My high school English teacher asked, “What makes a book a classic?” Each student in the class had his and her own opinion of what defines a “classic.” They compared it to movies, plays, music, and other media. The teacher, in the end, replied, “The concepts and themes of the book are what make it a classic. Those themes have to be able to pertain to society even in a different time period.” The teacher’s words made me think, “Are those the only requirements that make a classic?” Currently, I do not know, but it still intrigues me whenever people say such and such is a “classic.” So when I watched, “The Indian Wants the Bronx,” “What Strong Fences Make,” and “Beirut Rocks,” by Israel Horovits I asked myself, “Are these classics?”

The first short play, “The Indian Wants the Bronx,” made me think that it might be a classic. The clear-cut ideas were racial profiling and fear of the unknown. But I also believed that Horovitz was also making subtle statements: whom are we to blame for the way young children live? The government? The parents? The friends? The social worker? Or the “other”? Personally, I don’t know the answer, but it seems to me that the people in authority are shirking their duties. In the play, Joey says, “Murph’s on a rap for slicing a kid,” so we would think that Murph wouldn’t have a knife on his body, but Pussyface gave them knives as a Christmas present. In addition to that, Murph’s mother “don’t even make a living” which shows that even his own mother doesn’t take responsibility for taking care of her child. Does this pertain to us? Maybe not personally, but there are a lot of kids out there dealing with these problems. It doesn’t affect the whole society, really, but it’s still something striking – a thought that sparks the tinder.

The second short play, “What Strong Fences Make,” was less active. The actors were standing on stage talking. From reading the script, I felt that there should have been great tension between Uri and Itzhak. I thought that they were much too close to each other onstage to be hostile; they seemed too “friendly” with the distance. What I did like was the lighting of the stage because the rays were focused on Uri while Itzhak lingered in the shadows. It felt like a foreboding incident was going to happen and it did. In the end, I don’t think that the production of the play was done well because most of the people in the audience couldn’t hear Uri. It’s important for the audience to be able to understand the play in order to obtain the message.  As for the message, I feel that it could be a “classic” because all cultures may continue to fight against one another and new ones may form.

The third short play, “Beirut Rocks,” was, most probably, the favorite for the majority of the students. Personally, it was shocking, to say the least. The topics and emotions that were expressed shook me. Nassa and Benjy surprised me. The way they became their characters astonished me because the previous two plays the characters, I felt, did not really become their characters. I felt that the actors playing Joey and Murph were trying too hard to become their characters while the actor playing Gupta felt…”choppy” in scenes where he interacts with the boys. And I felt neutral when I saw the actors playing Uri and Itzhak. I just thought that Uri was holding his gun awkwardly, but I think it was in order to show how inexperience he was in combat. In addition to the characters, the scenery was simple, yet it showed chaos. The scene took place on one set: an area with bags strewed over the bed and floor with two chairs. But in terms of being a “classic,” I believe this play could be one. The fiery argument and conflicts and misunderstandings within this play takes elements from the previous two and amplifies them such as misunderstandings, lack of knowledge about other cultures, conflicts between cultures.

Even though I’ve thought about these plays and analyzed them in my terms I wouldn’t know if they would become the “classic” my teacher defined that day in class. I could only guess what the plays would become. Hopefully, because of their strength as a collection, they would leave impressions on the audiences and live on.

Horovits, Israel. The Indian Wants the Bronx. New York. Dramatists Play Service, Inc, 1996. Print.