Saturday, December 7, 2013

Topdog/Underdog

After doing a little bit of research and discussing 3-card Monte in class, I think I've come up with a possible connection of these theatrical mirrors in the play.

In 3-card Monte, when it's done "right", the player, or "mark", never wins the game.  It's typically set up with people who are pretending to play the game called shills.  The dealer convinces the mark that he can make some easy money, and tricks him into following the wrong card using sleight-of-hand.  If the target does pick the correct card by chance, one of the shills will out-bet him/her.  This way, the dealer never accepts a winning bet from the mark.  When orchestrated correctly, it is impossible for anyone to win this game.

This is exactly what I think is mirrored in the lives of Lincoln and Booth.  Lincoln works as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator reenacting his assassination, and he is treated very poorly at his work.  His boss actually fires him and replaces him with a wax figure.  While Lincoln was very successful in making money from 3-card Monte, his "honest Abe" attempt at life is not working out as well.  The cards are stacked against him, and he cannot win the game.

While Lincoln excels at the card game, Booth does not.  Although he tries very hard and practices frequently, he's not quite as skilled as his brother.  Although Lincoln is tricks Booth into thinking that he's winning, he also lets him know that no one actually wins at 3-card Monte unless the dealer lets them.  At the end of the play, Booth "assassinates" his brother, Lincoln.  This symbolizes how neither of these characters are ever able of really "winning the game."

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