Analysis of Harvey Fierstein's Play: On Tidy Endings

TOPICS:

1. In Harvey Fierstein’s On Tidy Endings, how does Marion’s view of homosexuality develop or change throughout the play and why?  Trace Marion’s developing social awareness.

2. In terms of rhetorical context, what is the purpose of Harvey Fierstein’s On Tidy Endings?  Support you answer with an analysis of its parts, such as its plot, characterization, setting, symbols, and stylistic devices.

3. Would Harvey Fierstein’s On Tidy Endings lose anything if Jim (Marion and Collin’s son) and June were excised from the play?  In other words, what do these two characters add to (or detract from) the play’s overall effect and purpose?

4. Is Harvey Fierstein’s On Tidy Endings worthy of study?  In other words, evaluate this play in terms of artistic merit.  Is it “literature” or something else, such as propaganda, a thinly veiled attempt at preaching or imposing new values through an excess of pathos?

Compare and contrast the text of the play, its performances and reviews, with the television screenplay (movie) and its reviews.  Is this play dated or is it still relevant today?