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Ruined

by Lynn Nottage

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Lynn Nottage's motivation for writing "Ruined" and the themes she develops

Summary:

Lynn Nottage was motivated to write "Ruined" by the stories of Congolese women who suffered during the civil war. The play explores themes of survival, resilience, and the impact of war on women, highlighting their strength and endurance in the face of brutality and exploitation.

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What themes does Lynn Nottage develop in Ruined and how does she do so?

Lynn Nottage explores several important ideas in the play Ruined, and three themes that stand out include: rape as a tool, changing definitions of masculinity, and resilience.

The significance of rape is clear in the fact that every female character in the play is affected by sexual violence; they all live with either a physical injury to their bodies or a psychological injury to their minds, or both. Sophie, Salima, and Mama Nadi all must endure the shame of their experience, as well as the pain and the likelihood that they are all unable to have children. That the soldiers used rape as a tool to damage both individuals as well as the prospects of a future generation suggests a particularly male form of ruthlessness that perpetually threatens the survival of these women.

The men in the play all represent varying notions of masculinity. There is the hyper-masculinity of...

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the strongmen, who easily resort to violence to get their way, as well as the sensitive, emotional side of masculinity represented by Christian. Fortune and Mr. Harari both demonstrate the potential of men to disappoint women who care for them, and the nameless soldiers in the cast represent the general tendency of men to act on their aggressive feelings during times of war.

Mama Nadi is one character in particular whose resilience is striking. Though she is self-serving and harsh at times throughout the play, by the end of the play, she shows a vulnerable side, revealing a kind of strength in her acceptance of Christian's affection. Her resilience ends up helping her heal from past physical and emotional wounds, ending the play on a positive and hopeful note.

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Lynn Nottage's play Ruined is set during the bloody Congolese Civil Wars that started during the year 1996 and progressed until 2003 in the Central African country called the Democratic Republic of the Congo, previously called Zaire. The play captures a small fraction of the violence experienced during the war, a war that took 5.4 million lives. It especially captures how the war "ruined" the lives of millions.
One important theme in the play concerns the destruction of African tribal life due to the civil wars. The theme is particularly expressed through the recurring motif of a gray parrot that belonged to Old Papa Batunga before he died. Though the play is set in a very rural area, the parrot is the only direct connection the play has to nature. The absence of nature helps to underscore the theme of the destruction of tribal life. More importantly, as Mama informs us early on in the play, the parrot "speaks pygmy," and "Old Papa was the last of his tribe. That stupid bird was the only thing he had left to talk to." (p. 7) Hence, the bird only speaks pygmy because pygmy was the only language Old Papa could speak; plus, Old Papa was the last remaining member of his tribe, the only remaining person who actually could speak pygmy. Therefore, we see that both the pygmy-speaking parrot and the death of Old Papa underscore the theme of the destruction of tribal life since Old Papa's tribe was destroyed by the wars.

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What do you think motivated Lynn Nottage to write "Ruined"?

Lynn Nottage apparently wrote the play Ruined, to bring awareness to several topics of interest in the early 21st century. Of particular note are the themes found in the play. Nottage brushes upon themes like civil war, sexual violence, and instinctive survival skills. The main character, Mama Nadi, is a straight forward, direct survivor who balances tough love with common sense. Set in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the play offers an in depth look into the violence-scarred region. Nottage traveled to the Congo to interview women who were directly impacted by sexual violence, and she came away with a unique perspective on how war impacts women and how those women suffer inhumane violations to their basic human rights. Ultimately, the overarching theme is hope. There is a sense of hope that even despite overwhelming circumstances, the human spirit can survive.

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No doubt this modern work of drama and winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize (for drama) has a political and social message at its core.  Author Lynn Nottage admitts in interviews that the play was inspired by the chaos, conflict, and violence committed against women in the Eastern Congo.  Set directly in the heart and time of war torn Congo and specifically focusing on the lives and characters of the women within a brothel, though this play is not a work of non-fiction, it is based on the true to life details of the violence, injustice, and brokenness of a group of women who's stories might otherwise go untold.  Nottage desires her audience to watch (or read), become educated--perhaps for the first time--of the global sexual violence issue, and be so moved that they feel compelled to act.  This, likely, was her primary purpose for writing the play.

Nottage has traveled to Uganda, and conducted a series of interviews with many Congolese refugees.  While there, she realized that more than anything, these women deserved to have their stories told.  In so doing, she admits she also wrote for herself, and of herself:

I realized that I am telling a story not just about these women, I am telling a story about myself but for the grace of God, which is the context. And I also feel a tremendous sisterhood with these women (Nottage, The Root interview).

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