McNally Andre’s Mother

Even coming from a Catholic background, Terrence McNally, a gay playwright, never felt that being a homointimate was wrong. He quotes, It seemed very rude(a) to me. I think something as natural as sexual attraction is non to be fought. He goes on to formulate that he defined god on his own terms and that the one core he got from being in Catholic school was that we are all created equally in Gods image, therefore, he was going to be okay (Shulman). In 1988, McNally became one of the first writers to confront gayness in his short play titled Andres overprotect.Later, in 1997, he wrote Corpus Christi, which altered the story of savior Christ in a gay setting. This created careen among the conservative, religious crowd but he did non form up there (Fulton). He went on to make a lasting impact on the lives of some people, making his plays become successful and highly populated in attendance. McNally treats the play Andres stick in a shockingly ordinary manner in order to norm alize the subject of homosexualism given the time period in which it was pen. Andres Mother is a short play word-painting the hardships that come with suffering from the death of a loved one.Most people are familiar with the 5 power point process of dealing with a deathdenial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance (Axelrod). This process takes place no head whom it was that died, whether it be a family member, friend, mutual friend, or significant other. Small details such as age, race, or sexual orientation would non affect the progression because it is a universal process. In this short play, Andre, who recently passed, was gay, and Cal, Andres lover, must cope with this major loss. McNally chooses to deal with homosexuality in the circumstance of a death because it is a relatable feeling of numbness.Both Arthur and Penny seemingly have very little to do with the play. However, they actually play inborn roles in McNallys representation of his somebodyal view on hom osexuality. Arthur and Penny both come from Cals side of the race, Arthur being Cals father and Penny his sister. Both relatives know roughly Cals relationship and are exceptionally accepting. McNally intentionally puts them into the play for that reason. He shows that regardless of the time period that this play was written in, there are still going to be understanding people. In my clumsy way, Im trying to say how much I liked Andre. And how much he helped me to know my own boy.Cal wasalways two hand full but Andre and I could talk about any(prenominal)thing under the sun. My wife was very fond of him, to a fault (McNally 967). This is Arthur voicing his internal thoughts. It adds a lot to the play by showing that Cals father non only accepts his sons relationship, but is also capable for him that he can be happy truly being himself. Penny likewise makes it obvious that she accepts her brothers relationship when she says, God grant me for wishing you were straight every ti me I laid eyes on you. But if any man was going to have you, Im glad it was my brother (McNally 968).She is surely expressing her approval of Andre but more importantly, McNally added this railway in for a bit of comic relief. Homosexuality is a controversial topic, but by place this in there, McNally is trying to make light of the issue by making a joke. Andres Mother was written in the 1900s, a time when homosexuality was still a disgrace to many people. The detail that McNally chose to address Andre and Cals relationship was a questionable and unpopular thought at first. Especially since he went into such major detail with it, having Cal speak to Andres mother about how important Andre was to him.Since this play was intend for a big audience, it confirms that McNally was trying to spread his perspective on homosexuality. Him being gay, gives him emotional ties to the subject matter that he intends and wishes to extend to the general population of people. Although the play deal s with AIDS, a commonly associated disease with gay people, the primary(prenominal) theme of the play has nothing to do with AIDS. In fact it has everything to do with the acceptance of a soulfulness and the happiness that comes with realizing that the person is not afraid of being who he/she is. Andres mother was never give a name throughout the play. McNally purposefully did so to emphasize her feelings toward the death of her son.Andre never told his mother about Cal out of fear that he would not be accepted by her. The end of the play shows that Andres mother comes to a realization that being gay doesnt change anything about a person. This helps McNallys point that a gay person is still a person, and more importantly, a vulnerable person who doesnt deserve what they have to go through because they cannot change who they are. Due to the nature of McNallys one-time(prenominal) and the manner in which Andres Mother was written, it is clear that he is attempting to ignore the wid e spread controversy that is associated with the theme of homosexuality. He does this by taking a risk and performing a play that it is not socially acceptable to do so.It shows a lot about McNallys character because he is not afraid to be different and promote something that could potentially cause him to lose many viewers. And he did an whimsical job in doing so because he became a very successful playwright and was even praised for his bravery (Terrence McNally). By recognizing McNallys character choice and the fact that this was written in the late 1900s when homosexuality was not viewed as acceptable, it is tangible to say that McNally was trying to normalize the subject of homosexuality in his play, Andres Mother.