Topdog/Underdog by Suzan-Lori Parks exhibits two main theatrical mirrors. One of these is the assassination of Abraham Lincoln performance. The other is the game of the Three Card Monte, which some say would say is a mirror of our lives. I think the reason Parks included both of these is because they are both situations where one specific person has the control, although there has to be other people involved to create each situation. In both the card game and the assassination there is one victim. Other people are involved, but there is only one person who loses.
Both of these are games, in which one person has all of the control. Even though others involved feel like they do, they don't. In the case of the assassination game, everyone who comes to the arcade feels empowered because they are the ones holding the gun. However, at the end of the day the fake Lincoln only dies if Lincoln makes him. He's in charge of how the "Lincoln" dies. Even though the passerby feel like it's up to them, it isn't. As far as the 3-Card Monte is concerned, the mark comes into the game hoping to beat the dealer and win money. He or she thinks that they have a chance to win but the truth is that they don't. The game is fixed, and it's really completely up to the dealer whether the mark wins or loses.
Both of these mirrors reflect aspects of real life. Sometimes people are put in situation where they have to "play the game" in order to succeed. At jobs, you have to appease your boss or at school you have to appease your professor, but at the end of the day you are still living your own life. I think that is how Lincoln and Booth are in Topdog/Underdog. They play the game because they have to, but at the end of the day they are both still trying to live their lives.
I like how you said both of these were games where one person had all of the control. I did not think of the Lincoln assassination performance that way until you pointed it out. I did notice that it could be considered a con just like three-card monte, but I like your emphasis on control. Another part of your response that really struck me was when you said, "Sometimes people are put in a situation where they have to 'play the game' in order to succeed." And you are right, Booth and Lincoln are both playing the game and trying to live their lives. I like how you said they have to play the game. Saying that they must play the game adds a new aspect to the play. An aspect of dependence almost. They need the game to live. And they do because that is how they make their living.
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