The Wolves: A Play

“I am like […] firmly pro-liberty.”

#11 is taking a devil’s advocate position to intellectualize the Cambodian genocide and the ethics of executing an elderly man for atrocities committed over four decades prior. She misspeaks and accidentally says Americans should take their liberty for granted. The other girls jump on her for this blasphemy, as they are firmly entrenched in American exceptionalism. The quote demonstrates the Middle America milieu to which the girls belong.

“Why would you watch a documentary?”

Here, the group discusses religion (and religious extremes), and #11 mentions a documentary she watched about religious people handling poisonous snakes. #25’s response reflects a common teenage attitude about learning, which is that learning is boring. Like most young people in America, learning is entrusted to the school system, which is flawed, as revealed by the various gaps in their education when they talk about major historical events.

“We don’t do genocide until senior year.”

#7’s comment is wry, but it suggests an enormous piece of educational neglect with the omission of any unpleasant histories. One school year out of 12 is likely insufficient for covering the many genocides in history, even with the acceptance that not all significant events can fit into the curriculum. Given the play’s theme of coming of age, #7’s school seems to have placed that milestone