In this essay titled Marked Man I will be writing about a play titled Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson. The play is based on a rooming house during the early nineteen hundreds. It has been forty-five years later after the civil war and most of the characters who are African American come to stay are all victims of slavery that are trying to rebuild their lives. Most of the individuals that stay at the house usually stay for a few days then move on, which is what the play is based on. The characters of the play are Seth and his wife who are the main characters of the story. They both run the household. Bynum who is one of the tenants and Mr. Loomis who also becomes a tenant. The conflict of the story starts when Mr. Loomis comes to town and comes to the house looking for a room for himself and his daughter. Seth automatically get a bad vibe from Loomis because of his appearance.
Loomis is described in this play to look as not the friendly type. He is a character who is dark and minds his own business he doesn’t mingle with other unless it’s necessary. He goes around town searching for his wife. He is known as a stranger to all until Bynum finally figures him out. Bynum tells Mr. Loomis “you one of those Joe turner niggers” as Loomis respond by saying, “how you see that? I got a mark on me? Joe Turner done mark me where you can see it? You telling me I am a marked man?” Bynum has a special gift. His gift is to look inside a person eyes and can tell his or her past. Bynum looked in Loomis eyes and can see he was a lost man. Most of the men Bynum came across who has that look in their eyes. They were all Joe Tuner’s slaves.
Joe Turner is a Slave master who takes in African American men who has committed a crime. He forces them to do slavery work until it is their time to get release. It is similar to prison accept you do not go to trial. Loomis was an innocent man who has been charged with a crime he did not commit. He once was a deacon until he got enslave by Joe Tuner then everything changed about him. Mr. Loomis has been affected by Joe Turner just as many African American men. They are all men that are lost and are having a hard time finding themselves. They are also men who have lost touch of their family just as the character Loomis. Loomis has lost touch of his wife and daughter after getting caught by Joe Tuner. When he is finally release he finds his daughter but not his wife, which is when the story takes on. Loomis mission is to find his wife to make a new start in life. In this play Loomis new start in his life is finding his wife.
August Wilson based the book on African American trying to restart their life after slavery. Just as he demonstrates that through the character Loomis trying to find his wife. Wilson also demonstrates how most African Americans were lost and are trying regain their strengths to move on in life.
