The Cuban Swimmer
4 Pages 907 Words
Seeing Beyond the Glory
In the drama play, The Cuban Swimmer by Milcha Sanchez-Scott, the staging elements play a huge role to the play. The play generally takes place in one scene throughout the play. The main characters, the Suarez family, are on a “rag tag” boat cheering on the swimming Margarita. There are many events that occur that could take away from the main focus which is Margarita. However, throughout the play all the activities going on are revolving around her. This play uses “magic realism” which causes unlikely events to happen. The adversities that Margarita had to overcome help the play come to life right before the audiences eyes. The magical realism helps the play come along as well. Margarita has to deal with hardships like an oil slick, hallucinations, and her father’s pride and dream. Margarita was swimming not just for herself, but for the pride of her whole family
Swimming from California to Catalina Island is not an easy task to accomplish regardless how strong a swimmer one may claim to be. However when obstacles get in the way, it makes it that much harder for the long swim to be accomplished. While swimming Margarita swims across an oil slick which covers her body in black oil. While reading or viewing this part of the play one would begin to think Margarita might have to get into the boat and be cleaned. The rules of the race forbid anyone from touching the swimmers during the race. Yet, she decides to continue on with the race despite her sticky situation. It was not easy, but she makes out of the oil slick by swimming harder. Eduardo talks about “the mind over matter…the mind controlling the body” and Margarita definitely masters this skill for that moment (1504). The mind begins to turn on her after some time because she begins to be delirious.
Margarita shows signs of delusions when she begins to hear things. “I’m so cold, I [cannot] move…I put my face in the...