Invisible Persons (but not ghosts)

 The New Yorker describes Lynn Nottage as having "built a career on making invisible people visible." How does Sweat accomplish this and do you think enabling visibility is important? Why or why not?

We know this play was successful in making invisible people visible because we read it in class and are having such deep discussions about its material. The troubles people are going through are being taught to us from a young(ish) age so that we can further understand the way the world around us works. Sweat puts a focus on the people who are struggling the most in the US. It focuses on the people who are struggling because of systematic issues within the United States. You can see this when Stan talks about how he “was nobody to them. Nobody!” (31). His employers didn't care about him even though he had been working in the factory for 28 years. He is voiceless to the people who directly injured him after he dedicated his life to them. The people who are struggling with systematic issues need to have their voices heard, if their voices aren't heard and their problems aren't understood changes will never be made. We see this when Stan tells the customers at the bar that he won't be voting because he, “watch[es] these politicians talking bullshit and I get no sense that they even know what's going on beyond the windshield of their cars as they speed past,” (79).  The politicians in charge of being the voice for struggling people have no idea what the challenges they face are. This is reflected in the legislation that has been passed today. These systematic problems within society will never be fixed if the people in charge are not made aware of them and how severely they impact everyday people. The voiceless must be given a voice so that we as a society can improve. Politicians also need to stay true to their words. Stan talks about how he won't be voting because no meaningful changes have ever been made. Throughout his life, he has been given false hope by politicians saying they will do X and Y to solve the problems he faces every day however they never follow through, “no matter what lever [he] pull[s] it [has] lead to disappointment,” (71).  It is imperative that these systematic problems are solved.