Zooman and the Sign
Charles Fuller’s play, Zooman and the Sign, is about the impact of inner city violence. Zooman roams the streets of New York delivering a freewheeling monologue on his wild life. Meanwhile, Rachel Tate orders her daughter, Jinny, out of the house. As Jinny goes out on the stoop, Zooman spots an opponent in the crowded street, and starts shooting, accidentally killing Jinny. Rueben Tate, Rachel’s estranged husband, comes home to grieve, while police canvas the neighborhood for witnesses. No one admits to seeing a thing, although Jinny’s older brother, Victor, hears the murderer is Zooman. For his part, Zooman is unrepentant, blaming the death on the girl being in the wrong place at the wrong time. “How’m I suppose to feel guilty about that?” he says. Frustrated by the lack of witnesses, Reuben decides to put up a sign on his house to shame his neighbors into talking. It reads: “THE KILLERS OF OUR DAUGHTER JINNY ARE FREE ON THE STREETS BECAUSE OUR NEIGHBORS WILL NOT IDENTIFY THEM.” The sign backfires, enraging most neighbors and attracting TV crews. The night after Jinny’s memorial service, a brick crashes through the living room window and Rachel implores Rueben to take down the sign, but he refuses. Later that
Zooman and the Sign deserves three (3) stars. After reading this play, one can feel the emotions of each character, but after seeing the play, one should be able to understand and feel the emotions. This play was written well and a performance on Florida A & M University’s campus should be done. Many young adults on campus would be able to relate to the story and in some way might be inspired to make a change. It only takes a spark to get a fire going, and this play could be that spark to start a fire of better community involvement and outreach programs for African-American youth. Fuller has made Zooman a stereotypical thug. An individual who thinks the world is own his or her shoulders and no one can help them. This character is significant to the play because it should bring awareness to communities all over the nation. Some young boys feel pain about missing fathers, or not having the attention they feel or deserve, from the one parent whom is in the home. Many young African-American boys live their lives as Zooman did and will die just as he died, alone, without the ones that love them most. The community in this particular play illustrates the closeness, yet distance of neighbors. If Reuben had not placed the sign up, would he have gotten any results? No. The society in which we live has become as stagnant as dishwater. “It takes a vi
Some topics in this essay:
Jinny Victor,
Victor Jinny,
Emmett Reuben,
Fuller Zooman,
Zooman Sign,
IDENTIFY THEM”,
Zooman Zooman,
Florida University’s,
Rachel Tate,
Tate Rachel’s,
zooman sign,
victor jinny,
feel emotions,
life parents,
tate family,
murderer zooman,
daughter jinny,
black communities,
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Approximate Word count = 917
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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