MA Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Ma Rainer's Black Bottom Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is an ancient play set through chronological and sequential events from the real experiences of the people represented. It is a playwright by August Wilson. It has a characterization of musical characters with 8 males -5 white and 2 blacks- and 2 African-American females. This musical presentation presents the undying thematic concerns of racism, art, religion, self-hate and exploitation (Wilson 1985). The play has brought to the limelight humorous, salty, carnal and expressive experiences from its characterization.

The music-oriented play lightens up a dramatic blend that snakes through agonized periods of blacks to the American life. This context concentrates more on the role of representation of Levee, a young band member and a central character that bring out the odds portrayed by collaborations of the whites and blacks in the music entity. Levee As rendered by reading and analysis of the play, Levee has a high sense of individuality. He highly regards and comprehends his identity.

This is at first evident by his appearance to his fellow band members carrying a new pair of his shoes. The Florshiem shoes are a major piece of accompaniment in the music industry symbolizing the transition of musical tastes; that is especially from blues to jazz as in the play. This shows that Levee is highly conscious about his role and occupation in life, and hence he tries to use his generated income to support his role (Wilson 1985).

Levee is aware of his black origin and the discrimination associated with the racial origin. He greatly embodies what his black counterparts aspire and is also agitated by the disappointments these African-American have to face especially from the whites. He becomes a victim to his white bosses, the music producer and the agent. From the experiences represented by Wilson on Levee, it is evident that the latter is not adequately knowledgeable equipped with what he role in the band is.

He is put in place in the band to assist in trumpet playing for the recording and release of Ma's songs. In jeopardizing these efforts, Levee is portrayed irritating Ma by improvising her songs, producing he wrong tones from the trumpet as well as husky vocals during the recording process. His character, behavioral characteristics, skills and talent, are intriguingly confused.

Levee is also personally misplaced in the band, and the efforts of other band members to assist him are futile and result to unreasonable fights leading to no progressive record of the recording of the music. In his music band profession, Levee is seen struggling with some battles of which are of the same or dissimilar motive with his fellow band members and Ma Rainey. Levee's black counterparts in the groups have struggled to go back to their past roots, but he does not accept the implication.

Loomis and Bernice among others are some of the band members trying to finding their precedent identities. Levee isolates himself from such battles and tries to go astray by putting advances in coming up with his own band. Levee is not fully interested in putting the music standards at high levels. His personality is totally different from his band mates. Their personality replicates the attitudes towards the music they perpetuate for Ma. His age and rhythms totally puts him a far from the others.

As a result, he is against everyone due to inter and intra-ethnic conflict. He went to an extent of killing Toledo for only telling him the truth, and coming up with disastrous implications to the band due to the dominated power of the white producers (Wilson 1985). However, Levee and Ma Rainey are facing the same fight, trying to dominant the music industry. It is evident to Levee that.