The Curious Savage BY JOHN PATRICK The Curious

The Curious Savage BY: JOHN PATRICK

The Curious Savage • Originally published October 25 th, 1950 • It was written by John Patrick. Some of his other works include The Hasty Heart (1945), Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen (1971), and • Awards: While "The Curious Savage" didn't win any awards. John Patrick won a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for drama for "The Teahouse of the August Moon". • It was first performed October 24 th, 1950.

Setting and themes The play takes place in the living area of a sanatorium titled the Cloisters. Several themes are expressed in the play including: • Pride comes before the fall We see this example with Mrs. Savage’s stepchildren who end up making fools of themselves after being sent on a wild goose chase by Mrs. Savage. • Greed is destructive This also applies to the stepchildren because their greed has destroyed not only themselves but also their relationships between each other and others. • The definition of sanity is questionable When you see the patients at The Cloisters versus the Savage step children and Mrs. Savage herself it leaves you wondering who the crazy one is.

Summary The beginning of the play is set in sort of a sanatorium that is called, “The Cloisters. ” The people in this institution are waiting for someone else to arrive at the Cloisters. This new woman, Mrs. Savage, arrives with her three step-children, “Lily Belle, Titus, and Samuel. ” Her step children are after her money that she wants to use in a Memorial Fund to her deceased husband. Mrs. Savage then gets to know the people who live at the Cloisters whose names are, “Fairy May, Hannibal, Florence, Jeff, and Mrs. Paddy. ” These characters have different perspectives of their lives and contentment, than some people may. In addition, there also two characters who work at the Cloisters and their names are, “Dr. Emmet, and Miss Willie. ” Mrs. Savage’s three children are after her money that she wants to use for the Memorial Fund, and she sends them on three wild goose chases to, “find”, the bonds. When the step children come back, without the bonds, Mrs. Savage reveals that they are in the teddy bear that she has, and puts them on the table. The bonds are then on the table, but Mrs. Paddy, who turns the lights off throughout the play, turns them off, and when the lights are back on, the bonds have disappeared. Then, they are convinced that the bonds have been burned, until it is revealed that Miss Willie has saved almost the entirety of the bonds, and returns them to Mrs. Savage in the end. Mrs. Savage then leaves the Cloisters, in their content and imaginative life. Inciting incident- Mrs. Savage’s step children bring her to The Cloisters Climax- When the bonds are stolen, when the bonds are almost all fine, when Mrs. Savage leaves the Cloisters

John Patrick Born on may 17, 1905 in Louisville, Kentucky his parents abandoned him soon after his birth. He spent his childhood in foster homes and boarding schools. His notable works include • The Curious Savage, 1950 • The World Of Suzie Wong, 1960 • Hell Freezes Over, 1935 • Lo and Behold!, 1951 • Good as Gold, 1957 • The Willow and I, 1942 He won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1954 Married Mildred Legaye at age 25. Died (committed suicide) on November 7, 1995 He was found dead in an assisted care living facility where he lived in Delray Beach, Florida with a plastic bag over his face & a poem titled "suicide note" which read: “I won't dispute my right to die; I'll only give the reasons why; you reach a certain point in time when life has lost its rhythm & rhyme. "

Mrs. Savage Mrs. Ethel P. Savage is the main protagonist of the play she is kindhearted and incredibly unique. Unlike most people her age she has an energy and spice for life. She could care less what people think of her and she is very compassionate. Mrs. Savage not only has a memorial fund but she also is a little sad that her step-children never did accept her. She still isn’t afraid to stand up for others of what she thinks is right she is also witty and clever.

Lily Belle is tall and slender. She's self-assured and very chic. She's flighty and impatient. She is despised by mom, but the feeling seems to be mutual. Lily Belle has been through six divorces her first being a Slovak prince (it’s rumored she still sleeps in her tiara). She is also the middle step-child and happens to be incredibly impatient and greedy. One of the best parts in the paly is when Mrs. Savage as an act of revenge bites Lily Belle for all the times she used to bite Mrs. Savage when she was a child.

Titus is a Senator, who is the oldest of Mrs. Savage’s step sons. He is a man who is very formal, cold and direct. He has no sense of humor or happiness about him, and takes himself very seriously even though it appears he isn't a very successful senator. When it comes to dealing with his mother he tends to get frustrated with her very easily, but throughout the play he doesn’t let that get in the way of him trying to get the bonds, in fact he is usually trying to calm down Lilly Belle to try to get the money in the most logical way.

Samuel More quiet than his other siblings Samuel is often overshadowed by his siblings, Titus and Lily Belle. His occupation is a judge and his rulings in the court are usually overturned.

Mrs. Paddy: She is a stout, older woman and doesn’t say much of anything. Her husband once told her to shut up, and she hasn’t spoken since, except to harangue about all the things she hates. One thing she hates is electricity; she often turns off the lights at odd times during the play. She seems detached from the other inmates, and comes off as stubborn and vicious. She paints seascapes, although she has never seen the sea. Her paintings consist of one continuous line. At the end of the play, she presents Mrs. Savage with a button as a gift to take the place of her teddy bear’s missing eye. Her last remark is her confession of love for Mrs. Savage: “I hate everything in the world but you, and I love you and I wish you wouldn’t leave us. ”

Fairy May is a 20 something year old compulsive liar. She is generally unkempt in appearance but thinks she looks stunningly beautiful. She wants people to love her and she is known to speak and act in a very childlike manner.

Florence An elegant 28 year old, Florence is another patient at The Cloisters. She believes a doll is her 5 year-old son John Thomas. She also believes while Mrs. Savage is there that John Thomas has the measles.

Hannibal Character Analysis, Hannibal: Hannibal is a statistician that is very inquisitive and obsessive with numbers. Multiple times in the play he is found listing odd numbers and at the end he talks about how much blood is moved through your body at a certain time.

Jeffery Jeffrey is a 20 -30 -year-old male who used to be a war pilot. Five years ago his plane crashed and he was the only survivor, since then he believes he has a scar on his cheek and holds his hand there to hide it from people. He is the husband of Mrs. Willie who works at the Cloisters because of him, but sadly he cannot remember that she is his wife. He has severe posttraumatic stress disorder and hasn’t exactly been the same ever since. He also believes that Dr. Emmet is actually a patient because the doctor promised Jeffrey a cure for his scar, but he still believes it’s there. He has an odd way of thinking about the world and spends his time reading books but doesn’t seem to mind which one. Due to his “scar” he doesn’t like to play the piano even though he can play it beautifully but he doesn’t want to move his hand away from his scar. A loveable but sad resident of the cloisters.

Miss Willie acts as the 'mother' for the guests in the Cloister house and is their nurse, and is their main provider. Miss Willie is actually the wife of Jeff, and stays in the Cloister house to take care of him and hopes that he will remember her eventually. She is described as a beautiful woman in her mid 20's, with a very kind and understanding personality. She acts as a rock for the guests when they need help and is always there to give a hand. Quote: "I'm kept too busy to have any opinions. "

Dr. Emmett: Is the staff Doctor. Dr. Emmett is kind, isn't worried about money or politics, and he works hard to help his patients. He treats his patients with the respect and care that they need.

Vocabulary Penumbra- the partially shaded outer region of an opaque object Affably- To be friendly, good natured, or easy to talk to Deluged- Inundate with a great amount of something Vicarious- experienced in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person Ichthyology- The branch of zoology that studies fishes Czardas- A Hungarian dance involving 2 steps one fast and one slow Sodium Pentothal- Is a basic anesthetic Cuspidor- A spittoon Rodin's "Thinker"- The famous bronze statue with a man sitting and resting his hand on his fist Mohammaden- archaic word for Muslim The book of Job- Holy writings of Hebrews Bercuese Sur le Nam Faucé- A French piece by Maurice Ravel

Quotes “I think your genius lies in your simplicity you challenge the imagination. ” Mrs. Savage thinks in a way contrary to most people. When you see this it tends to give you a completely new perspective on life. “The door is open for you. Make your peace with loneliness. ” Mrs. Savage lost her husband because of that has a fear of being alone. When she comes to The Cloisters she becomes used to the company and wishes to stay. This quote from Doctor Emmett is telling Mrs. Savage that she needs to return to the real world and sepnd enough time with herself to realize that it’s okay to be alone. “People say I love you all the time - when they say, ‘take an umbrella, it’s raining, ’ or ‘hurry back, ’ or even ‘watch out, you’ll break your neck. ’ There are hundreds of ways of wording it you just have to listen for it, my dear. ” Throughout our lives people say things that mean ‘I love you’ but we often don’t realize it. It can be said in so many different ways and it’s always a good reminder.

Personal Reactions Jordan: I really fell in love with the characters. By the end of the play, I felt like I truly knew and understood each character. The Curious Savage enhanced me with a better understanding of the uniqueness of individuals in the world. Alyssa: I really enjoyed reading this play. Before we started reading it, I was skeptical and nervous about what my be in it. Contrasting to my previous thoughts, this play was pretty family friendly and very funny. Each character is complex and has their own story. One thing I did notice is, because the setting remains the same during the play, the set itself should probably be very detailed and elaborate. All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this play. Zoe: I really enjoyed Curious Savage and the characters in it. It was a very light-hearted play with some serious scenes that really balanced it out. There were so many funny moments and I was constantly smiling while reading it. The ending was, in my opinion, the best scene in the play because all of the guests finally got to be who they always wanted to be. Jacob: When I started the play initially, I didn’t know how I would like it, due to the fact that I haven’t really read that many plays. I found however that as soon as I got an understanding for the characters, I really started to enjoy the play. I thought it was funny, very well written, and particularly suspenseful. What really drew me in was my own curiosity of the bonds, and the whole story behind Mrs. Savage, the people living in the house, and her family.

Personal reactions (Continued) Conner: I thought this play was very well written. However I found it interesting that in the end Patrick turned it into a farce. Rachel: I really liked The Curious Savage. The characters were very easy to like. It was really cool to see the development of emotions between Mrs. Savage & the rest of the patients at The Cloisters. Casey-Marie: The curious savage is an interesting take on the concept of greed and contentment. Mrs. Savage’s step-children, for example, are greedy for what they do not already have, whereas the people living at the Cloisters are happy with what they imagine they have. Zane: My personal reaction to the curious savage is that is was a great play that kinda kept you guessing and laughing with its sarcasm and humor. Sarah: At first I was thinking I wouldn't really enjoy the play, mostly because I had never heard of it and I really wasn't interested in the summary. However, once we started reading it and I started to understand the characters by looking at the character descriptions on theater website, then I fell in love it seemed like. I really got into the characters and admired how different everyone was, yet how they all blended perfectly. I think understanding the characters, makes the reading more enjoyable. In summary, I thoroughly enjoyed the play.

Personal Reactions (Continued) Drew: In the beginning coming into the play I had high hopes and I wasn’t disappointed. Although the beginning confused me a little after the story picked up I wanted to keep reading, It has loveable characters and the story runs well as to keep your attention all the way through. Although it had a small cast each character had so much to them that it’s all it needed, adding any extras would take away from the main characters themselves. Also over doing the characters and making them crazy would really take away from the story, but done well I think it could be an awesome performance. I really loved the ending and the turns and just thought it was an awesome play. Rebecca: I really enjoyed the play I loved how the audience gets drawn into the events and the people seem so genuine. It’s really a very sweet story with many lessons to learn from and apply in real life. To me these characters seem timeless and I love that they’re not played as the stereotypical crazy person but as people who are real and capable of many things even if they may not be the world’s definition of normal. Savannah: At first, I was curious about why Mrs. Savage was hiding the money from the children. I thought she was selfish and wanted it for herself. It was until I found out that the children wanted the money for themselves that Mrs. Savage was actually the good guy. I was surprised. The other characters with their beliefs made the play laughable. Also Mrs. Savage was a Savage and that was pretty funny too. At the end of the play, the children give up which was hard to believe for it seemed that they would die for the money. And I was happy at the end of the play wham everything fell into place.