Brandon Wilkes
Dr. White
English 11
Critique Essay Based on the play Poof written by Lynn Nottage, there are a lot of things that jump out to me right away. The main thing that jumps out to me is that Samuel has been beating his wife for years. Another thing that bothers me is that his wife Loureen has been taking it without calling for help, besides her friend Florence. Loureen should never of been married if is she was unhappy for so long, especially is she is getting beaten constantly. There is no excuse for husbands to beat their wives, no matter if you’re happy or unhappy in your marriage. The play Poof is not your typical every day happy play where everyone goes home with a smile on their face. It’s a play that shows you what goes on in some people’s everyday lives. Husband’s beating their wives for whatever reason, and then the wives being too scared to go to police in fear that they will get beat because of that. It’s an everyday fight that some relationships have and it’s very unhealthy for people. This is a subject that doesn’t sit with me very well, because my grandmother was beat by her husband before I was born. In a sense this is what I feel like she had to go through while being married to my grandfather. Although she couldn’t just poof him away for the beatings to stop like Loureen did in the play. Nevertheless it is a matter that shouldn’t go unnoticed and if seen by people should be reported to the authorities, because at the end of the day could save a family or even more importantly a life. Another important factor in situations like Poof is when another party like Florence knows about the situation going on, I feel like it is then her job to go to the authorities. The reason I say this is because she is not scared to like Loureen understandably would be. Third parties that know about situations such as this could cause less stress on the person getting abused and the family members by just making a call. It sounds little but in the end can make a big impact. I like what the author did with the story line though. As soon as Loureen stood us to her husband it looked as if all her problems were gone, as if a weight was lifted off her shoulder. That’s what I think the author is trying to get across to people. Standing up for yourself and not letting people