True West by Sam Shepard
"True West" is a play by Sam Shepard that explores the complex relationship between two brothers, Austin and Lee, set against the backdrop of a suburban kitchen east of Los Angeles. The title evokes themes of the American frontier, contrasting the old West's promise of freedom and adventure with the harsh realities of modern suburban life. The brothers embody conflicting lifestyles: Austin, a successful scriptwriter molded by a comfortable, materialistic existence, and Lee, a drifter who survives through dubious means. Their reunion at their mother's home reignites familial tensions and reveals deeper insecurities, as each brother grapples with his identity and envies the other's life choices.
The play delves into themes of identity, rivalry, and the absence of parental guidance, emphasizing the brothers' struggles for self-discovery in a chaotic environment devoid of familial support. The narrative reflects their tumultuous dynamic, culminating in violent confrontations that highlight their mutual loathing and desire for connection. As the brothers' roles begin to reverse, the play illustrates their descent into chaos, symbolizing the broader disillusionment with the American Dream. Ultimately, "True West" offers a poignant commentary on the complexities of familial bonds and the search for authenticity in a superficial world.
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Subject Terms
True West by Sam Shepard
First produced: 1980, at the Magic Theatre, San Francisco
First published: 1981, in Seven Plays
The Work
True West is set in a suburban kitchen east of Los Angeles, although its title evokes myths of the American frontier. According to legend, the West once offered opportunities for freedom and character-building adventure, but now such an environment and such possibilities are elusive. The new West, where coyotes devour cocker spaniels in suburban backyards, retains the menace of the old West but little of its potential for heroic self-discovery.
The protagonists in this paved-over but still savage territory are two brothers reminiscent of Cain and Abel. Austin, the younger brother, attended an Ivy League university and now earns a comfortable living as a scriptwriter for movies and television. Lee, however, is a hobo who spends much of his time in the desert and supports himself by burglary. After a five-year absence, Lee appears at their mother’s home, where Austin is house-sitting. Austin is also attempting to sell his new project to the Hollywood producer Saul Kimmer.
Each brother displays contempt for the other’s lifestyle, but each perceives in the other an element missing from his own life. According to Austin, Saul Kimmer thinks the two brothers are the same person. They represent warring components of a single confused identity. As a child, Austin pretended to be Geronimo, but now his imagination has been tamed and diminished. In collecting his “blood money” from Hollywood, he has become a parasite in a shallow materialistic culture, but he begs Lee to take him back to the wild desert. Despite his crudity, Lee respects Austin’s skill with words and appropriates his mother’s antique bone china so he can remain civilized. When Saul abandons Austin’s romantic script for Lee’s “authentic Western” story, the two brothers actually exchange roles. Austin becomes a drunken thief, and Lee struggles to write a movie script.
In their turbulent quests for identity, Austin and Lee receive no guidance or support from family. Throughout the play parents are either absent or totally ineffectual. The father is a confirmed alcoholic whose whereabouts remain mysterious. In the final scene, the mother returns from Alaska to discover chaos in her home, but she talks distractedly of Picasso and halfheartedly tells Austin not to kill his brother. Left essentially to themselves and provoked by a mixture of loathing and envy, the two siblings continue to goad each other. Austin chokes Lee almost to the point of death, and the play ends with the two brothers poised for even more combat.
Sources for Further Study
Demastes, W. W. “Understanding Sam Shepard’s Realism.” Contemporary Drama 21 (Fall, 1987): 229-248.
DeRose, David J. Sam Shepard. New York: Twayne, 1992.
Graham, Laura K. Sam Shepard: Theme, Image, and the Director. New York: Lang, 1995.
Hart, Lynda. Sam Shepard’s Metaphorical Stages. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1987.
Marranca, Bonnie, ed. American Dreams: The Imagination of Sam Shepard. New York: Performing Arts Journal, 1981.
Mottram, Ron. Inner Landscapes: The Theater of Sam Shepard. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1984.
Orbison, T. “Mythic Levels in Shepard’s True West.” Modern Drama 27 (December, 1984): 506-519.
Oumano, Ellen. Sam Shepard: The Life and Work of an American Dreamer. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1986.
Patraka, Vivian M., and Mark Siegel. Sam Shepard. Boise State University Western Writers Series 69. Boise: Boise State University Press, 1985.
Wade, Leslie A. Sam Shepard and the American Theatre. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1997.
Wilcox, Leonard, ed. Rereading Shepard. Basingstoke, England: Macmillan, 1993.
Zinman, T. S. “Sam Shepard and Super-Realism.” Modern Drama 29 (September, 1986): 423-430.