Sweat

In place of setting descriptions, Sweat includes descriptions of the news at the time of each scene. These descriptions incorporate commonplace details from local news—“Outside it’s 72 degrees F […] Reading residents sample fresh apple cider at the Annual Fall Festival on Old Dry Road Farm”—alongside national news that suggests mass-scale changes—“The 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly convenes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 778.68 points, marking the largest single-day decline in stock market history” (5). Why do you think Nottage includes these details in place of more traditional scene setting? How do these different details correspond with each other (and with specific developments in each scene)? 

Sweat poses complex questions of racial identity and hierarchy among working-class Americans. In addition to describing characters as “African American” and “Colombian American,” Nottage describes White characters as precisely “Italian American” and “White American of German descent” (vii). Nottage also presents several tense instances of scapegoating, including Tracey’s suspicion that Cynthia earned her promotion because she’s “Black,” and Jason’s violent targeting of Oscar. What does this play suggest about the social construction of race? How (and why) are workers of different races positioned against each other?

In Scene 4 of Act 1, Brucie bemoans the generational shifts his factory has undergone: “The hustle, man, my pop didn’t go through this […] he clocked in every day until he didn’t, and he went out with a nice package. […] Me, shit, I run the full mule, I put in the time, do the right thing, don’t get me wrong. I had some good years…But dude, tell me what I did wrong, huh?” (36) How does this quote encapsulate the human cost of economic changes? How do the experiences of the play’s young generation (Chris, Jason, and Oscar) differ from those of the older generation (Cynthia, Tracey, Jessie, Brucie, and Stan)?

The title of the play is taken from a line Stan speaks in Scene 2 of Act 1: “You don’t see a lot of young guys out there. They find it offensive to be on the floor with their Wharton MBAs. And the problem is they don’t wanna get their feet dirty, their diplomas soiled with sweat…or understand the real cost, the human cost of making their shitty product” (26). What is the sentiment Stan is trying to communicate in this moment? How does sweat embody the struggles of factory workers such as Tracey, Cynthia, Jessie, and Brucie? How is this motif of sweat (and the notion of “get[ting] dirty”) complicated when Tracey accepts a managerial position?

Nostalgic reflections and memories of better days in Reading compete with reflections on what might have been—and who characters might have become—if they’d left Reading. Compare and contrast at least two different moments of nostalgia with at least two different moments of what might have been. How does the idea of nostalgia change and evolve throughout the play?

Sweat moves back and forth between the same characters in 2000 and 2008. Why do you think Nottage organizes time this way in her play? Choose at least three different characters and analyze how they change between these two different time periods (and which events contribute directly to their change).

Striking workers such as Chris, Jason, Brucie, and Tracey are forced to contend with the divide between their idealistic intentions and their oppression by leviathan forces beyond their control. In your opinion, what is the play’s message about fighting for what you believe (when you have no chance of winning)? Does the union’s struggle mean different things for different characters?

Substance abuse, depression, and isolation are common responses to feelings of aimlessness (especially for workers who’ve built their self-worth around their jobs). Choose at least three different characters and examine how the loss of their jobs erodes their identities.