Biloxi Blues Play Report

695 Words3 Pages
Biloxi Blues By Neil Simon Biloxi Blues is Neil Simon’s second play in the “Eugene trilogy”. The “Eugene trilogy” consists of three semi-autobiographical plays that follow the adolescent life of Eugene Jerome, the character that Simon based off of himself. Biloxi Blues is set in World War II when Eugene, who is from Brooklyn, is drafted into the army and sent to Biloxi, Mississippi, for basic training. The play opens up with Eugene in a train car with five other boys who have been drafted. Eugene is writing in a journal while the other boys are messing around and he is saying what he is writing out loud to the audience. I personally enjoyed Eugene’s narration, I felt as though I could really get into the head of Eugene and all of this personal thoughts. The writing was very clear and this play was easy to read which made it slightly more enjoyable. The first act of the play has a lot of character development. There are scenes, such as when all the soldiers share their fantasies, which you really get personal with every single character. Arnold Epstein is very stubborn and has very strong faith in his beliefs. Joseph Wykowski is the very typical kind of “jock” persona, he has a very alive sex drive, he is super into working out, and he isn’t that intellectual. There are many other characters brought in that are very detailed and each have their own unique story. In act two Hennessey, one of the boys that Eugene was drafted with, is caught performing gay acts and is put into army prison for five years. Soon after this Eugene leaves to find a girl to fall in love with. He meets a girl named Daisy and falls for her, but soon has to be shipped off overseas. To say goodbye he kisses her and confesses his love for her. The play ends with Eugene talking about the fates of the boys he bunked with back at the camp and of Daisy, who was soon married to a Jewish Doctor.
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