The play True West reveals the theme of the personality’s duality and the motives of money that can take away the true power of creativity. Sam Shepard talks about a pair of inseparable brothers, one of whom is a deeply educated person, the second is a swindler and a thief. Distinct but related personalities meet together in the kitchen of their mother’s house. As the action progresses, the brothers realize that, despite their social differences, they are not as different as they might seem at first glance. By revealing the characters and interactions of the two brothers, Shepard shows the conflict between insider and outsider, in which the roles change along the way. Many people right now may feel like insiders and outsiders in the conflict between the ‘true West’ and democracy, so the play is still relevant.
The terms ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ are used structurally to describe types of researchers. Researchers who consider themselves insiders are members of certain groups and collectives, while outsiders are not. In a broader sense, this term describes the internal or external state of people who feel or do not feel they belong to a particular social, social, or ethnic group. The brothers’ clash in the True West epitomizes this conflict, with Austin being the new West’s insider and Lee the outsider representing the savagery of the old West. As the brothers clash, their opposite personalities diverge, switch places, and merge. Shepard explores dynamic human nature through the blurry identity of two characters representing two contrasting worlds and offers a path to an expanded manifestation of personal and national identity. The way to discover the True West is possible only through the merging and interpenetration of two conflicting groups.
Insider and outsider are complete opposites, not only internally but also externally. Austin, a successful screenwriter, personifies calmness, stability, and belonging to a privileged part of society with his appearance. Austin has an excellent education and wears a “blue shirt” and “clean blue jeans” (Shepard, 2018). Austin embodies the traditional American dream of success, comfort, stability, and tranquility of the new West. Lee, on the other hand, “wears a dirty, tattered T-shirt… a two-day-old beard” (Shepard, 2018). Lee is chaos, spontaneity, and violation of social norms, the personification of the old West. However, Shepard identifies them as parts of one whole, which is seen in scene 7, where Lee is “trying to type with one finger” while Austin is “sitting drunk” (Shepard, 2018). Toward the end, the brothers’ personalities begin to merge into one. There is only one person: the old, the new, and ultimately the true westerner.
Thus, in the play True West, Shepard analyzes human nature’s duality and personal identity problems through the conflict between insider and outsider. Conflicting characters, initially different and opposite to each other, eventually metaphorically merge into one. Insider Austin and outsider Lee form one identity, where the old and new West’s habits coexist as a single organism. Austin acquires the habits of a rebel brother, and Lee seems to purchase a share of the inner peace of his successful brother. The relevance of the conflict between these two worlds persists currently. Shepard proposes to resolve it through the interpenetration and reconciliation of two opposing world orders.
Reference
Shepard, S. (2018). True West. Faber & Faber.