Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
NAOMI WALLACE’S IN THE HEART OF
AMERICA: THE PORTRAIT OF A WOMAN’S
BODY AS AN IDEOLOGICAL TEXT
Amany Mahmoud El-Sawy
Alexand ia Uni e si y
[email protected]
Recei ed 18 h Sep embe 2012
Accep ed 15 h Janua y 2013
KEYWORDS
emale body; na ion’s ideology; poli ical iolence and iola ions; impe ial wa .
PALABRAS CLAVE
cue po emenino; ideología de la nación; iolencia y iolaciones polí icas,
gue a impe ial.
ABSTRACT
This pape shows how a emale body, conside ed a ep esen a i e o i s na ion’s
ideology, is o en he main a ge o poli ical iolence and iola ions. Naomi
Wallace’s In he Hea o Ame ica uses he sexual us a ions o all i s women
cha ac e s o e lec he iolen physical and men al p essu es o impe ial wa and
i s consequen imes. Thei physical de ec s signal he hos ile imes hey li e in,
which a e usually e lec ed on he emale body as ca ie and displaye o he
ideologies and social cons uc ions o he e a, u ning women’s bodies in o
ep esen a i es o hei na ion’s sociopoli ical ideology. They ha e hei egions’
ideology insc ibed on hei bodies as physical wounds, making hese bodies
ba le ields on which colonize s and soldie s demons a e hei poli ical muscle.
Wallace demons a es how he emale body, h ough i s sexual o ien a ion, i s colo ,
i s exposu e, and i s mo emen s and ges u es, can ell he whole s o y o iolence
and c ea e a d ama o g ea e ec .
RESUMEN
Es e abajo mues a cómo un cue po emenino, conside ado ep esen a i o de la
ideología de su nación, es a menudo obje i o p incipal de la iolencia y las
iolaciones polí icas. In he Hea o Ame ica, de Naomi Wallace, usa las
us aciones sexuales de odos sus pe sonajes emeninos pa a e leja las iolen as
p esiones men ales y ísicas de la gue a impe ial y sus consecuencias. Sus de ec os
ísicos indican los iempos hos iles en que i en, que a menudo se e lejan en el
cue po emenino como po ado y es anda e de las ideologías y las cons ucciones
sociales de la época, con i iendo a los cue pos de las muje es en ep esen an es de
la ideología sociopolí ica de su nación. Tienen la ideología de sus egiones insc i a
44 Amany Mahmoud El-Sawy
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
sob e el cue po como he idas ísicas, con i iendo a esos cue pos en campos de
ba alla donde los colonizado es y los soldados demues an su po encia polí ica.
Wallace demues a cómo el cue po emenino, median e su o ien ación sexual, su
colo , su exhibición y sus mo imien os y ges os, puede na a oda la his o ia de la
iolencia y c ea un d ama de g an e ec o.
A emale body, conside ed a ep esen a i e o i s na ion’s ideology, a
ca ie o ha na ion’s hono , and also a p oduce o i s human powe , is o en he
main a ge o poli ical iolence and iola ions. Con empo a y d ama akes he
issue o he poli ical iola ion o women in o conside a ion. In Poli ical Violence
in D ama, Ma y Ka en Dahl discusses how di e en o ms o d ama display
di e en o ms o poli ical iolence, i s ic ims and i s execu ione s. Dahl also
conside s in he discussion “ he impac o he iolen deed on he communi y ha
he deed os ensibly bene i s” (10). In a gene al commen abou he d ama o
con empo a y playw igh s, Dahl asse s ha i “challenge[s] he spec a o o mo e
beyond iden i ica ion and wi ness o analysis and ac ion” (132). She u he s a es
ha hea e, as a medium, allows us o “in es iga e he undamen al expe iences
o ou exis ence, including hose ha we call ‘poli ical’” (132). Con empo a y
poli ical d ama aims o a ec his undamen ali y o people’s poli ical
expe iences. I is no only shaping hei pe sonal li es bu also hei whole
na ions’ ideological pe cep ions.
The powe o hea e, especially he poli ical one, lies in he ad an age o
he li e wa ching ha is an essen ial pa o he hea ical expe ience. Gilbe and
Tompkins add ess his hea ical ad an age o he wa ching pa icula ly o he
poli ical hea e in Pos -Colonial D ama. This book s udies he his o y o pos -
colonial d ama and i s de elopmen s ha a ec ed i s cu en hema ic app oaches
and hea ical p oduc ions. The w i e s de o e a whole chap e o he subjec o body
poli ics, illus a ing how a body is like no o he d ama ic ool, demons a ing a
pe son’s gende , ace, and class: all ex emely loaded poli ical iden i ica ions. The
w i e s’ ideas o how body poli ics shape poli ical d ama suppo my a gumen s
h oughou he pape , as I es ablish a connec ion be ween he emale body and he
speci ic o ms o poli ical iola ions i su e s. These in igo a ing ye p oblema ic
aspec s o he poli ical hea e a e highly p esen in he d ama o Naomi Wallace
who displays p o ound d ama ic awa eness o he emale body and i s ep esen a ion
wi hin a poli ical con ex . Wallace’s In he Hea o Ame ica employs a su ealis ic,
episodic s yle ha c ea es many le els o he u h he play ies o ep esen ,
ques ions he his o y o impe ial poli ics, and some imes e en ew i es i , in i s
iolen app oach owa d he emale body.
In o de o cla i y Wallace’s idea, Edwa d Said’s asse ion conce ning he
pas has o come in o ligh . In Cul u e and Impe ialism, Said discusses he e ec o
he pas in shaping ou p esen and he au ho i y o he p esen in o mula ing ou
iew o he pas : “pas and p esen in o m each o he , each implies he o he and [...]
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each co-exis s wi h he o he ” (4). Ques ioning he his o iog aphy o he wo ld,
Said’s discussion o pas and p esen is done wi hin he con ex o colonial and
impe ial powe s: hei di e en means and common in en ions. He ocuses on
impe ialis m as a mo e ecen poli ical app oach, asse ing ha i is “a wo d and an
idea oday so con o e sial, so augh wi h all so s o ques ions, doub s, polemics,
and ideological p emises as nea ly o esis use al oge he ” (5). Said de ines
impe ialis m as “ hinking abou , se ling on, con olling land ha you do no possess,
ha is dis an , ha is li ed on and owned by o he s. Fo all kinds o easons i
a ac s some people and o en in ol es un old mise y o o he s” (7). This
geog aphical s uggle, Said main ains, “is no only abou soldie s and cannons bu
also abou ideas, abou o ms, abou images and imaginings” (7).
All o he o ms and his o ical ins ances o poli ical s uggle ha Said
desc ibes abo e uni e in hei ideological ambi ion. Said s a es ha “ he e a o high
o classical impe ialism [ ... has] mo e o less o mally ended wi h he disman ling
o he g ea colonial s uc u es a e Wo ld Wa Two, [and] has in one way o
ano he con inued o exe conside able cul u al in luence in he p esen ” (7).
Naomi Wallace’s In he Hea o Ame ica (1994) de elops his no ion o classical
dominance o a mo e mode n one displayed in he impe ialism p ac iced and
main ained by he dominan powe in he wo ld: Ame ica. Said alks abou “ he
p i ileged ole o cul u e in he mode n impe ial expe ience,” a no ion clea ly
displayed in Wallace’s play, s a ing ha “li le no ice [is] aken o he ac ha he
ex ao dina y global each o classical nine een h-and ea ly- wen ie h-cen u y
Eu opean impe ialism s ill cas s a conside able shadow o e ou own imes” (5).
“The Ame ican expe ience,” says Said,
was om he beginning ounded upon he idea o ‘an impe ium --a domina ion,
s a e o so e eign y ha would expand in popula ion and e i o y, and inc ease in
s eng h and powe .’ The e we e claims o No h Ame ican e i o y o be made
and ough o e (wi h as onishing success); he e we e na i e people o be
domina ed, a iously ex e mina ed, a iously dislodged; and hen, as he epublic
inc eased in age and hemisphe ic powe , he e we e dis an lands o be designa ed
i al o Ame ican in e es s, o be in e ened in and ough o e . (8)
This con empo a y o m o impe ialism displayed in he poli ics o Ame ica is
e hically ques ioned in Hea o Ame ica. Said asse s ha “cu iously, hough, so
in luen ial has been he discou se insis ing on Ame ican specialness, al uism, and
oppo uni y ha ‘impe ialis m’ as a wo d o ideology has u ned up only a ely and
ecen ly in accoun s o Uni ed S a es cul u e, poli ics, his o y” (8). Among hese
ecen oices ha y o “ u n up” he no ion o impe ialis m is he li e a y oice o
Naomi Wallace in Hea o Ame ica, in which she ies o es o e he ideological
concep o impe ialism in o poli ical li e a y discou se, ques ioning he allegedly
unsel ish humani a ian Ame ican app oach in i s ecen wa s.
46 Amany Mahmoud El-Sawy
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
Said u he s a es ha “ he connec ion be ween impe ial poli ics and
cul u e is as onishingly di ec ” (8), which is a no ion Wallace ies o emphasize
h oughou he play. He explains how he Ame ican cul u e o mula es i s impe ial
poli ics: “A me ican a i udes o Ame ican ‘g ea ness,’ o hie a chies o ace, o he
pe ils o o he e olu ions ( he Ame ican e olu ion being conside ed unique and
somehow un epea able anywhe e else in he wo ld) ha e emained cons an , ha e
dic a ed, ha e obscu ed, he eali ies o empi e” (8). Wallace demons a es in he
play how hese “Ame ican a i udes” o mula ed he “ eali ies o empi e” h ough
he d ama iza ion o he ci cums ances o wo mode n Ame ican wa s: he Gul and
he Vie namese. As Said explains o he Ame ican a i ude du ing he 1990 Gul
wa : “in he Ame ican iew o he pas , he Uni ed S a es was no a classical
impe ial powe , bu a igh e o w ongs a ound he wo ld, in pu sui o y anny, in
de ense o eedom no ma e he place o cos . The wa ine i ably pi ed hese
e sions o he pas agains each o he ” (5). Such impe ial easoning is displayed in
Wallace’s Hea o Ame ica in o de o uni e and jus i y he poli ical in en ions o
dominance and expansion o bo h he Gul and Vie namese wa s.
Dahl analyzes he con adic ions in he concep o iolence, especially
hose ha esul om wa , s a ing ha
As we ha e g own less con iden o he sac ed g ound o exis ence, he ela ionship
o iolence o ha g ound has g own less ce ain. The p ocess o desac aliza ion has
de ached iolence om di ine judgmen and ep isal, o ced us o con on wi hou
com o he con adic ions o iolence, and placed esponsibili y o changing he
human condi ion on man alone. The de ini ion o limi s has a he same ime g own
mo e and mo e complex. Thus iolence on he scale o wo wo ld wa s, Auschwi z,
and Hi oshima as onishes and e i ies us a he e y ime ha psychologis s a gue
ha agg ession --including iolence-- is a no mal and e en bene icial componen o
human beha io . Ye in his changed wo ld he c ucial ques ion con inues o be
“How shall man be sa ed? (1)
Wa s ha e speci ically succeeded in de aching he concep o iolence om mo al
judgmen , c ea ing many con adic o y pe cep ions ha ha e o u ed all wa
pa icipan s bo h physically and men ally. These con adic ions o wa emphasize
he ole o he human being as he only one capable o “chang[ing] he human
condi ion,” since hese con adic ions ha e elimina ed di ine mo ali y as a judging
concep , lea ing he solu ion o be a o al bu den upon humans’ shoulde s. In my
examina ion o In he Hea o Ame ica, I look a how Wallace blends he gene al
no ion o he des uc i eness o wa wi h he con empo a y impe ial in en ions o
Ame ica’s wa s, ocusing on he d ama iza ion o how hese wa s ideologically and
physically e lec on he emale body.
Wallace ocuses on wo speci ic Ame ican wa s ha we e ini ia ed
h ough idealized poli ical alida ions bu we e imbedded wi h impe ial in en ions
Naomi Wallace’s In he Hea o Ame ica 47
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
owa d he o he side. Wallace implies h oughou he play how Ame ica’s claim o
igh ing agains communism, y annical egimes, and o he good o he people is
all a a ionaliza ion used o co e he eal impe ial in en ions o Ame ica as a
dominan powe . The play in oduces, in su ealis ic ske ches, bo h he Vie namese
wa and he Gul wa , blending hei occu ences and con using hei mo als in a
demons a ion o he pa allel impe ial app oaches o he wo. Demons a ing how
wa p oduces “dis igu ed bodies which physicalize he me apho o impe ial
iola ion” (Gilbe and Tompkins 224), he play pe soni ies wa iolence h ough
he damaged bodies o i s cha ac e s, especially he emale cha ac e s as ideological
ex s o hei in aded na ions.
Re ol ing a ound Fai ouz, an Ame ican-Pales inian woman, and he
sea ch o he ac s o he b o he Remzi’s dea h du ing he Gul Wa , he play
illus a es he des uc i eness o he Ame ican impe ial hegemony, exempli ied in
he Vie namese and Gul wa s, on he bodies and men ali ies o i s pa icipan s,
especially hose o he emales, each in oduced wi h a body de ec in he play.
Fai ouz’s explo a ion o he Gul wa ci cums ances unco e s a lo e s o y be ween
he b o he and ano he soldie , C a e , who me in he Saudi dese . She also
encoun e s he wande ing ghos o Lue Ming: a Vie namese woman killed a he My
Lai massac e. In addi ion, he play in oduces he cha ac e o Boxle , a lieu enan
in he Ame ican a my, who appea s some imes as a eal lesh-and-blood cha ac e ,
and o he imes as a wande ing spi i o wa ha isi s soldie s e e ywhe e. The
play, as Lyn Ga dne s a es in he a icle “The My hic and he Ma xis ,” is “bo h
ealis ic and su eal” (4) in i s o e lapping inciden s, collage-like scenes, and
an as ic cha ac e s. Mo eo e , In he Hea o Ame ica employs a eminis
app oach in analyzing he issue o iolence in wa , especially physical iolence ha
mos ly mani es s i sel on he emale cha ac e s’ bodies. This physical iolence o
wa is in oduced in he play o gende any in lic ed body o objec as emale,
making he pu pose o he play o “ ede ine poli ical d ama in e ms o a eminis
su ealis m” (Ga dne 4).
Wal e Bilde back w i es in his a icle “The Ci y Tha Emb aced Naomi
Wallace” ha he playw igh “speaks o, and o , he body” (59). Wallace’s
d ama ic cen ali y o he body is clea ly emphasized in he play In he Hea o
Ame ica as he cha ac e s’ bodies a e made o in e ac wi hin he di e en con ex s
o wa , homophobia, lo e, lus , guil , and o he social and poli ical backg ounds,
building he d ama on he esul s o hose bodies’ in e ac ions. In an in e iew wi h
John Is el, Wallace alks abou he main guiding concep s o he w i ing o he play,
s a ing ha
One o my leads in o he play was hinking abou he body in lo e and in wa .
While wa is in en on des oying he body, lo e supposedly has a capaci y o
econs uc o edisco e he body’s sensuali y. The body is cen al--and
ulne able--in bo h lo e and wa . The ques ion is: how does he body’s sensuali y

48 Amany Mahmoud El-Sawy
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
o sexuali y su i e in he ace o sys ems designed o des oy i -ei he wa o la e
capi alism. (25)
Th oughou he play, he cha ac e s y o make sense o he a ali y o he wa
“sys em” and ind a mo al in i s impe ial jus i ica ions. Wallace uses he
“ ulne abili y” she desc ibes abo e, o he cha ac e s’ bodies, o ma e ialize he
iola ions o bo h wa s and illus a e hei ou come as eng a ed on hose bodies. She
asse s a he same ime ha all he cha ac e s’ a emp s o unde s anding and
a ionalizing wa a e doomed o ailu e as hey encoun e u he e idence o i s
des uc ion.
Dahl s a es ha ying o jus i y iolence as an agency o winning human
eedom only “in ensi ies he sense o iola ion” (2), which is clea ly p esen ed on
he bodies o Wallace’s cha ac e s, which a e handicapped one way o ano he :
ei he physically as a esul o being subjec ed o iolence o men ally as a esul o
ha ing o ace i , p ac ice i and jus i y i . Howe e , he play s esses he physical
mani es a ion o iolence, displayed in he de o mi ies o he cha ac e s, especially
he emales. Fai ouz, o example, has a des oyed oo ha is some imes aken ca e
o by he b o he Remzi, and o en ha ed, despised and made un o also by him. In
one o he many eminiscing scenes in he play, Fai ouz ecalls a con e sa ion she
had wi h he b o he , h ough which he ied o help he ix he de o mi y:
Remzi: You’ e go o do i o you’ll ne e walk igh . Jus once mo e.
Fai ouz: Jus once mo e. Only once mo e. Will i be be e hen?
Remzi: Soon. I will be be e soon.
(Remzi wis s he oo , and she le s ou a sound o pain ha is pa sc eam and pa
he low, deep sound o a ho n.) (32)
Remzi’s iolen beha io owa d his sis e ’s de o med body symbolizes he ac o
Ame ican impe ial wa , which is o en ad e ised as an ac o poli ical co ec ion
in ended o es o e los igh s and ec i y w ong si ua ions, as Remzi himsel is
ying o do wi h his sis e ’s physical disabili y. Howe e , his supposedly
e o ming iolen ac di ec ed owa d he de o mi y u he o ends he wound
a he han heals i : a d ama ic ges u e ha hin s a he poli ical hypoc isy o
Ame ica’s impe ial wa s.
Al hough Fai ouz’s de o mi y is no a esul o wa iolence, i ce ainly is
p esen ed in he play as a symbol o he c ippling powe o impe ial wa . Fai ouz
o en ies o p ac ice he walk which Lue Ming ies o imi a e, esul ing in scenes
o wo limping women ying o s abilize hei s ides, signi ying hei whole
na ions’, he Pales inian and he Vie namese’s, immobiliza ion by wa . In a
con e sa ion be ween Fai ouz and Remzi, Wallace es ablishes a connec ion be ween
Fai ouz’s de o mi y and he social and poli ical isola ions:
Naomi Wallace’s In he Hea o Ame ica 49
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
Remzi: You’ e going o blame me ha no one wan s o ma y a gi l wi h a gimpy
oo .
Fai ouz: My oo is de o med, bu my cun wo ks jus ine!
Remzi: You ha e a mou h ull o di , sis e . Wha is i you wan om me?
Fai ouz: Wha I wan ? (She speaks some ang y lines o him in A abic.)
Remzi: Gibbe ish, Fai ouz. Sa e i o he ela i es.
Fai ouz speaks ano he line o A abic o him.)
Remzi: I’m no a e ugee. I ’s always somewhe e else wi h you, always once
emo ed. I am no sca e ed.
Fai ouz: I I could go o wa wi h you, I’d shoo my enemies i s , hen I’d shoo he
ones who made hem enemies. (16)
This con e sa ion e lec s how Fai ouz’s physical de o mi y c ipples he bo h
socially and poli ically in a symbolic pa allelism o he poli ical handicapping o
Pales inians, esul ing om yea s o iolen ba ling, which des oys he na ion’s
social li e and i s abili y o physically de end i sel .
Wallace es ablishes ano he connec ion be ween he emale body and he
land, in he con e sa ions be ween Fai ouz and Remzi, ela ing he hono and
digni y o he emale body o he land:
Fai ouz: I’m an A ab woman.
Remzi: You’ e ne e been he e.
Fai ouz: Nei he ha e you!
Remzi: I you walked in o ou illage oday, hey’d a and ea he you.
Fai ouz: Fuck you. I’d pu on a eil.
Remzi: The eil’s no he p oblem. You ha en’ been a i gin since you we e
hi een.
Fai ouz: How da e you!
Remzi: I’m so y.
Fai ouz: I was a leas ou een! (They laugh.)
Fai ouz: Mo he s ill says o me “The hono o a gi l is like a piece o glass. I
i ’s b oken, you can ne e glue i oge he again.”
Remzi: Why don’ you ell he he u h?
Fai ouz: I ’s my u h. No he s. You ha dly know he , and she li es i e
minu es away! (14-15)
Remzi insis s ha he land Fai ouz is eage o associa e wi h will “ a and ea he ”
he o pieces because o wha Fai ouz’s body ep esen s o he Eas e n na ion: he
loss o digni y. Fai ouz’s commen abou he mo he ’s poin o iew on a gi l’s
hono , al hough sa cas ic, also connec s he emale’s iola ed body, ep esen ed in a
b oken piece o glass, o he land sha e ed by he iola ions o wa . Fai ouz’s body
o e s he de o mi y and he los i gini y as symbols o he wounded and
humilia ed ideological body o he land.
50 Amany Mahmoud El-Sawy
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
Fu he mo e, he longing o and esen men o he pas a e displayed
h oughou he play as pa o Wallace’s eminen d ama ic ges u es. “Whe e e he e
is a p esen momen ,” says Wallace, “ he pas is also p esen , al hough i ’s usually
in isible. Tha ’s wha d aws me o hea e -- he abili y o pu di e en imes on s age
and see how hey collide o how hey esona e wi h one ano he -- how he pas ells
a s o y wi hin a p esen s o y” (25). This d ama ic play wi h ime is s ongly
displayed in Hea O Ame ica as he d ama “jumps a ound in ime, p esen s
simul aneous e en s, uses ghos cha ac e s” (Wallace 25). Wallace con inues o go
back in ime, h oughou he play, o “unlock he complexi ies o he p esen ”
(Ga dne 4). Time e ea ing is done in whole scenes ha ake he play back yea s in
ime and also in he cha ac e s’ s eam o hough as hey s a b inging back
inciden s om he pas o enhance he pic u es o hei p esen . Bo h Fai ouz and
Lue Ming b ing hei de o med mo he s back in o hei p esen inciden s, ying o
iew hei own de o med bodies and c ippled eali ies wi hin hose o hei mo he s.
In a con e sa ion be ween Fai ouz and Remzi, he physical inju y o hei mo he
comes back om he pas as an idio ic inciden o Remzi bu a he oic one o Fai ouz:
Fai ouz: The e is always a pa allel. Did mo he e e ell you how she
b oke he hip be o e she came o Ame ica?
Remzi: She ell down when she was unning away om he soldie s ...
Fai ouz: No. She was unning owa d he soldie s.
Remzi: I’ e hea d his so many imes i ’s a swee li le lullaby ha could
ock me o sleep. So mo he sa ed a he and hey b oke he hip wi h a
i le bu . C ack, c ack. Bone b oke. Hobble, hobble o he es o he li e
(14).
Wallace asse s he e Fai ouz’s associa ion wi h he mo he and he abili y o see he
pa allelism o hei si ua ion, sensing he dep h o he mo he ’s inju y as a sign o
he oic ac ion eng a ed on he mo he ’s body. The body/coun y symbiosis is u he
demons a ed in he mo he ’s b oken hip, a pa icula body pa ha symbolizes he
physicali y and he p oduc i i y o he emale. Lue Ming also men ions he
simila i y o he mo he ’s and Fai ouz’s inju y as he o me has only one oo
because “she s epped on a mine on he way ou o a piss” (14). Wallace he e
connec s he body o Lue Ming’s mo he wi h ha o Fai ouz’ s, as hey uni e in a
disabili y ha in Fai ouz’ s case o e ells wa and in he mo he ’s displays i s e ec .
Bilde back poin s ou Wallace’s d ama ic in en ion, in Hea O
Ame ica, o ie “Ame ican mili a y in ol emen s o e he pas hal -cen u y o
male ea o o he ness” (55). This no ion o ea o he o he , al hough implica ed
in he si es o physical iola ions o Fai ouz as an ‘o he ’, is speci ically appa en
in Lue Ming’s physical iola ions, ano he o he , ha ha e mo e han one
ep esen a ion in he play. In one ins ance, Lue Ming ells Fai ouz he s o y o
he long beau i ul black b aid ha was cu o by an Ame ican soldie :
Naomi Wallace’s In he Hea o Ame ica 51
Re is a de Es udios No eame icanos, nº 16 (2012) Se ille, Spain, ISSN 1133-309-X, 43-56
Lue Ming: [ ... ] Rush always ga e me gum, Juicy ui gum. He called me his
li le sis. Once he ga e me a ibbon o pu in my hai . I had e y long hai ,
beau i ul, hick hai ha I wo e in a b aid down my back. (Bea ) Bu one day
Rush didn’ b ing any gum and he ook ou his kni e and cu o my b aid.
Fai ouz: Was i a slow kni e? Se a ed a e slow.
Lue Ming: Oh no, i was a quick kni e, a Rush kni e, and he s apped my
hai o he back o his helme . His iends laughed and laughed. Rush
looked so e y silly wi h his camou lage helme on and his long, black
b aid hanging down his back.
Fai ouz: I was only hai . (22)
The g aphic implica ion in he scene does no only es ablish he same connec ion
be ween he land and he emale body as displayed h oughou he play, bu e en
mo e, i in ensi ies he sense o emale iola ion in i s insinua ion o b u al sexual
assaul s. Lue Ming’s slashed b aid signi ies he iola ed humani y in wa in he o m
o physical and/o men al mu ila ion o he spi i and/o body, bu mo e impo an ly,
i e e s o women’s sexual iola ion, as hai is a s ong symbol o a emale’s beau y.
Lue Ming desc ibes he soldie ’s kni e as a ush kni e, co esponding wi h he
soldie ’s own name, which signi ies he wa ’s non-amendable des uc ion. Lue
Ming’s slashed b aid is no “only hai ,” as Fai ouz indica es; i is a physical sign ha
p oclaims he ic o and he anquished.
The cha ac e o Lue Ming u he connec s he Vie namese and Gul wa s
in hei iolen con en ha is he subs ance o hei impe ial hegemony. Wallace, by
choosing a emale cha ac e o haun he soldie s in he play, signi ies he ole o he
emale as he conscience o a na ion and also as he mos o men ed ic im o wa s.
Lue Ming asse s o C a e ha he mis ake o haun ing he w ong pe son and si e,
landing in he Gul ins ead o Vie nam, is no a c ucial one, s a ing: “So I missed he
house and he yea . Bu no he p o ession” (8). She also ells Boxle ha “wha ’s
done is o en done again and done again” (34). Clea ly, Wallace is ying o es ablish
a compa ison in he audience’s consciousness be ween he impe ial in en ions o
hese wo wa s, hei pa allel ci cums ances and compa able esul s. She u he ies
o illus a e he unc ion o hese wa s as “p o essions” ha make money and
es ablish powe a he han as mili an e o ming ac s ha he impe ial commands
asse o hei pu pose.
The compa able iolence and iola ion o he Gul and Vie namese wa s,
especially owa d he emale body, is emphasized by Wallace in one o he mos
g aphic scenes in he play. In scene h ee o he second ac , Boxle , a lieu enan in
he Ame ican a my du ing he Gul wa , sees he appa i ion o Lue Ming and li es
he o u ous inciden all o e again in on o he puzzled Remzi and C a e ,
con using he wa s and losing his sense o ime and place:
Boxle : Shu you squawking, bi ch. (Calls) Hey, you wo oope s. O e