Help Is On The Way

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Andre Jarboe

Professor Thomas

English 214

Help Is On the Way

In Ted Shine’s play Contribution there are three main African American characters Mrs. Love, Eugene (Mrs. Loves grandson), and Katy (Mrs. Loves neighbor). Each character represents a different generation in society ages seventy, twenty-one, and thirty-eight respectively. The play takes place in America during the time of segregation. When Eugene wants to participate in a sit-in at a local restaurant he argues with Mrs. Love that she is too old to contribute to the sit-in and she is behaving like a teenager. Mrs. Love isn’t concerned with what her grandson thinks. She has a trick up her sleeve that is the biggest factor in the whole sit-in. She kills the Sheriff with a batch of poisoned cornbread just as the sit in is about to take place. By doing so there is no one that opposes the sit-in to run to for help. This allows Eugene and the other participants to be served at the restaurant. The play uses Mrs. Love to show the audience that no matter your age you can always make a contribution to society in some way. It is everyone’s duty to try their best to make this world a better place for all of us each and every day.

Experience is the main factor that comes into play when we are making our choices. Mrs. Love has the most experience out of anybody in the play. She has seen segregation for her whole life for over seventy years. just like any other African American growing up in this time frame she want to see the African American race treated as equals. She expresses this feeling towards a better life for African Americans when Eugene says she doesn't have to work at her age and she responds "What am I supposed to do? Sit here and rot... I’ve got a long way to go and much more to do before I meet my maker." (T. Shine 427). By showing her feisty attitude towards the comment it shows her passion for living and helping others. Mrs. Love doesn't want to be cramped up inside knitting like and old grandma. She wants to be active and play a meaningful role everyday of her life. Mrs. Love has worked for many white families over the years She has been treated her and her family have been treated poorly by many and it is the reason why she want to continue to be active doing as much as she can to help the African American community. This shows the audience that there should be a positive attitude towards life by helping others as much as possible.

The attitude of a person will determine the whole outcome of their day. A person’s attitude is contagious. In interaction a bad attitude can upset someone and a good attitude can inspire someone. In the play Mrs. Love has a great attitude for the situation she is in during the play. She tells Eugene not to worry about Sheriff Morrison. In doing so Mrs. Love displays a positive attitude showing that there is a bright future for them and they just have to keep fighting for what they believe in order to get to where they want to be. She express this more when she says "...you was telling me the other day? Bout that gap how young and old folks can’t talk together?...Well I think I bridged it you dig?" (T. Shine 426). She is positive that she can get through to the younger generation and help guide them on the right path to success in life. She is telling Eugene that she understands what he wants to accomplish and even use some of his slang to show that she understands how he feels about the segregation situation. When she said I think I bridged it (meaning the generation gap) she is talking about how she is about to kill the Sheriff with her poisoned corn bread. Killing the sheriff allows the sit-in to go smoothly and brings the people together like an actual bridge. By doing so she shows she is not afraid to take action and stand up for what she knows is right.

Beliefs and values are what make a person who they are. Without them a person has no reason to live. In the play Eugene wants to stick up for his fellow African American friends and family. He believes this is the right thing to do as expressed when he says "If I did I die for Negroes like Miss Katy."(T. Shine 428). This statement shows that he is willing to take action for a cause that he believes in and he will not back down for anything because he is willing to die for the advancement of the African American race. When someone is willing to die for something it is the ultimate sacrifice that they can do far the cause. He want to stick up for Katy because she represent the hard working African American that is trying to make it this time of segregation. She is doing everything she can to support her family but barley able to survive and treated with little to no respect by the people in charge of her. Throughout the play Eugene is introduced to show us how important it is to stand up for others to make the world a better place. People can’t be afraid to stick up for what they believe in when they know it’s right because if they don’t then who will?

Faith is a characteristic that everyone should have. When a person has faith it give them hope that tomorrow will be a brighter day. It teaches a person to keep fighting for what they believe in and to never give up. Mrs. Love shows the faith that she has in God when she says "…We prayed for a better tomorrow… cause the harder we prayed the worser it got"(T. Shine 427) She believes in God and one day he will set things right. This is why no matter how much harder it got she would continue to pray to God. She feels justified for killing the sheriff because it was the only way to make things right and God gave her the faith to do so because the Sheriff was an evil man. It almost as if he the sheriff resembles Goliath and Mrs. Love is David from the bible. The sheriff was doing the best he could to keep the blacks and whites from integrating and then came little old Mrs. Love with her poisoned cornbread to slay him. In result the African American community can be seen as equals because everybody that could help did so.

The characters in the play each show how anybody can contribute to society. They saw a problem that they knew was wrong and wanted to fix it. They could have easily sat back and let it continue to go on. They are all separated by age and social factors. Yet they are able to come together for a Nobel cause that allows the African American community to gain respect among the white community. Each character expresses good tartest that allow them to take their community segregation and turn it in to integration. This is why it is everyone’s duty to try their best to make this world a better place for all of us each and every day.