I do not believe that "Will Jesse kill herself?"
is the Major Dramatic Question. I agree
that it could work as the Major Dramatic Question; I just think that there is a
better one. Yes, there is much suspense
that hints at the fact that she may or may not kill herself, but what is really
driving her into these thoughts. That is
the true Major Dramatic Question to me, why does Jesse want to kill
herself? Throughout the play, Thelma
Cates (Mama) is trying to distract Jesse from committing suicide. In doing so, she is also trying to figure out
the reasoning behind Jesse wanting to kill herself. Mama continually thinks that it’s because of
her that Jesse wants to end it all.
Jesse, after reassurance and more reassurance, finally tells her Mama
the reasoning behind her dark intentions.
Jesse shows a picture of herself to her mother from when she was a baby
and says that that little girl is not here anymore. She lost who she was or whom she wanted to
become again, but she couldn't. Jesse
could not live without her own self.
Once Jesse finally reveals to Mama the reasoning behind her wanting to kill
herself, Jesse makes her finally preparations and does the dark deed. Once the question "why does Jesse want
to kill herself?" gets answered, the play quickly end. This feeling of being lost is what drives
Jesse into committing suicide. In this
case, the Major Dramatic Question dealt with not Jesse's objective of killing
herself, but the reasoning behind why she wants to kill herself.
My opinion on this was kind of different, well, a lot different. I feel as if "Will Jesse kill herself IS in fact the strongest MDQ because it's the only question that we have a definite answer for in the end. If any of the other questions are answered, there ARE based on facts from the story, but the answers can vary and be argued against. We KNOW that Jesse kills herself in the end. We do not KNOW any definite reasons. We can argue epilepsy, her relationship with mom, her son, or her husband, but none of those answers are definite, it's far too much to debate.
ReplyDeleteWhy jessie wants to kill herself is such a complex topic. In this one conversation I doubt we even skimmed the surface of getting to completely understanding why Jesse feels like she needs to die. However, I don't know if anyone could ever understand something like that. I do like that you thought about that moment with the baby picture in so much depth. That was a moment I had almost entirely forgotten. But I can definitely see how you see that as the moment where she really gets down to why she wants to commit suicide: She has lost herself. And she can't get her back. She is already long gone.
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