Interpretation.

Though the work I will be writing from will be The Boys Next Door I am going to specifically be zoning in on the character Jack. He has such a big role in this play as the social worker working with these four men with mental handicaps. He basically supervises them while letting them try to make it out in the world. They all live in a group home together and Jack comes over practically every day to make sure they are okay. You can tell that the four men need this in their lives just by some of the scenarios that are presented. For instance, Arnold is taken advantage of in the grocery store and Jack is there to help him work through that. Lucien is about to get his government money cut and Jack is trying to prepare him for the court date coming up. Jack plays such a huge role in helping these four men live the most normal life they can. Though he is doing the best he can, it is completely apparent that he is coming to the end of his wire. There is only so much he can do to help these men, and he seems to be getting overwhelmed with trying too hard to do too much. Throughout the play there is several times he really bares his soul to the audience and we see what is going on behind his façade. He tries to put on a strong mask before the four men to be like a rock for them, but in these few moments he completely shows us just how much he is struggling. He is struggling so much that he ends up quitting his job to go work somewhere else. And it is in these few moments that he really opens up that I would like to focus on.

It may seem like the speeches he gives can be taken at face value. Though at times this is true, at other times I believe we should look deeper at the underlying things he is trying to get through to us. Throughout this play it is easy to lose focus of Jack and not pay him as much attention because after all we are paying close attention to the four men with handicaps. Obviously they are a central part of the play, but Jack is also a very important part to this play and he should not be overlooked. I think if we were to really study his character we would find a lot of things that were “hidden” or overlooked accidentally.

I think a lot of people have pegged this play as a way to raise awareness for people with mental handicaps. While this is partially true of this play, I definitely do not think that is the sole reason for this work. I believe this author did a wonderful job at giving us all a reality check in many aspects of life. Even just in the fact that we are so blessed to have the life we do. It reminds us that though this life has many struggles, God made us all unique in our own way and He loves us more than any of us could possibly comprehend. I think that is a very central theme of this play, even though it may not have been the author’s intention.

For Jack specifically I think throughout this work he was learning and growing. It was obvious that he had no real home life anymore. At one point while he was sharing his feelings to the audience he mentioned running into his ex wife, and the feelings that were presented there. He said she looked great. While mentioning the conversation they had I felt that she had no understanding of why he did what he did for a living. How is this possible? How could they be married and she not understand his intentions or motivation for the work he was doing? That showed me that they had no communication. I imagine that while they were married, a huge problem in their relationship would be his work. I don’t feel like he was very good at separating his work life from his personal life because he was so involved with this group of guys. I just know that Jack had a huge heart and wanted to completely help these men in whatever way he could. At the very beginning of the play he mentions that he is burnt out, and I believe that throughout this book he really grew just by making the steps to end this job. If he were to continue trying to help these men, I think it would eventually end up affecting his health in a negative way. Not just his physical health, but also his emotional and spiritual. It’s interesting to see how just his decision to quit affected each of these men. I think it would be even more interesting to see what happened with the rest of their lives.

Really analyzing Jack and the development of his character throughout his life can really affect you. Just seeing the love he is showing and has for these four guys is incredible. Although he is getting more and more frustrated by all the little things that make up one big thing, you can just tell he is trying so hard to make their lives better. Even at the very end when Jack talks to Barry in the psych ward you can just see the love he has for them. Yet he has to quit his job before it ends his own life. This love is something we should all strive for, I think.