Some of Shepard’s plays have been noted for their similarities, in theme and structure, to Greek tragedy. Compare Curse to Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy (Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers, The Eumenides) or Sophocles’s Oedipus Rex. Include textual evidence from both texts.

Taylor and Ellis, crooked businessmen who act independently of each other, both attach themselves to the Tate family. Compare and contrast their personalities and their differing means and motives in exploiting the Tates. Use textual evidence to illustrate their differences.

Early in the play, Wesley says that being visited by the police makes him feel as if his family is “someone else.” Cite two other examples of Wesley or the other family members experiencing an identity crisis or losing track of who they are. What do these instances suggest about the family “curse” and the sense of powerlessness it confers?

In his opening monologue, Wesley describes his fear, lying in bed, of being “invaded” by something “undescribable.” In what sense does his fear come true? How does the idea of “invasion” and the loss of one’s bodily integrity or masculinity relate to the larger, socioeconomic forces that brought rapid change to mid-century America, particularly the West?

What does Weston mean by the “jumps” of family life that he could never “figure out”? How might this relate to the trauma of his wartime experiences and his rural Western upbringing? Cite textual evidence.

Hearing about Ellis’s attempt to seize the family farm, Emma jumps on her horse and shoots up Ellis’s bar with a rifle. How does her “cowboy” conception of justice and freedom typify the Tate family’s reaction to adversity and misfortune? Cite examples from the text.

Seeing a lamb in his kitchen, Weston expresses uncertainty about whether he’s “inside or outside” (156). Cite other instances from the play of the confusion and/or blending of inside and outside—e.g., betrayals, infections, or public versus private behaviors.

Curse, like many of Shepard’s plays, incorporates gothic themes. Compare and contrast the play with a classic gothic tale about a troubled family or a work that includes gothic elements; e.g., Edgar Allan Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, or William Faulkner’s The Sound and the Fury. Include textual evidence from both texts.