Buried Child, by Sam Shepard speaks to us about the impact of family secrets. A family in general is bonded by bloodlines. Yet relationships within the unit can be disturbed if a dark secret is held. The death of child is a tragedy all together, but when a member of the unit murders a child, the family is bound to fall apart. The members in this family, (Dodge, Halie, their sons Tilden and Bradley) fell apart because they tried to forget what happened. Dodge thought that if no one spoke about it then it would be forgotten. The fact is that nobody forgot, not even Halie. Oh, they can hold on to the secret and let it fester inside, but it doesn't just go away. Secrets are like a cancer. It grows and spreads through your body, eventually killing you.

In the beginning of Act I, Shepard introduces us to a typical American family who seems fairly enough wholesome, bu

Dodge tried to suppress the heinous act he committed by drinking liquor. He also attempted to keep anyone from discussing what truly happened. At one point in the play it is mentioned that Bradley, (Dodges second oldest son) made an attempt to get the truth out of Dodge, but to no avail. During a conversation between Dodge and Tilden, Tilden encourages his father to talk. He wants his father to talk about what happened in the past, but he refuses. He insists that Halie has forgotten all about it and so should everyone else. Tilden asks him, "You don't wanna die do you?" Tilden believes that if you don't talk you die. Sam Shepard used this metaphor towards the end of Act I because it is symbolic throughout the play. The relationship between Halie and Dodge is pretty much dead. When secrets are held, eventually conversations become so limited that there is no intimacy at all. Tilden and his mother, Halie don't even seem to have a relationship. She speaks to

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Approximate Word count = 652
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)