Buried Child Study Guide

Buried Child

Buried Child by Sam Shepard

  • Dodge; an American farmer in his seventies
    • Ageing dysfunctional patriarch of the family
    • Is an alcoholic
    • Is dying
    • Has been emasculated by his son and the infertility of his fields
    • Is ashamed of Halie's conceiving the child and is ashamed of killing it
    • Sits and watches television and drinks
  • Halie; Dodge's wife in her mid-sixties
    • The matriarch of the family
    • Nags Dodge
    • Had sex with her son and gives birth to her grandson/son
    • Abandons the family to socialize with Father Dewis and revel in the past
    • Hero-worships the images of her lost son
  • Tilden; their eldest son in his late forties
    • Lost son, he has no purpose, no direction in his life
    • Had sex with his mother
    • Is confused, ashamed, and embarrassed about the child and its death
    • Is bullied by the other characters
    • Brings crops into the house from the field in the backyard
  • Bradley; their second son, an amputee, in his early forties
    • Aggressive brother
    • Lost his leg in a chainsaw accident
    • Is emasculated by the removal of his leg
  • Vince; Tilden's son, approx. 22
    • Reclaims possession of the house
    • No one recognizes him when he arrives
  • Shelly; Vince's girlfriend, approx. 21
    • Reluctant to be at Vince's grandparents' house
    • Determined to uncover the family secret
    • Utterly shaken at what she finds
    • Skeptical of family relations
  • Father Dewis; a Protestant minister in his sixties
    • Enjoys drinking and socializing with women
    • Carrying on a not-so secret affair with Halie

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