The Conduct of Life Response

One dramaturgical choice in Maria Irene Fornes play, The Conduct of Life, that stands out to me is the reflection on society. What I mean by this is that Fornes' has each of her characters looking outside their own lives and commenting and observing the planet as a whole. For example, Orlando expresses on page 1492, " there's something malignant in the world. People take what is not theirs. I don't see hope." Fornes' chooses to allow a selfish man, like Orlando, to look beyond his own worries, and worry about the society he lives in. This dramaturgical choice has a huge effect on the story because it makes it relevant to the audience, not just the characters. The characters reflection on society forces the audience to contemplate what they are saying because the audience lives in it too. You can see this idea in action on page 1491, when Leticia speaks, " we take care of our pocket, but not of our country. We take care of our stomachs, but not our hungry." Though Leticia is only speaking this to Orlando and Alejo, she is commenting on an idea everyone in the theater would be familiar with. Fornes' dramaturgical choice affects the audience as it strikes a nerve in them to reflect on the world. On another note, the play is called The Conduct of Life because it shows people’s personal behavior of living. The play follows the journey of five characters self- behavior in life. Though it is important to note that the people around them influence the characters self-behavior. The Conduct of Life includes many striking and brilliant dramaturgical choices by Maria Irene Fornes that directly affect the audience and the story itself. As for the meaning of the play, the title could be interpreted many ways, but I believe it is to be interpreted literally.