34 pages • 1 hour read
Clifford OdetsWaiting For Lefty
Fiction | Play | Adult | Published in 1935A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Research the history of the United States in the 1930s in regard to labor, unions, and the Great Depression. In particular, consider the 1934 taxi strike in New York City. Do you think that Odets’s portrayal is biased? Why or why not? Use examples from the text.
Read another of Odets’s Depression-era plays, such as Awake and Sing! (1935) or Till the Day I Die (1935), and compare the two works. How are they similar or different in terms of style, subject matter, and tone?
Imagine that Waiting for Lefty is being restaged today. How do you think it might remain relevant to today’s audiences? What aspects of the play do you think might not have aged well?
How does Odets treat the idea of communism in the play? How does his portrayal of communism compare to general public opinion about communism during the era?
Who would you say is the protagonist of the play, and why? Use examples from the text.
What does the absent character of Lefty symbolize in the play? What does he mean to the characters? What does he signify to the audience?
The original staging of the production was extremely minimalist, with no set—only a semicircle of chairs. How does that affect how the audience views the play? How might you stage it differently, and why?
How does the concept of war come up in the play? What does war mean to the characters? What would it mean to audiences in 1935? To audiences now?
Compare the play’s two domestic scenes. How are the interactions and relationships different, and why? Why do you think Odets included these two scenes? What do they offer?
