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You The Mountaintop Analysis

857 Words4 Pages

1. Man (69)/Human (12)/Perfect (5)/Kang (35):
Throughout The Mountaintop, Hall focuses on the idea that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. For example, Camae had a very sinful past, but was chosen by God to bring King to heaven. Camae tells King, “All that grime on my soul. All that hatred in my heart. I opened by file. And I saw my task was you. What could little old me, give to big old you? (Hall 37). Through this, Hall is telling the audience that everyone has the power to do extraordinary things. Even a beautiful angels sent by God was once a sinner. This is also represented through the protagonist, King. Martian Luther King has long been hailed a hero, and is still to this day praised for his notorious impact. Camae says, “You …show more content…

Throughout the play, the audience can see Hall’s desire to show the gender bias and oppression toward women not only during the 1960’s but also in the modern day. In the world of The Mountaintop, God is described as a black woman. Hall chooses this description for God to allow for the audience to think and consider changing their preconceived notions about the physical appearance of God. Hall not only chooses a black woman to represent God, but also to represent the angel sent to bring King to heaven. Through the angel Camae and her past, the audience also sees a glimmer of what it was like to be a black woman at this time. Camae was sexually assaulted by her uncle and was a working prostitute until she was murdered by a white male in the back of an alley (Hall 36). Hall includes Camae’s story to help the audience acknowledge the way women are treated and hopes that we will pick up the baton and change …show more content…

This represents the power struggle found during the play. Throughout King and Camae’s conversations, the audience hears them constantly bicker because they are not truly listening to each other. Hall uses this to symbolize the poor communication between different groups during this time and in present day. Often times throughout the play, the ellipsis found within a sentence represents the indecisiveness that the characters are feeling. For example, in the opening section of the play, King is roaming around his motel room trying to formulate a speech. During this time, Hall uses a lot of ellipsis to represent the constant fall off and discontinuation of the complete thoughts. This idea ties back to the theme that even heroes are human. This shows the audience that even a man known for motivational speaking goes through something as human and ordinary as writer’s

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