When a reader thinks of a play that has been labeled a comedy he thinks of light-hearted and happy plots. The reader would not think of family tension, arguments or even perversion. The genre of comedy takes on the responsibility of making the audience laugh and walk away from the production with a satisfied feeling. But when comedy is subverted by tragedy the reader or audience leaves the production wondering if what they just experienced was correct. The play "The Homecoming" is a perfect example of this in the way that tragedy always seems to distort the plot in a way that affects the entire plot.
             One such example of how tragedy corrupts the plot in the play "The Homecoming" is during the conversation between Lenny and Ruth. For starters, the greeting between the two leaves the reader bewildered and uneasy. Lenny offers Ruth a drink and when she refuses he replies, "I'm glad you said that. We haven't a drink in the house." The reader is left wondering why he even bothered to ask. Next, the reader witnesses in the conversation Lenny's admittance to killing a woman with small pox. The normal reaction would be horror, yet Ruth simply asks, "How'd you know she was diseased?" This is a way is a funny response, but then taken out of context the reader realizes how bizarre an answer to his admittance this is. Finally, the most disturbing aspect of this conversation is the ending. Ruth is not ready to give up her glass, but Lenny is determined to take it. After a somewhat comedic scene of the two of them arguing over a drinking glass Ruth says something that completely takes the comedy out of the scene. When Lenny finally tells her he is just going to take her glass her response is "If you take the glass...I'll take you." Lenny is stunned at her response yet goes along with it. But suddenly you can feel the uneasiness of th
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