Am I Blue

2 Pages 556 Words

Ashbe Has Issues

In the play “” by Beth Henley The leading male character John Polk is a typical American college student who is involved in several different activities such as being a member of one of the local fraternities. As John Polk is waiting for his turn at 12:00 p.m. to visit the local whore house, he meets a girl named Ashbe. Ashbe a local high school student, who is on the more “rebellious” side, lives in an apartment by her self, her father is an alcoholic and her mother has completely abandoned them. She takes a liking to John and invites him to wait with her until it’s his turn at the local whore house. As time goes on more and more is revealed about Ashbe, problems with theft, loneliness and self esteem.
From the start when Ashbe met John it was not because they were flirting from across the room and decided to talk to each other, it was because Ashbe was trying to hide from people she had just stolen from. Ashbe obviously has a problem stealing because she stole two very minimal objects, ashtrays. It was not that she stole them in order to survive, to feed herself or her family etc... It was just to steal. She even tried to compare herself to Robin Hood, “Thief – would you call robin hood a thief?” but since when have the poor ever really needed ashtrays for anything. (Am I Blue pg.1636 ln.5)




In the play, Ashbe’s Father and mother are missing, even though she says they are out of town you can tell that they are usually never there. You see this because of her customs. Customs such as working late, stealing, going out late at night etc. She is not the typical 16 year old high school student. You get the feeling that maybe she just might be lonely. She insists that he go over to her house: “Oh. I know! You can come over to my apartment. It’s just down the block.” (Am I Blue pg.1640 ln.119)She meets a guy that maybe is a little different than her, and takes a liking to him. She finds ...