In Sam Shepards The Buried Child there are numerous twists and turns that have the reader spinning and wanting more. Shepard develops a play that has a plethora of illusions, not only towards such works as Oedipus Rex, where he includes the theme of incest. He has also incorporated symbolic emasculation and Native American symbols of renewal with the abundance of vegetables in the backyard.At first glance, Buried Child seems as a typical Middle American family. Dodges one-track alcoholic mind, Halies pestering personality and Tildens distant relationship with his father all seems relatively typical of an elderly Middle America family. However, this is far from being the truth.The play begins with Dodge (in his seventies) sounding as if he is close to death. He has a hacking cough, which gives the impression that he is extremely ill. Shepherd is alluding to the fact that Dodge is not merely sick physically, but also mentally. The cough is a way to show this sickness in a way where people can see the progression of his illness throughout the play. The introduction of Tilden, Dodges son, is quite bizarre; he enters the house with an armful of corn and drops it at his fathers feet. The power of this message will be noticed farther into the play. Shephard is signifying life and death wrapped in one, When Tilden brought the corn in from the back yard his father looked at him and told him to give the corn back, thinking he had stolen it. Dodge said, "I haven't planted corn back there since 1935, so take that damn corn back form where ever you got it". Yet, Tilden maintains that the entire back yard is filled with tall stalks of corn, carrots and potatoes. It is almost as if Tilden is being represented as the Native American Corn God, who could bring life to fields that were supposed to be dead, which is puzzling since at first glance Tilden seems to be severely incompetent. He is living with his parents after getting in some sort...
