Curse of the Starving Class Literary Elements

Play

English

The setting is a derelict farmhouse in the California Central Valley during a time of great hardship

There is no specific narrator; each character has the opportunity to soliloquize about their current state of affairs and act as a de facto narrator for a while. The point of view is predominantly Ella's.

The tone is combative and strained. The mood is pessimistic with an air of lost dreams.

The family are all both protagonists and antagonists in their relationships with each other.

There is conflict between Wesley and his parents because they have both made arrangements to sell the farmhouse without consulting him; he believes he should have been included in the decision-making process.
There is also conflict between Wesley and Emma when he feels that she does not have her priorities straight.

The car explodes outside the house leaving Ella and Wesley staring at the carcass of a lamb in the kitchen.

Weston makes a deal to sell his land, but is not legally allowed to do so because he is considered mentally incompetent by the state; this foreshadows the trouble caused by Ellis, the man who has bought the land and expects Weston to make good on his word.

Emma is told they are not members of the starving class; however, this seems to understate the predicament of the family because there is never any food in the house and she is constantly faced with an empty refrigerator.

The play alludes to the golden age of motoring when Ella's prized Packard is mentioned, and also blown up, which signifies the explosion of her dreams as well.

The imagery is very bleak. The action takes place in one room of the house, but the actions of the characters enable the reader to build a visual image of the land outside. Emma is often out riding her horse which suggests a vastness and a spaciousness outside. Nothing but artichokes seems to grow which suggests a barren environment that is not very green.

Emma is told they are not the starving class yet there is never anything in the house to eat.

There is a parallel between the emotional disintegration of the rest of the family and the sudden change in Weston who ends the play a far more sober and capable man that he began it.

N/A

There are several examples of monologue; in Act I, Wesley narrates what happened the previous night when his father broke down the door, filling the audience in on events that occurred before the start of the play. Monologue is used in the play by several of the characters when a need to explain the background to the family or the way in which events have come to a head arises.