A Soldier's Play

Soldier's Play, A (1981). Charles H. Fuller Jr.'s, presentation of institutional racism and self-hatred set in the 1940s explores the psychological effects of oppression on African Americans. The setting of A Soldier's Play is an army base in Fort Neal, Louisiana, in 1944. Fuller creates an ironic situation with an all-black company eager to fight for justice in World War II for a country that refuses to send the company overseas because of discrimination. The tragic hero, Sergeant Ver-non C. Waters, has taken upon himself the role of savior of all African Americans in a racist society. This highly acclaimed commentary on the ills and trials of military life for the African American is built on a foundation of intricate characterizations and tone.

Fuller's use of the mystery plot provides the audience with Waters's identity as a tragic hero. The investigating officer, Captain Richard Davenport, through a series of interviews, discloses to the audience each of the enlisted men's stories. Fuller often allows one character to tell another's story. At a time when camaraderie among men is essential, Fuller creates dichotomies between them: Waters and his enlisted men form one, and later Davenport creates another in his leadership role.

Oftentimes the most powerful force in society is the role of its men. Whether the role is that of a father, follower, or leader, the status of men is closely scrutinized, and Fuller demonstrates how such expectations can become destructive. The African American male may often find himself trapped between the high expectations of his own society in comparison to the low esteem and extensive oppression exerted by his white counterparts. Waters appears to be a victim and worthy of pity when we see him groveling in drunkenness just before he is brutally shot in the head and heart, symbolic of the black man who fails to think for himself, hates himself, and has lost compassion for others.

Fuller does not allow the image of the downtrodden African American male to remain the only one projected. Private C. J. Memphis, a blues-singing country boy, escapes the need to lead by creating lyrics and sounds that ring of following, whether it is a “woman to the dance floor” or Sergeant Waters to a detail. Through his music and strength, C. J. Memphis sings his troubles away and believes in the initial good of man. He feels sorry for Sergeant Waters because “any man ain't sure where he belongs, must be in whole lotta pain.” In C. J. there are indeed heroic qualities in spite of his eventual suicide.

Charles Fuller did not write A Soldier's Play just to offer another glimpse at the ugly face of racism, but to serve as a wake-up call for camaraderie among men; a call for men to accept, love, and support one another. He presents each character and asks the audience to examine each character through history. Because of his intense hatred for those African Americans he considered “inferior,” Waters taught African Americans to love Afrocentricity, to increase black sensibility, and to see institutional racism as a part of the whole society rather than individual targets of rage.

Frank Rich writing for the New York Times described Fuller as a playwright with a “compassion” for blacks who might be driven to murder their brothers because he sees them as victims of a world they haven't made. Rich views the play as a rock-solid piece of architecture with the right mixture of characters to create a historical literary movement. Walter Kerr saw the piece as tough but filled with honesty.

Bibliography

• Walter Kerr, “A Fine Work from a Forceful Playwright,” 6 Dec. 1981, New York Times, 3:1.
• James Draper, Black Literature Criticism, vol. 2, 1992, pp. 824–825

—Wanda Macon