leads to the destruction of the family, all as a result of being part of the social 'starving class'.

Throughout the duration of the play, almost everything is symbolic beginning with the name itself. 'Starving' in the literal sense is translated here into the constant 'hunger' for contentment resulting from inner turmoil within the characters. All of the characters agree that they should not be associated with the starving class, but they all feel hungry.

The symbolism continues with three central objects: the refrigerator, the lamb, and the table. The objects lose their obvious characteristics and transform into symbolic meanin


The curse possesses everybody in this family despite the efforts to get out and search for a better life, only to carry the curse to future generations. Each person's continuous observation of the other is only an observation of themselves. The symbolism is what made this play so enjoyable for me because I was able to analyze the characters and their actions even days after I saw it. I thought this production was incredibly realistic and the characters were successful in portraying a family cursed by the starving class.

On the stage sits a plain kitchen table that all through the play is used for Emma's school project on how to cook a chicken, folding laundry and offers itself as a place for Weston and Ella to sleep. Although the table has many purposes, it is only when Weston and Ella sleep on it that I think the significance of it changes. When they lay down each of them goes through a process that Weston notes as being 'reborn'. This transformation presents the idea of numbness and is treated like a healing table when Weston recommends the table to Ella explaining that th

Some common words found in the essay are:
Weston Ella, Starving Class, weston ella, starving class, , placement lamb, ella sleep, tells story, weston ella sleep,

Approximate Word count = 733
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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