The primary character of “Water by the Spoonful” is arguably Elliot Ortiz, since the title of the play comes from a memory he has from his childhood, and he’s in most of the scenes. One could also argue that Odessa is the main character, given that the name of the play also relates to her and she is the administrator, and thus the leader, of the online world, which dominates half the stage. She is also the character that most of the events of the play revolves around. For the purposes of this journal, I will be using Elliot as the protagonist.
Elliot is a military vet. He struggles with demons in the form of a hallucination of the first person he killed. His mother was addicted to cocaine, and his sister died when they were children. The role of his sister is now played by his cousin, Yazmin.
Elliot wants several things. He most of all wants peace, in the form of closure. He wants peace from the ghost that haunts him, evidenced by his meeting with Aman in the first scene. Unfortunately, the translation of his hallucination does not bring him the peace he wants, and actually in some ways increases his distress, as it underscores the man’s innocence. He wants peace from and closure with his mother, which is why he becomes so enraged when he learns of the forum. He finds it unfair that his mother is allowed peace from her past -- a past that still distresses him. Until he finds his own closure in regards to his mother’s hurtful actions, he cannot abide his mother making peace with those selfsame actions.
Elliot longs for his sister, who died when they were children as a result of their mother’s negligence. When Odessa’s actions came to light, Elliot was informally adopted and raised by his aunt. Yazmin filled the role of his sister in his life, but he still feels an enormous gulf between them and their relationship will only ever be a facsimile of the sibling relationship he longs for.
Elliot wants relief from the distress that his PTSD causes him. He is haunted by an apparition, which takes the form of the first man he killed in Iraq. This specter repeats the same arabic phrase over and over, presumably his last words before he was cut down by Elliot.
In the beginning of the play, he asks Aman for a translation. In the next scene he ignores the ghost and focuses on his conversation with his friend Lar. He also lies to Lar about his injury. During the climax at Odessa’s house he pleads for Yaz to stop asking about his addiction.
The monologue I am looking at starts on page 70. He is ostensibly speaking to John but are really speaking to Yaz and Odessa, his sister-figure and his mother. From Yaz, Elliot wants sympathy. From Odessa, Elliot wants to inflict the pain of remembering her horrible actions. Elliot gets to talk uninterrupted because he is telling a very emotional and dramatic story.
The play centers around addiction and recovery as its topic. In a physical sense, this is what the play is about. In an emotional sense, it is about living with what you’ve done. Odessa exemplifies this theme the most, with regard to the aforementioned monologue, but Elliot also embodies this is a much more literal sense in the form of his ghost and his silent struggle with opioid addiction. The scene where Elliot fights the ghost in the hotel room reminded me a lot of the scene in Ship where the younger sister hands her sister her opiate script, unfilled. I’d like to think Elliot throws the pills away, but I know he doesn’t. No one stares down their addiction like that and comes away on top. This scene is a reminder that no matter how well he keeps up appearances, he's no stronger than Odessa. Relapse comes for us all. In case you had any doubt that this was a theme, Elliot’s self-deception is mirrored by John’s confession of his deception in the scene before Elliot’s struggle with addiction is revealed.
I can’t talk about what resonated with me about this play. Well, I could, but I’m practicing not telling strangers about my PTSD and the causes thereof. I have so many thoughts but in order to explain them I’d need to write my own monologue about my relationship with my cousin, and honestly I aint up for that tonight. Instead I’ll just tell y’all that I’m a crazy bitch and leave it at that. Maybe I’ll tell y’all about what happened when I write my monologue, but probably not. I’ve been picking at that scab for a while now and so far it's gotten me nowhere so I think I might just let that shit lie. Am I allowed to swear? I’m just gonna swear and y’all can take it out of my goddamn paycheck if you don’t like it. Anyway, this is allegedly Cadence and I’m signing off. As always, let me know if you wanna hear more of my personal sob story, I’m sure it’ll get wrung out of me eventually. Y’all just gotta promise not to judge. Until next time, be well and stay sober.
Excellent work! I really appreciate how you dug into the themes and characters of this piece. Specific and thorough; thank you! I really love this play so I am glad it resonated with you. And please, always share and express whatever you like as much you want. Your insight is valuable but your well being is precious. You are an amazing person and worth protecting.
Oh and please feel free to swear away if you like. I think we are all feeling like foul-mouthed sailors right now!