Topdog Underdog Quotes

Many families have different relationships and feelings towards each other. Depending on the patterns of interactions among each other, or through their roles and relationships that they have helps to form their interactions. Family experiences can be different for each member and they may have different perspectives. Family dynamics can be helpful and healthy, and also can take unhelpful and unhealthy forms. In the play “Topdog Underdog” by Susan-Lozi Parks, when factors such as the relationship between parents in a family dynamic are not upheld it causes a catastrophic effect on individuals that makes the way they view themselves and the external world and can shape their behaviors. These factors can also bring forth changes in how they live

Their mom was the first one to leave. Booth was the only one there when she left. He described her leaving to Lincoln, “She was just putting her stuff in plastic bags not putting but shoving. She was shoving her stuff in plastic bags and I was standing in thuh doorway watching her and she was so busy shoving thuh shit she didn’t see me…She musta known I was gonna walk in on her this time cause she had my payoff - my inheritance. she had it all ready for me. 500 dollars in a nylon stocking.” (Parks, 104-105) Since Booth was the last person in the family to see and speak to his mother, along with knowing a secret of hers, and being the only one to receive money from her instills a strong attachment and connection to her. He never spent or opened the stocking full of money. He just kept it as a way of still having a piece of his mother close to him. His mother's leaving truly affected his relationships with others, specifically with Grace. Grace is Booth’s girlfriend. Booth claims to love Grace but it seems as though they have a rocky relationship since he mentions that they broke

Lincoln and Booth care about each other and wants to see each other succeed. Lincoln comes to Booth with a dilemma about his job “Help me practice. I'll sit here like I do at work and you be like one of the tourists…How about I run through it with you when I get back. Put on yr getup and practice till then.” (Parks, 40-41) Booth sees that Lincoln really wants to keep his job and despite him wanting them both to throw cards he helps him keep his job by giving him ways to jazz up his act. Booth also gives Lincoln advice about women and vice versa. Lincoln helps Booth by teaching him how to properly throw cards. He also listens to all the things that Booth tells him and he knows Booth very well. They joke around with each other as typical siblings do and they fight as well. It could be said the downfall of their relationship began to unfold when Lincoln wouldn’t throw cards with Booth. Booth always wanted to throw cards with Lincoln because he cared so much about him. Lincoln was the only person he had left and was his safe haven in a sense “I was ok cause you was there.” (73) So when Lincoln went throwing cards without him he felt hurt and betrayed by him and on top of that Lincoln was moving out. However, Booth was going to be because Lincoln was teaching him how to properly throw