Creating Space: The Dramatic Use of Lies in Dutchman

The lies that the character of Lula creates are of such a wide variety from the merely absurd to amazingly ridiculous that the audience is continually engaged. After capturing the attention of the audience, the lies can become more than just dramatic and ach

The comments of Lula also bring to light the misconceptions surrounding African-American sexuality. Her overtly sexual character makes references to intercourse thoughout their dialogue, but also acts as though Clay would interact in a sexual display on the train, due to societies misconception of the sex drive of an African-American male to be uncontrollable. She makes quick transitions from an average speaking voice to a loud provocative dance and seems to go crazy with her ranting of sexual desire and inappropriate behavior of wanting to “rub bellies on the train”. Her lewd commentary brings the question of sexuality to the forefront and gives the audience space to reflect on what race says about the sexual drive of a man. Lula becomes very annoyed that Clay will not reciprocate or dance with her, mocking him and saying that he is “full of white man’s words” as if he is going against his instinct as an African-American by not succumbing to her sexual desires. Through Lula’s display of incorrect assumptions, the audience is made to think about the sexual stereotypes facing Clay as an African-American man.

ieve their function of making the audience consider the underlying misconceptions of race and gender that the play addresses. We begin to know Lula through her vivid personality and the ability of her comments to swing back and forth from playful to inappropriate. Lula’s character mixes sane and insane, and that makes it possible for her character to get the audience’s attention with just one remark. In her introduction to Clay she states, “I lie a lot. It helps me to control the world.” This is a classic example of how Baraka uses dramatic lies to bring more serious issues to light. The first sentence “I lie a lot,” due to its blatant confession, immediately demands the attention of the audience. The question surroundin

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