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A Machine out of Order: Indifferentiation in David Mamet's The Disappearance of the Jews

Each of the seven scenes of The Disappearance of the jews follows a similar pattern, that of ascending plot succeeded by the collapse of tension without the benefit of any development. There are several expositions, but no discernible complication. It appears that the scenes could be altered with no detrimental effect to the play. Two Jewish men in their thirties, Bobby Gould and Joey Lewis, meet briefly in a hotel room in Chicago after a long separation. They reminisce, swear, talk about "broads," wives, their ancestors, and their general dissatisfaction with life. All the topics of conversation are abandoned before they can spiral into a crisis or a climax. The structural logic of the play does not come from a succession of events, but from a random juxtaposition of events that fail to mature or to materialize into plot. The play can be interpreted as a series of unfulfilled expectations, a repetitious movement from an embryonic structure to a premature breakup of the system. C. W. E. Bigsby wrote of Bobby and Joey: "Rather than act in the present, both fantasize about the past." Indeed, the two friends seem to be devoid of purpose and motive. The present, the hotel room, are the loci of their stultified lives. This confinement is the mirror of their cultural and social estrangement. The past has become unreliable, and the future uncertain. We hope to show that this absence of action, which is also evident in plays by Samuel Beckett, is associated here with the Judaic tradition and its relation with violence. Joey and Bobby joyfully relive their memories, but it soon becomes difficult for them to agree upon the authenticity of the details. Was it Howie Greenberg or Jeff who went to winter camp? Was Bobby there when Howie was tied to his bed by his friends, or does he confuse his memories with those of Bobby? The laughter that the memory was supposed to provoke is snuffed out by the difficulty the friends have in establishing the decor and the actors of this past event. The same difficulty reappears in the second scene when they try to remember the location of a "joint" they used to frequent and the identity of the girls they used