Conflict Analysis Of San Shephard

’s True West Essay, Research Paper

In the play True West, by Sam Shepard, the conflict which occurs between Austin

and Lee is most interesting when in regard to business. As stated in the assignment sheet

?the essence of dramatic action is conflict,? I find the most enthralling action sequences

in this play to be those spurred by a conflict based on business matters.

In the beginning of True West the apparent differences between the two main

characters, brothers Austin and Lee, are their degrees of success and professional

standing. Austin is a distinguished screenwriter and an Ivy League Alumni. He has the

family, ?The house, the car, the whole slam,?(True West I.i.). At the other end of the

spectrum is Lee, he?s a burglar, he has lived in the desert for the last three months, he

hasn?t a family, a house, or even a car. A prominent conflict scene attributed to the

brother?s lines of work is when Lee mentions that the length of his stay ?Depends mostly

on houses?(True West, I.i.i.). Austin attempts to dissuade Lee from burgling the

neighborhood, but makes a momentous mistake trying to resolve the rising conflict by

offering Lee money. Lee turns the argument into a physical scuffle and states that he

doesn?t want Austin?s ?Hollywood blood money,? and adds ?I can git my own money my

own way. Big money!? Austin, initially playing the part of the protagonist, backing down

and letting Lee spout off about how he can fend for himself. Another conflict that

heightens the dramatic action is when Lee sells his screenplay idea to Saul. Austin had

been working on a project with Saul for months. When it finally came time to seal the

deal, Saul reassures Austin that everything is final, all they have to so is sell the idea by

?getting a major star,? (True West, I.i.i.i.) All Lee has to do is go golf and come home

with a new set of golf clubs and everything is set in stone. Austin is frustrated to realize

that Saul is merely a ?hustler,? and that in the business world, a set of golf clubs

overrules the artistic and educational being of a typewriter.

The reversal of the main character?s roles happen once Lee has ?sold? his script

and Austin has been carelessly discarded. Austin, the upright citizen, begins question his

skills. If Lee could write a script, he could certainly steal a toaster. A reversal of roles is

fueled by the brother?s overwrought competitive drives. Austin says, ?Well, maybe I

oughta? go out and try my hand at your trade. Since you?re doing so good at mine.?(True

West I.I.7.) With the use of the word ?oughta?? one can also see Austin?s speech pattern

changing from that of a very educated and proper person to one of a less educated person.

Lee thus sets out to out-write his brother. Lee begins the play with a bit of subtle criticism

directed toward Austin?s ?artistic? methods, yet by Act 2, scene 7, he is banging away at

the typewriter, prepared to prove he can write better than his brother, Ausin.

The entire premise of the competition in True West is somewhat exhausting to

follow. Despite the scene, the act, the event, or the situation, the brothers, Austin and Lee

are struggling to be the ?best.? The business transactions and professional stations only

add to the conflict that is constantly building. The role reversals are ingenious. By

attempting to be success? in eachothers fields, Austin and Lee realize the talents they

posses make them who they are. Thus they overcome the conflicts they had struggled

with throughout the play and let their business finesse be a state of reality, and not a state

of being.