tests of strength with four drunken German officers, who treat him as a curiosity. Ellie tries to persuade Jack to accept an entertainment contract with a sleazy Hungarian showman, Ragosy. Although Jack mocks her efforts, he is forced by economic necessity to appear as Uncle Tom in an ill-fated performance ofUncle Tom’s Cabin in Budapest. Ironically, Jack is reduced to playing a role that he has steadfastly avoided in his own life. The second act ends as Jack refuses Smitty’s offer to throw the projected bout with the Kid.

The third act presents the culmination of Jack’s tragedy, as disruption, defeat, and death dominate his life. At the funeral of his mother, a riot breaks out when police attempt to repress the black preacher Scipio’s separatist speech. After the Kid’s backers meet again at Pop Weaver’s office to discuss regaining the championship, Clara enters, clutching a bloodstained garment and crying for vengeance against Jack.

She receives her wish when Jack, reduced to training in an unused barn in Juarez, Mexico, finally tells Ellie that she must leave him. Distraught, she commits suicide by throwing herself down a well. The sight of her body compels Jack to accept the fixed bout with the Kid. The play ends in Havana with Jack, after punishing his opponent for a number of rounds, being “knocked out.” The triumphant Great White Hope, with the championship belt around his neck, is carried aloft by his supporters like “the lifelike wooden saints in Catholic processions.”

The Great White Hope is a sprawling play of nineteen rapid scenes that occur in eight countries and over two continents. Despite the range and speed of the scenes and the large cast, Howard Sackler infuses Jeffersons’s tragic cycle of victory, exile, and defeat with unity through the use of parallel scenes, choral characters, and visual motifs such as the heavyweight championship belt.

Sackler employs parallelism effectively in the repetition of crowd scenes in which Jack is at first applauded and then attacked and forced to escape. In Paris, when Jack savagely beats Klossowski, the cheering crowd turns ugly, and Jack and Ellie are forced to flee. Similarly, in Budapest the crowd, initially favorable to his performance as Uncle Tom, hoots Jack off the stage. These unpredictable crowds represent public opinion, a many-headed beast controlled by the forces that defeat Jack.

Another unifying device is the appearance throughout the play of five choral figures who provide different perspectives on Jack’s complex personality. Cap’n Dan appears twice in a symmetrical fashion. After the third scene in act 1, when Jack beats Brady, Cap’n Dan vows to find a Great White Hope to defeat him, and at the end of the third scene in the last act he announces that everyone eagerly anticipates the Kid’s victory. Cap’n Dan’s prophecy joins with Clara’s choral condemnation of Jack at the end of the preceding scene to lead inevitably to the destiny enacted at the Oriente Racetrack in Havana.

Sackler also uses the unifying visual device of the championship belt, which is emblematic of the theme and conflict of the play. In the first scene, Brady poses with the belt, which he promises to prevent Jack from winning. At Jack’s victory celebration, however, Tick holds up the “gold belt in its plush-lined case.” Finally, after the Kid defeats Jack, he wears the belt draped around his neck as he is carried by the crowd. The belt has passed from Brady to Jack and then to the Kid; it has served, along with the repetition of parallel scenes, to create structural unity in a series of diverse and rapid scenes.

Jack Johnson, Heavyweight Champion of the World

The Great White Hope unfolds a fictional narrative inspired by the real-life exploits of John Arthur "Jack" Johnson, an African American prizefighter whose audacious spirit ruffled the feathers of white America. Much like Sackler’s imagined Jack Jefferson, Johnson defied the submissive role imposed on black individuals at the time. In a landmark moment in 1908, he journeyed to Sydney, Australia, where he bested Tommy Burns to claim the title of the first black Heavyweight Champion of the World. The victory stunned the public, igniting a furor that led to a highly anticipated bout against ex-champion Jim Jeffries, dubbed "The Great White Hope." On July 4, 1910, Johnson emerged victorious once more, vanquishing Jeffries after a grueling fifteen rounds.

In the wake of his historic win, Johnson's life was marked by controversy and defiance. He married two white women and, in 1912, found himself arrested under the notorious Mann Act while in the company of his white fiancée. To evade imprisonment, Johnson fled to Canada and Europe, continuing his boxing career across distant shores. His time in Havana saw him enter a fixed fight with Jess Willard, trading a loss after twenty-six rounds for the promise of freedom—a promise that remained unfulfilled as his charges lingered. Surrendering eventually led to a year-long stay in Leavenworth, Kansas, in 1920. Upon release, he channeled his charisma into performances at carnivals and vaudeville stages.

LBJ’s "Great Society"

The prelude to Sackler’s opus was an era brimming with societal turmoil and transformation. Following the assassination of John F. Kennedy, a bereaved nation grappled with racial inequality and the escalating conflict in Vietnam. Stepping into the presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson embraced JFK’s progressive ideals, fervently pursuing a vision of social reform to navigate these testing times.

Johnson's ambition was encapsulated in his vision of a "Great Society," a blueprint he sought to realize through sweeping liberal policies. Among these were pivotal programs like Medicare, established in 1965 to aid those over sixty-five with healthcare expenses, and Medicaid, designed to support welfare recipients with medical costs. Educational reforms ushered in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and the Higher Education Act, directing government funds to ensure that students from less affluent backgrounds could access education traditionally reserved for the middle class. Johnson’s "War on Poverty" heralded further initiatives, birthing community programs such as the Job Corps, Project Head Start, and the Food Stamps program.

Racial Unrest

The 1960s in America were marred by racial and ethnic discord, a tumultuous reflection of the nation’s ongoing struggles. This tension was encapsulated in the passing of the Civil Rights Act in 1964, a landmark law that banned segregation and discrimination in public spaces like restaurants, nightclubs, hotels, and theaters. While skeptics across racial lines doubted the power of legislation to instill morality, hopeful citizens saw it as a vital stride towards addressing the historical wrongs birthed by slavery's legacy.

The broader white society failed to embrace a spirit of unity with their black counterparts, leading to phenomena like white flight, where white populations fled urban centers for suburban locales. This exodus left urban black communities feeling abandoned, as they had come to rely on white businesses for employment and goods at fair prices. The migration accelerated urban decay, giving rise to impoverished inner cities, or ghettos.

The Civil Rights Act did little to quell the violence against blacks fueled by racial animosity. In response to relentless attacks by white segregationists, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference organized a march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, on March 7, 1965. Instead of reaching their destination, the marchers faced brutal suppression by law enforcement, succumbing to tear gas and police batons. James Reeb, a northern white minister active in the civil rights cause, was tragically killed that evening by white supremacists. This day, etched into history as "Bloody Sunday," spurred LBJ to enact the Voting Rights Act of 1965, safeguarding the voting rights of African Americans.

Vietnam

Determined to pursue the conflict in Vietnam, Johnson took decisive action through the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution. Reports of two U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin presented Johnson with the opportunity to escalate the war effort, despite the fact that only one vessel, the Maddox, had been mistakenly attacked during a South Vietnamese raid on the northern coast. With this pretext, Johnson chose a strategy of gradual escalation, envisioning a pathway to occupation. However, this approach merely extended the quagmire: despite the influx of troops and territorial gains, the Viet Cong's cunning political maneuvers and military tactics continually thwarted American advances.

Foreshadowing

The narrative weaves anticipation and elucidates future twists through the use of dramatic monologue. These pivotal moments, emphasized in bold, emerge within the dialogue, acting as subtle harbingers of what is to unfold. When Ellie’s romance with Jack becomes public knowledge, Goldie, mid-conversation, turns to the audience, cautioning, "if it gets out, God knows what could happen." This ominous note resonates later when Jack faces arrest after whisking Ellie away for a secretive weekend retreat.

Another poignant moment of foreshadowing is delivered through Mrs. Bachman’s monologue, which hints at the play's tragic peak. Appearing ghostly and worn, she laments her daughter's involvement with Jack, warning the audience, "I know what Black means... wait until it is your every other thought, like it is theirs, like it is mine. Wait until it touches your own flesh and blood." Her words become ominously prophetic as Ellie’s entanglement with Jack spirals into her own suicide. For Mrs. Bachman, the concept of "blackness" conjures a plethora of terrifying connotations.

Dramatic Monologue

Throughout the play, secondary characters frequently step into the spotlight, addressing the audience directly. These monologues not only hint at future events but also peel back the layers of personal motivations behind their actions. Cap’n Dan, for instance, harbors no malice in his efforts to defame Jack. Yet, through his candid speech, he confesses his fear of Jack's triumph, declaring, "I really have the feeling it’s the biggest calamity to hit this country since the San Francisco earthquake." To him, an unchecked victory for Jack could cast an enduring shadow, altering the societal landscape beyond recognition. He's haunted by the prospect of change, a change he admits he struggles to comprehend.

In contrast, some monologues provide a window into the struggles of the oppressed. Scipio exemplifies this, offering a poignant discourse that sheds light on the black experience. Amidst the melancholic singing that follows Jack's capture, Scipio seizes the moment to challenge the audience. His stirring monologue criticizes the pervasive passivity among black Americans:

Oh mebbe you done school youself away frum White Jesus—but how long you evah turn you heart away frum white! How you lookin, how you movin, how you wishin an figgering—how white you wanna be, that whut Ah askin!’’

Scipio's words echo Jack’s sentiments, urging the black community to reclaim its identity and self-worth through an appreciation of their heritage. He passionately argues, "Five hundrid million of us not all together, not matchin up to em, dat what harmin us!"

Point of View

Employing a third person omniscient perspective, the play grants a panoramic view of its characters’ inner workings. This comprehensive vantage is particularly evident through the monologues, which often reveal the motivations and sentiments of various characters, transcending the singular focus on the speaker. Not only do these insights foreshadow characters' trajectories, but they also envelop the audience in a tapestry of diverse perspectives across different races. For instance, Scipio’s monologue delves deeper into Jack’s philosophy, enriching previous statements that might have seemed harsh with a newfound nobility.

Some revelations profoundly alter the audience's understanding of character motives. Take Clara, portrayed initially as a jilted lover driven by envy after Jack chooses a white woman over her. Yet in her monologue, she implores the audience, "drag him on down. Oh won’tya, fo me an mah momma an evvy black-ass woman he turn his back on, for evvy gal wid a man longside dreamin him a piece a what he got." Her plea unveils layers beyond the surface, revealing her as a victim of systemic rejection—a voice for countless black women ostracized by men chasing white ideals at the expense of their own community's love and support.

Rising Action

The narrative tension escalates as Ellie and Jack traverse foreign lands, their journey abroad setting the stage for conflict. Trouble brews when Jack, facing adversity in England, opts to disengage. Yet, as they hop from nation to nation, their fraying relationship comes under siege. The crescendo arrives just before Jack's arrest, when he implores a distraught Ellie to depart from his side.

The climax, a pivotal crescendo of intensity, is reached with Jack's apprehension. Until this point, he defies capture. Faced with Ellie’s muddied and drenched form, Jack yields to the authorities, acutely aware of the chaos wrought by his actions. "What Ah done to ya, what you done, honey, honey, whut dey done to us," he reflects, marking a transformative moment where his defiance fades, spotlighting the futility of his resistance.

Colloquialism/Colloquial Speech

The vibrant tapestry of colloquial speech breathes authenticity into the voices of the black characters populating the play. Expressions like "dat," "cullud," and "dere" are deftly woven into the dialogue, serving as linguistic markers that highlight the unique cultural identities within the narrative.

1902: Joseph Conrad's masterpiece, Heart of Darkness, makes its debut—a tale of treacherous adventure as a riverboat navigates the untamed Congo in search of a vanished white fur trader.

Today: The television phenomenon Survivor premieres, thrusting contestants into fierce, jungle-like challenges as they compete for the tantalizing prize of one million dollars.

1908: In a historic bout, Jack Johnson emerges victorious over Tommy Burns after fourteen grueling rounds, claiming the title as the world’s first black heavyweight boxing champion.

Today: The boxing legacy continues as Laila Ali, daughter of the legendary Muhammad Ali, squares off against Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of Joe Frazier. After seven intense rounds, Ali triumphs in the ring.

1965: A Year of Change

Lyndon Baines Johnson enacts the transformative Voting Rights Act of 1965, ensuring the right to vote is safeguarded for all, without discrimination based on race, color, or previous servitude.

Today: In Dade County, Florida, a chorus of liberal voices rises in protest over the muddled ballots of the U.S. presidential election, asserting their votes were not properly "counted."

Amid a wave of social change, Lyndon Baines Johnson also significantly increases public spending to birth programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and the Higher Education Act.

Today: George Bush unveils a substantial tax cut plan, channeling surplus funds back to the American people in the form of tax refunds.

In a cinematic endeavor, The Great White Hope burst onto the silver screen in 1970, brought to life by the legendary storytellers at Twentieth Century Fox.

Sources

Axelrod, Alan, The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Twentieth Century History, Alpha Books, 1999, pp. 377–94.

Contemporary Dramatists, 5th ed., St. James Press, 1993.

Crinkley, Richmond, in National Review, December 17, 1968, pp. 1282–83.

Hungerford, Robert W., ‘‘Howard Sackler,’’ in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 7: Twentieth-Century American Dramatists, Gale Research, 1981.

Kerr, Walter, in New York Times, October 13, 1968.

Sackler, Howard, The Great White Hope, Dial, 1968.

Simon, John, Hudson Review, Winter 1968–1969, pp. 707–10.

Trousdale, Marion, ‘‘Ritual Theatre: The Great White Hope,’’ in Western Humanities Review, Autumn 1969, pp. 295–303.

Wetzsteon, Ross, ‘‘Review of The Great White Hope,’’ in Village Voice, October 10, 1968, pp. 45–46.

Further Reading

Funke, Lewis, Playwrights Talk about Writing: 12 Interviews with Lewis Funke, Dramatic Publishing, 1975. This collection contains an interview with Howard Sackler and other notable authors.

Gottfried, Martin, ‘‘Introduction,’’ in A Few Inquiries, Dial, 1970. This prefaces A Few Inquiries and provides, through critical analysis, additional insight into the collection of plays.

Sackler, Howard, A Few Inquiries, Dial, 1970. This is a collection of one-act plays by Sackler, including ‘‘Sarah,’’ ‘‘The Nine O’Clock Mail,’’ ‘‘Mr. Welk and Jersey Jim,’’ and ‘‘Skippy.’’

Trousdale, Marion, ‘‘Ritual Theatre: The Great White Hope,’’ in Western Humanities Review, Autumn 1969, pp. 295–303. This book is a thorough exploration into and examination of the structure and integrity of Sackler’s work.