Caroline, or Change This Is

Caroline, Or Change This is a wonderful story about an African-American maid, Caroline, who works for a Jewish family in humid Lake Charles, Louisiana. Caroline is very tired of being stuck in the basement of the Gellman home, doing laundry, and meanwhile, she and the eight-year-old Gellman boy, Noah, form a relationship that is edgy, cross-cultural, but very interesting. Noah looks up to Caroline a lot, in fact he idolizes her; but even though she likes him, she is gruff with him.

She lets him smoke cigarettes with her, and they form a bond in that way. "Caroline never tells me so but I know Daddy mustn't know," Noah says (15). "A secret her and me can share: Our daily cigarette..." But there is far more to the story than that plot line. The story takes place in 1963, around the time of the assassination of President John Kennedy. The conflicts within Caroline and around Caroline create dramatic moments with strong social and racial themes.

In fact, this is a period when the Civil Rights Movement was a very powerful and important event in the south; Playwright Tony Kusher is a talented person who often brings important social, political and racial dynamics into his work, and this is a classic example of those dynamics being brought together in one play. There are other interesting things going on, such as a singing washing machine and a radio that seems to speak to the characters.

Caroline is divorced and has four children; she is a mother who is determined to keep food on the table for her family. Her grandfather is a brash and politically radical man who has opinions that are expressed with passion. The play comes to an important dramatic point when Noah's stepmother, Rose, asks Caroline to help teach Noah a lesson about money. Noah has a habit of leaving his change in his pants pockets. So Rose asks Noah to just keep any change she may find in those pockets.

Change" is a word in this play that has several meanings. So, the playwright has taken the word "change" that means money, quarters, nickels, dimes and pennies, and used to symbolize "change" that means to "alter," to "modify," to "transform" and "revolutionize." The social and family "changes" that take place are many, and make this a far deeper play than just entertainment with some conflict and interesting characters. Another play on words is when Rose tells Caroline to teach Noah a lesson (p.

50); Rose says the extra money for Caroline "It'll be like a raise! Like Noah pays a share of your salary for the cooking and cleaning...Please Caroline, keep the change." The phrase "keep the change" usually means someone is giving a tip to a waitress or a waiter. So in a way, it is demeaning to Caroline. Caroline herself is going through changes; she wonders if she should quit her job, and change her livelihood. She also changes in that she is nicer to Noah, and understands Noah's family better.

Noah went through a change when his mother died of breast cancer; and Noah's stepmother Rose is actually a northern woman who changes into a southern woman. And because President Kennedy was killed, the American people are going through changes. Also, the Civil Rights Movement is basically demanding big changes in the way black folks are treated in the South; many blacks can't get good jobs, go to good schools, or even vote, because of segregation and prejudice.

All those changes are playing out in society while this play is showing characters with their own changes. When Noah leaves (accidentally) leaves twenty dollars (a gift he received for Hanukkah) in his pocket, Caroline claims it as her own, as she has been instructed to do. But this causes a big problem between Noah and Caroline, two people from very different cultures.

And when money comes into the play (who should get it?) both of them forget that they are friends in a household, and mean, racist, bigoted things are said.