The “US Versus Them” Mentality in Sweat, Essay Example

In modern society, politics clearly show us versus them mentality. Most politicians get involved in corruption and mismanagement of funds while voters expect them to engage in development projects. Politicians think about developing themselves financially instead of thinking about the ordinary voter. Lynn Nottage’s Sweat is a better approach for this issue of Us versus Them. This paper explores the aspect of the Us versus Them mentality in our community and how the characters face economic and cooperative greed after agreeing on a particular issue.

Throughout the play, characters display behavior of staying away from those who made them be in power. Time is also a factor that portrays us versus them mentality through which many people blame how far we have become apart and how this growth has divided us. In the play, Peter T. Coleman states, “When you find yourself in a stuck political system, it is advisable to move away from the system and find another one that suits your suitabilities by becoming more aware of the entire system. This will help you understand more about the terrain in which the policyholders prefer. The policy may prefer being mediators, lawyers, disputants, and other third parties”. It will be a compromise to the politicians who escape the responsibilities of their people who elected them.

In some cases, the politicians find themselves facing the consequences for not fulfilling the goals they promised their people. This statement demonstrates that as a leader, you have to care for the needs of the people who elected you. The play argues about how President Donald Trump became the President of the United States despite his previous records of being bankrupt and a T.V star with records of sympathy votes to convince the voters to vote in his favor. The people of Reading town voted their leader, not knowing his previous track records that could destroy the nation. Some moments later, after the elections, their leader turned against them and started behaving as if he does not know his people. His people tried to reach him, but he did not respond to their calls assuming they intended to interrupt his fair time. This made them wonder where they could get enlightenment from the toxic political environment and deliver them from political enemy camps. Therefore, the world political environment has portrayed us versus them mentality in the play the Sweat by Lynn Nottage.

The play clearly outlines the anger of the working class in which they work more but are paid less in Pennsylvania manufacturing town due to seismic globalization. In the space, Hans Ronlsing clearly states, “Binary thinking in human beings has extremely led to dramatic instinct, in which two groups are divided by this urge which leads to an empty gap in between. Human beings normally divide my country versus the rest, heroes versus losers, and good versus bad. In this case, the people who strongly believed in their leaders are found losing hope in them. Conflict can b created by dividing the world into two sides. This may cause more drama, and human beings do it without more thinking on the consequences” (Act 1, Scene 2). In this statement, it is clear that human beings have to think hard before making choices because consequences usually come after decisions. Their opinions strongly impact their outcomes. Hans Rosling, in his statement, tries to explain to us that however much the situation may be challenging for us, we have to be determined and think of other ways of surviving rather than depending on the leaders that we elected, who end up disappointing us. Workers are being humiliated and paid nominal wages which cannot cater to their daily needs. This has engraved anger in them over time hence dealing with rebelling among most workers. Labor unions which were put in place to help in those kinds of issues, turn their back on workers leaving them helpless and desperate. This is due to misinformation to those labor unions by corrupt advisers and partners to the labor unions.

Some cities in the United States of America are more impoverished while others are rich. This is due to factors that profoundly impact their state, making them more unstable than the more developed cities in Reading, Pennsylvania. These factors include Urbanization in major cities due to government funding and international support. Other factors leading to more development than the Reading city are; population growth, industrialization, infrastructure development, and effective municipal management. In the play, Kate Whoriskey, the director of Sweat, stated, “according to census data, I collaborate and grow out interviews with the play writer to bring out the aspect of ‘Us versus Them ‘mentality.” The data helped Nottage to know the people behind the statistics in which Kate Whoriskey had acknowledged as politically significant. Also, Kate Whoriskey obtained knowledge about the statistics of the people of the Reading town in Pennsylvania. The statistics helped Nottage understand how the people of Reading were suffering from a lack of resources that enabled the other cities to develop. The people working at blue-collar bars worked extensively, but they were paid poorly, making most of them lose psych for the job. The management paid them incorrectly different firms the way other organizations in other cities were paying their workers. This is a clear indication that the people of the Reading town were suffering from neglect from their organizations, but they had no otherwise rather than adhering to the state laws. The play took play when the effects of NAFTA started to influence the factory town’s growth in 2000. Those effects primarily benefited the bar receipts and significantly disadvantaged the workers. Some workers gave their views on the effects of NAFTA on how they badly influenced them, while some bartenders praised those effects.

The working-class characters seem to stay away from their friends and partners who are not yet working. After getting jobs, they feel themselves being on another different level that their other friends do not suit in. The best approach for this is to treat their friends with due respect that their other peers require. In the play, Stan complains, “Three generations have succeeded the loyalty within the same company” this statement from Stan shows how workers are treated differently due to their economic status and difference in the ways of earnings. Many people who are selected for leadership positions are those who are financially stable. Stan is wondering when he and other workers will gain loyalty to rule the company despite being poor. This implies that if you are not financially sound in Reading, you cannot get the royalty position of leadership. Nottage, in her opinion, claims that employees should consider equal human parts when selecting the leaders of a community to avoid other parties suffering from discrimination in job positions. In other words, Cynthia, a coworker of Tracey’s, has been exhausted from working as the junior worker of the plant. Her body is getting exhausted as she gets older from the job. She cannot handle heavy tasks that are meant for youthful workers at the organization. After her promotion on the job, Cynthia believes it is a blessing and appreciates all those who promoted her success. In this case, for a financially unstable worker to be announced, it sounds miraculous, which makes Cynthia not believe that she has been told at the workplace. Her friends are also envious of the promotion, making Cynthia build upon her previous broken relationships with her friends. Therefore, it is evident that the people of the Reading town are suffering from discrimination at the workplace due to their financial unsuitability. The high ranking jobs are given to people who are more financially stable.

In conclusion, the Us versus Them mentality has significantly been demonstrated in Lynn Nottage’s Sweat. When asking for votes, most politicians pledge to help voters, but they turn their backs on their voters’ developmental needs when they assume office.  The working-class people stay away from their friends who have not yet landed a job. This makes their friends feel disregarded in society. The behaviors of their elected leaders often anger some workers. Workers have to be acknowledged for their work in the organization, and labor unions should put workers’ interests first.