“The Meanings of a Word” by Gloria Naylor
Response Essay
I found myself reminded of the theater while reading this essay. Though, to be fair, there isn’t much that doesn’t remind me of the theater. This particular time was about a play The Little Theatre of Norfolk (LTN) put on called The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman. The play was about greedy siblings and the length they will go to achieve power and reverence in the Deep South. The year is 1900, and the word nigger is used on a regular basis to describe the black servants in the household.
LTN’s play committee discussed in depth whether they should eliminate this word from the play. This type of thing had been done in the past for certain cuss words, and certain unsavory scenes that the public might not approve of, or might be offended by. In my personal opinion, this is wrong. After all, the whole point of a play is, if not to shock, than to capture and establish a mood which you lose by deleting scenes. Or words. Nevertheless, it was decided to keep the word in and to stay true to the stage the author was trying to set. In the 1900s, the word nigger was just a part of every day life.
Opening night, the curtain rose with applause, for the wonderful set helped built by yours truly, and ended with a rousing standing ovation. Even working backstage, as I was, a standing ovation sends a happy little jolt to your heart because all your hard work and frustrations have paid off. The audience connected with what we were trying to convey and enjoyed it in the process. Or so we thought. We were all flying high on the adrenaline from opening night when we came in the next night and saw the reviews.
They tore us to pieces. How dare we use this word, this racist, offensive word in a town that is mostly black and in these modern times. We thought only of our own personal preferences, and nothing of the feelings of those watching the show. It became a big media issue. People were sending there opinions into the newspapers, and local television stations. Some of the things they were saying were more offensive and hateful, I think, than the word nigger. Many told us we should respond back, to stand up for what we had done, or to take responsibility for our actions. The theater’s president decided that giving an answer would be adding fuel to the fire. It would make us look like we had done something wrong in the first place, when all we had really done was stay true to ourselves as actors and crew, and true to the theatrical community at large.
We had people coming to the show. In fact, we sold out just about every night with the media attention we were receiving. Though now many people were coming just to see if the rumors were true, not for the joy of the play itself. We had people walking out, saying rude comments while the play was going on. Talking loudly amongst themselves and making the actors life on stage miserable. There was so much going on in the audience that is was distracting to the actors, and threw off their timing. Not by much, but just enough that this masterpiece we had worked and created from weeks of practice and hours of set construction, painting and everything else that goes into a play, was ruined for many. There was nothing to blame but basic human ignorance.
We weren’t using the word to insult anyone. Far from it. We weren’t using it to say this is how we feel about a certain race of people. We were using it to create a scene, to let the audience member know what everyday life was like back in the 1900s. Yes, we probably could have done it without the word, but that would be taking away from the author’s voice, and if you take that away, who knows what you will take next. The fact that Regina wants her husband to die, and is even willing to help him along so that she receives all his money? Or that they want Regina’s daughter Alexandra to marry her cousin? Then, of course, there is the scene where brother Oscar slaps his wife for trying to help Alexandra and for trying to explain to her how she needs to escape from her family. Should we get rid of that? Also, why isn’t anyone shocked and enraged that we are showing domestic abuse, and violence against women? And incest. Surely that is a big issue. But no. We are terrible human beings for using the word nigger the way it was often used in the Deep South to describe someone in the Deep South.
If you take bits and pieces away from a play, you are losing the shock factor. The “OH my God!” and the jiggle inside you that comes from a well-written and casted play. When you are sitting in the darkened house, it is the little things that capture you. Those small moments, or words, that make your heart stop, in a thrilling sort of way, and make you feel acutely for that character. When that CRACK! from a hand connecting to a cheek vibrates through the house, it vibrates deep in you as well, and you get to know that character better. Subtract that element, and you lose the compassion you can feel for the abused wife. If you lose more, you lose the horror you feel for the things this family has done for the sake of “bettering” themselves in their community. Lose a word, say it is the word nigger, you lose the sympathy and strength you feel for Addie, their maid, as she struggles to help the young Alexandra. You lose what makes her different than the other characters up on that stage. Little words make big differences on stage.
And in life. No matter what word it may be. One word will send people into a ferocious rage. It can make them want to throw something, or hurt someone. One word and you could be crying like a baby, going through boxes of tissues, and soaking someone’s shoulder. It can even have you laughing hysterically. My best friend Michelle and I had an inside joke about several words; normal everyday words that just uttered would send us into fits of giggles for an extended period of time. Words can make you sigh and fall in love. They can even ruin a play. Not by saying them in it, but by how people react. Since you never know how people will, why take away from the author’s own words to prevent controversy?
In the end some came because they wanted to see if we uttered this so-called terrible atrocity. Others came because they wanted to see a good show. And some even left. But you know what? More people stayed, and told their friends about us. By the end of the play, we had made more money from The Little Foxes, than all the other shows that season and added a hefty sum to our Fix the Floor fund. We made out in the end. Moreover, people heard about The Little Theatre of Norfolk. I guess what they say is true: there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Oh and in case you’re wondering, it wasn’t black people that were complaining. All the complaints were from white people. What does that say exactly?
Response Essay
I found myself reminded of the theater while reading this essay. Though, to be fair, there isn’t much that doesn’t remind me of the theater. This particular time was about a play The Little Theatre of Norfolk (LTN) put on called The Little Foxes by Lillian Hellman. The play was about greedy siblings and the length they will go to achieve power and reverence in the Deep South. The year is 1900, and the word nigger is used on a regular basis to describe the black servants in the household.
LTN’s play committee discussed in depth whether they should eliminate this word from the play. This type of thing had been done in the past for certain cuss words, and certain unsavory scenes that the public might not approve of, or might be offended by. In my personal opinion, this is wrong. After all, the whole point of a play is, if not to shock, than to capture and establish a mood which you lose by deleting scenes. Or words. Nevertheless, it was decided to keep the word in and to stay true to the stage the author was trying to set. In the 1900s, the word nigger was just a part of every day life.
Opening night, the curtain rose with applause, for the wonderful set helped built by yours truly, and ended with a rousing standing ovation. Even working backstage, as I was, a standing ovation sends a happy little jolt to your heart because all your hard work and frustrations have paid off. The audience connected with what we were trying to convey and enjoyed it in the process. Or so we thought. We were all flying high on the adrenaline from opening night when we came in the next night and saw the reviews.
They tore us to pieces. How dare we use this word, this racist, offensive word in a town that is mostly black and in these modern times. We thought only of our own personal preferences, and nothing of the feelings of those watching the show. It became a big media issue. People were sending there opinions into the newspapers, and local television stations. Some of the things they were saying were more offensive and hateful, I think, than the word nigger. Many told us we should respond back, to stand up for what we had done, or to take responsibility for our actions. The theater’s president decided that giving an answer would be adding fuel to the fire. It would make us look like we had done something wrong in the first place, when all we had really done was stay true to ourselves as actors and crew, and true to the theatrical community at large.
We had people coming to the show. In fact, we sold out just about every night with the media attention we were receiving. Though now many people were coming just to see if the rumors were true, not for the joy of the play itself. We had people walking out, saying rude comments while the play was going on. Talking loudly amongst themselves and making the actors life on stage miserable. There was so much going on in the audience that is was distracting to the actors, and threw off their timing. Not by much, but just enough that this masterpiece we had worked and created from weeks of practice and hours of set construction, painting and everything else that goes into a play, was ruined for many. There was nothing to blame but basic human ignorance.
We weren’t using the word to insult anyone. Far from it. We weren’t using it to say this is how we feel about a certain race of people. We were using it to create a scene, to let the audience member know what everyday life was like back in the 1900s. Yes, we probably could have done it without the word, but that would be taking away from the author’s voice, and if you take that away, who knows what you will take next. The fact that Regina wants her husband to die, and is even willing to help him along so that she receives all his money? Or that they want Regina’s daughter Alexandra to marry her cousin? Then, of course, there is the scene where brother Oscar slaps his wife for trying to help Alexandra and for trying to explain to her how she needs to escape from her family. Should we get rid of that? Also, why isn’t anyone shocked and enraged that we are showing domestic abuse, and violence against women? And incest. Surely that is a big issue. But no. We are terrible human beings for using the word nigger the way it was often used in the Deep South to describe someone in the Deep South.
If you take bits and pieces away from a play, you are losing the shock factor. The “OH my God!” and the jiggle inside you that comes from a well-written and casted play. When you are sitting in the darkened house, it is the little things that capture you. Those small moments, or words, that make your heart stop, in a thrilling sort of way, and make you feel acutely for that character. When that CRACK! from a hand connecting to a cheek vibrates through the house, it vibrates deep in you as well, and you get to know that character better. Subtract that element, and you lose the compassion you can feel for the abused wife. If you lose more, you lose the horror you feel for the things this family has done for the sake of “bettering” themselves in their community. Lose a word, say it is the word nigger, you lose the sympathy and strength you feel for Addie, their maid, as she struggles to help the young Alexandra. You lose what makes her different than the other characters up on that stage. Little words make big differences on stage.
And in life. No matter what word it may be. One word will send people into a ferocious rage. It can make them want to throw something, or hurt someone. One word and you could be crying like a baby, going through boxes of tissues, and soaking someone’s shoulder. It can even have you laughing hysterically. My best friend Michelle and I had an inside joke about several words; normal everyday words that just uttered would send us into fits of giggles for an extended period of time. Words can make you sigh and fall in love. They can even ruin a play. Not by saying them in it, but by how people react. Since you never know how people will, why take away from the author’s own words to prevent controversy?
In the end some came because they wanted to see if we uttered this so-called terrible atrocity. Others came because they wanted to see a good show. And some even left. But you know what? More people stayed, and told their friends about us. By the end of the play, we had made more money from The Little Foxes, than all the other shows that season and added a hefty sum to our Fix the Floor fund. We made out in the end. Moreover, people heard about The Little Theatre of Norfolk. I guess what they say is true: there is no such thing as bad publicity.
Oh and in case you’re wondering, it wasn’t black people that were complaining. All the complaints were from white people. What does that say exactly?
