Juxtaposing in the play Unity essays

Juxtaposing in the play Unity essays The world was devastated by four years of war in the fall of 1918. Suddenly, a puzzling and fatal plague added to the devastation. The Spanish flu struck people of all ages, and hastily proceeded toward death for its victims. The plague managed to bring home some of the horrors of the war with the soldiers. In fact, more people were killed by the Spanish flu than had died in battle. In the play Unity, Kevin Kerr takes the paranoia of the war and the fatal illness and juxtaposes it with his raw, slapstick comedy. Over the years it seems very little has actually been written about the wide-reaching misfortune of both the war and the Spanish flu epidemic. Kevin Kerrs Unity is therefore very important. It helps to recapture an elapsed period of Canadian history. Juxtaposition is a very important element in the play Unity by Kevin Kerr. Throughout the play, seemingly dissimilar qualities are placed together. Although very different, the qualities work together to add an aspect of veracity to the play. In many peoples experience, there is never really happiness without some aspect of misfortune. And wherever sorrow is present, a time of rejoicing is not far behind. Kerr takes this aspect of reality and uses it to his advantage to keep the essence of Unity very genuine and real. He also incorporates the strong basis of family into his writing. The juxtaposition of comedy and tragedy is also evident in this portrayal. Lastly, the unity of the small town is very important in the delivery of the piece. The plays very title, coupled with the fact that it is also the towns name, suggests that accord would play a large role in the progression of the play. Firstly, the juxtaposition adds an aspect of reality to the play. As early as the prologue the reader is introduced to this fact. Mary, Sissy, and Beatrice were talking about boys and getting married and the soldiers returning home, but abrup...