Reunion | Language and Indirection
O’Sullivan is a writer of fiction, feature articles, and criticism. In this essay, O’Sullivan considers the economy of language and indirection in Mamet’s play.
Reunion is the story of a father and daughter coming together after a separation of many years. It is a quiet play, using Mamet’s trademark terse, cryptic dialogue; yet there is a degree of melancholy that distinguishes it from the playwright’s other, more noisy work. The play demonstrates how language can mark the distance between two people as well as draw them together and manages to convey a sense of festering bitterness, betrayal, and recrimination without ever addressing them head on. Silences are as pregnant with meaning as the verbal exchanges.
Like the plays...
[The entire page is 1856 words long]
Join eNotes
The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:
Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
Related Topics
Tell a friend about Reunion at eNotes.
