A Study On The Off-stage Character In Joe Turner's Come And Gone

August Wilson(1945-2005)is a distinguished African American dramatist.Joe Turner's Come and Gone is one of the masterpieces of Wilson,which reveals the current situation of African Americans.It was created in 1986 and won acclaim in 1988.The play not only laid the foundation for Wilson's fame on Broadway,but also won him New York Drama Critics' Circle Award.Loomis was a deacon and had a stable life.However,because of Joe Turner's illegal enslavement,he is traumatized physically and spiritually,gradually isolating from his inner self and the society.After regaining freedom,Loomis could not find his position in the society.Therefore,he embarks on a long journey to find a connection with his past.Throughout the play,Joe Turner does not appear on the stage at all,but he is an intrinsic force behind the development of the story.Foremost,his absence avoids Wilson's direct portrayal of racial conflicts,and helps to direct the readers and audience's attention to the black people.In addition,such arrangement exposes the devastating influence of the whites on blacks who have absorbed and internalized the thoughts of white supremacy.The influence of the whites can be felt in almost all the aspects of the black life,and such thought has become the black's life value and world view.Freedom is what human nature seeks.Hence,Loomis tries to break up such influence on him.His resistance is finally realized with the help of black compatriots.The ending of the play shows that African Americans need to return to African culture to overcome the influence of the white supremacy;and African Americans can survive in America on the basis of understanding and adhering to their national culture.The thesis is divided into five parts: introduction,three chapters and conclusion.The introductory part outlines the life of August Wilson and the synopsis of Joe Turner's Come and Gone,and points out the research purpose and the significance of this thesis based on the study of domestic and foreign researches.Chapter One focuses on Joe Turner's influence on Loomis.Before Joe Turner appeared,Loomis lived happily with his wife and daughter.Although Joe Turner has released him,his influence on him still persists,leading to a series of abnormalities of Loomis: loss of self-identity,questioning the role of God and Christianity,and indifference to his wife and daughter.Moreover,other characters in the play feel his struggle and loss.Chapter Two studies Loomis' s resistance against Joe Turner's influence.In spite of his physical and spiritual tortures,Loomis does not take his fate for granted;instead,he actively finds solutions to get rid of this effect.Through his own efforts and Bynum's help,Loomis overcomes Joe Turner's influence and returns to African culture in the end.Chapter Three analyzes the roots behind Joe Turner's influence.Although Joe Turner is absent,he has strong influence on Loomis.The reason is that Joe Turner is no longer a concrete individual but a representative of the white society,who represents the ubiquitous idea of the white supremacy,an intangible force of racism.That's the very reason why an off-stage character can have such a strong influence on the blacks.The last part,conclusion,based on summary of the thesis,points out the fact that there are still racial problems and conflicts,solutions to which require mutual efforts from the blacks and whites,the minority should come to terms with the main-stream culture while maintaining their own native culture.