Critical Analysis of Joe Turner's 'Come And Gone'

Academic Paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Other, grade: A, Southern Illinois University Carbondale (Department of English), course: ENGL 469, language: English, abstract: This paper is a critical analysis of Joe Turner's 'Come And Gone'. A vision-haunted father and his 11-year-old daughter stop at a boarding house in Pittsburgh on their quest for the mother who had wandered off after her husband had been confined by the mysterious Joe Turner for seven years. The theme of the play is the transformative experience, cleansing, and rebirth of the character of Loomis, a man on a quest, and thus, the emergence of the 'shiny man.' This revelation ends the quest of another character, the conjure man Bynum, who has been looking for his messiah, this very 'shiny man.' In a boarding house, where everyone comes and goes ('They the only ones live here now. People come and go.' [Bertha to Loomis], a family is reunited by two forces (an African magician, and a realistic 'scout' or 'people finder,' both roomers at the place), only to split up again - for the man emerges reborn, becomes independent, and leaves mother and daughter.

Christina Linda Lyons (born Voss) holds a PhD in English from Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, FTSK Germersheim, Germany (2003) and a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from Southern Illinois University Carbondale (2013) and has taught English and English Education for 15 years in the United States. She was a student teacher for a year at Carbondale Community High School, taught for 10 years at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, for a year at John A. Logan College in Carterville, IL, and for nearly four years at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN. Her interests include Freemasonry and secret/planned languages, learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, etc.), translations, educational philosophy, pedagogy, and music. She was married to the late pianist and composer David Paul Lyons and studied music composition with him as well as with Armando Bayolo, Christopher Walczak, and Phillip Brown at SIUC for several semesters, winning about 22 composition awards and honorable mentions. She also holds two Montessori certificates (Early Childhood and Elementary Education) and is interested in child-centered, constructivist, and hands-on education.