God of Carnage Response

In Yasmina Reza’s play, God of Carnage, the four main characters, Veronica, Michael, Alan and Annette are all thoroughly developed. The characters tried to behave civilized toward the beginning, but as the play went on, their true colors were revealed.  The characters are all unique in their own way, allowing the audience to feel an array of emotions toward each one.  Because Reza created such relatable, honest and realistic characters, the audience is able to sympathize with, I agree with, feel sorry for, and detest certain roles in the play.

I sympathized with Veronica Novak the most.  She seemed like a sensible character in the beginning, but as the situation unfolded, she revealed all sorts of emotions.  Veronica had no intention of starting a fight, and only wanted a genuine apology from Annette, Alan and their son.  Once she realized that she was not going to get what she wanted, she started to let herself go.  I too get very frustrated when situations do not go how I plan, and in many ways I can understand where Veronica is coming from.  She tried hard to ignore the negative comments that were getting fired at her from every angle, even from her own husband!  She was even able to stay hospitable after Annette projectile-vomited all over her rare African book collection.  Veronica had a difficult time accepting Annette and Alan’s parenting style.  She wants to impose her own ideas on the couple and got frustrated when they did not comply.  Veronica got overwhelmed with all of these emotions and became both physically and mentally violent.  Veronica is somewhat of a perfectionist and does not know how to deal with life when it does not go her way.  Throughout the entire play, Veronica made an obvious effort to remain and calm and civil, and I think her attempt deserves respect. 

Although he was very rude and obnoxious, I think that Alan made the best argument in the play.  In the middle of an argument with his wife about showing compassion toward one another, he asked whether we could really ever care for each other.  His statement made me stop and think.  Are we all too self absorbed to truly care for each other?  I think in many ways, whether it be instinctual or just human nature, we will always put ourselves first.  Does that allow us to fully care for another person beside ourselves?  I do not think this question can ever be answered concretely, but it sure does make you think.  I respect Alan’s character because he was brutally honest and said exactly what he meant.  He did not care what others, thought of him, even his wife.

The character that I feel the most sorry for is Annette.  She is always nervous, living her life in complete panic.  In the beginning of the play, before the rage and rum came into the picture, Annette did not stand up for herself.  She just wanted to resolve the situation so everyone could move on with her happy lives.  She acknowledged that she is not a good parent when she said she did not care whether Benjamin was genuinely sorry for his actions or not.  Annette was willing to adhere to whatever Veronica said, for she was desperate for some sort of resolution.  Her husband spent half of the night on his cell phone, and Annette was left to nervously apologize for his actions.  Eventually Annette was able to stick up for herself.  She dropped Alan’s phone in a vase of water and finally addressed him about how awful he treats her.  She stated how terrible her marriage actually was.  This made me feel especially sad for Annette.  She calls herself a ‘manager of wealth’ and tries hard to mask her sadness with her money and expensive lifestyle.  Reza did a great job developing Annette’s character.  I think many women can relate to Annette’s marital problems.

Although I enjoyed parts of his argument, Alan was the character who I could not stand the most.  I respect his sense of honesty, but only to a point.  It is good to be yourself, but if being yourself means hurting other people, I think changes should be made.  He was rude and did not consider anyone’s feelings but his own.  Alan identified more with Michael, and had a degrading and racist attitude towards the women, especially his wife.  Alan’s character was portrayed very realistically.  Unfortunately, there are many men in today’s society who behave just like Alan.

I really enjoyed watching God of Carnage.  The truth that Yasmina Reza put into each of the four characters makes her play so relatable to the audience.  I had formed many different emotions and connections due to the great depth given to each character.