Comparison and contrast of Ashbe and John Polk in " Am I Blue," by Beth Henley

Essay by aprilrainA+, March 2007

download word file, 4 pages 0.0

Downloaded 44 times

The environment that we live in can shape or change a person's personality to who theybecome. This is one of the depictions in the one act play "Am I Blue," written by Beth Henley.

This play illustrates the two main characters, John Polk Richard and Ashbe Williams, of havingvery different influences and very different personalities, however their different personalitiescome together, and they realize how influenced they truly are by their surroundings and by eachother.

John Polk and Ashbe come from very different social structures. John Polk, who is ashy, square minded seventeen year old boy, attends college as a freshman and is also ina fraternity with his brother. Ashbe however, is a very outspoken, eccentric sixteen year old girl.

She a girl with horn rimmed glasses, and non-stop chitchat. She attends high school, and to Ashbe, having the right friends means acceptance in today's world; However, she is considered an outcast worthy only of being teased and ridiculed by the very group by which she wants to be accepted.

In comparison, John wants to be accepted by his fraternity brothers, however John doesnot want to experience rejection for thinking or acting against the crowd, and admits to Ashbethat it was his brother that convinced him into joining the fraternity. In contrast, Ashbe is a freespirited artistic individual, who believes in expressing individuality. Whether she is putting bluefood coloring in John Polk's rum and coke, making paper hats, or stringing Cheerios together tomake a necklace, Ashbe expresses her own individuality, and by doing this she tries to show him how important being himself truly is, and bridges the loneliness which infuses them both.

John Polk and Ashbe also come from different families structures. John comes from avery tight knit family that owns their own soybean farm, and his father hopes...