The Tunes of Defeat

Okay let me get this out of the way, the play "The Sound of a Voice" by David Hwang creeps me out; however I do understand that the play's mysterious nature is just a veil hiding its more complex aspects. Lets look at this particular aspect in the play, both characters the woman and the man are terrified of the silence; this signifies how loneliness is the driving factor in bringing these two characters together. Now both these characters care to deal with this fear in different ways. The man hides from his fear by living in the city and finding solace in the loud noises of the city; while the woman plays the shakuhachi (a japanese flute) to emulate having company. Lets concentrate on the shakuhachi for a while, listen to this tune of someone playing the shakuhachi and ask yourself what this tune do for you; does it fill you up inside, does it sooth your senses or does it personify any loneliness you feel:

To me, the shakuhachi at first gives an ominous tune however if one continues to listen, they may see why Hanako (the woman) uses such a somber tone to mask the loneliness she felt.

Malcolm X: Well I have noticed something quite troubling in this story, even though many things were orchestrated to keep them apart such as Hanako being a more skilled swordsman, the man revealing that his intentions were to kill the woman or the mysterious flowers that plead for freedom; they still seem to love each other. Therefore the only thing that keeps them apart is them; I believe the man still believes the woman is the cause of all the disappearances, yet he sees his love as the weakness that keeps him from doing what he must.And woman is tired of seeing people she begins to care about abandon her; we given an example of this when she speaks on how her parents thought she was a ghost or a demon when she didn't cry as a baby. The man had many more choices than to mend his broken pride by leaving; he could have taken her away and start a life or he could have ended her suffering by the sword. But fighting his love for her was what truly defeated him and caused her to commit suicide; that is why I leave you with one more of my great quotes "How can anyone be against love".