Topdog/ Underdog

Suzan-Lori Parks uses two distinct theatrical mirrors within the Topdog/Underdog text. Both of these theatrical mirrors are fairly well known and clear references. The first, Abraham Lincoln’s assassination by John Wilkes Booth, and the second is the game of Three-Card-Monte. The Three-Card-Monte is a street hustle in which at least 2 people target a mark, draw them into the game by making them think they can win, when in fact, the game is rigged and the mark can never win. And, of course, we all know that John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln while he watched a production of Our American Cousin unsuspectingly.

It’s clear that these theatrical mirrors are being used to explore, not only power, but also how possession of power shifts. In the play, Lincoln teaches Booth to play TCM. In some moments it seems as if he has lost his touch, and Booth begins to win. But we see eventually that he was only letting Booth win.

            In the end though, Lincoln looses all his power. He assumes, like a mark, that he still posses all the power. He never suspected that he was about to loose the game of life and get shot.