Genre
Drama
Language
English
Setting and Context
California foothills, 40 miles east of Los Angeles
Narrator and Point of View
POV is that of Austin and his brother Lee
Tone and Mood
Serious, Dramatic, Violent
Protagonist and Antagonist
Protagonist is Austin, Antagonist is Lee
Major Conflict
Austin's script is dropped after Lee wins a bet with Saul, the producer and Saul wants Austin to write Lee's story.
Climax
Austin agrees to write the script for Lee on the condition that Lee take him into the desert. When Lee admits he isn't taking him into the desert Austin nearly chokes him to death and the brothers face off as the curtain closes.
Foreshadowing
Austin's giving his keys to his car to Lee foreshadows him giving his brother the keys to his career opportunities with Saul.
Understatement
It's understated as to why Lee decided to show up at his mother's home after all of these years.
Allusions
The play is an allusion to the double nature that each person has within in them.
Imagery
Yapping coyotes create the imagery that the wildness of the desert and nature is impeding on the civilized lives of these men.
The mother's house being torn apart represents how when kids are left alone they become destroyers when they aren't raised to be creators.
Paradox
Austin has a family, yet paradoxically he wants to leave them and go live in the desert because of his failure at getting his script made.
Parallelism
Austin's attack on Lee parallels Lee's sense of danger and impending attack at the beginning of the play upon his brother.
Personification
They coyotes and the crickets in heard in the play are the personification of the minds of the two men being driven insane, and the nature of them becoming primal.
Use of Dramatic Devices
The mother comes in as a temporary comic relief before running out on her boys. Shepard also uses Austin's monologue about his father's teeth in order to reveal the relationship dynamic that they have. The final square off of the brothers being the closing image of the play creates a heightened dramatic state on which the play ends on, leaving the audience to their imaginations as to what will occur next.