Nursing

Maxim Mallick

Professor Geffers

Experiencing Acting

30 March 2020

Journal #2: Nursing

The character I chose to write about is Lloyd from Nursing. Lloyd is a veteran.

Lloyd made some terrible decisions in war that he lives with to this day.

Lloyd has a son he did not know about until recently, while he is in the experiment.

Lloyd may or may not have a living mother, as the woman he called when he was dying did not recall who he was.

Lloyd has a brother named Joe.

Lloyd wants to be forgiven for the sins he has committed in war. In order to achieve this, he feels that masochism (self inflicted torture) in the form of this “disease showcase” is a great way to do so. Lloyd also feels that love from another human could do this. Although this may have been jokingly, it can be believed that being loved for who he is can help him out of his unstable mindset. Lastly, exploiting himself to the public without any privacy may make him feel shameful inside and could be another way of him trying to humiliate himself to gain forgiveness.

Five verbs that would describe Lloyds actions throughout the play can include instigating, pleading, enticing, acting out and repenting. Lloyd instigates the guard by angering him and frustrating him in order to get answers from him. Lloyd pleads by asking the nurse to let him die. Lloyd entices Joe’s emotions by saying his wife doesn’t love him. Lloyd acts out by being rude to all those around him, especially Andy by making fun of his personality and insinuating he is weak. Lloyd repents to all those around him, especially the guard, seeking forgiveness.

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Lloyd is talking to his brother, Joe.

Lloyd wants to entice his brother and get him to leave.

Lloyd is not interrupted because I think his brother was awestruck and intrigued at the same time and couldn't speak. He is telling his brother something his brother did not know. He is trying to make his brother think that his wife never loved him. There must have been some past “beef” between them and Lloyd wants to make sure his brother remembers his last conversation with him, as he may die at any point in time. Lloyd specifically stabs at his brother in this monologue and seems to want his brother to give up on him.

The theme of the play could be mental illness.The play is about a veteran who is trying to seek forgiveness through self masochism. The main character is trying everything within his power to hurt himself for the things he did while at war. Another theme may be forgiveness, as Lloyd is constantly trying to forgive himself or seek forgiveness for his actions that happened at an earlier time.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this play. I like dystopian literature. As far as the play goes in the text, itself, I think that What resonated the most with me was Lloyd’s cynicism, as it is almost admirable. He reminds me of the character “House” from the show, House. His character resonated with me more than anything else that happened during the play. He is living in the moment with no shame at all in what he does or says. All he wants is forgiveness and he cannot figure out how to get it.