It should be noted that I have not gotten a chance to see this play staged, but I read the script and I wanted to review solely the book. I also wrote this for one of my writing classes, the prompt being to write a review of a story (hence the citations).
Days Of Rage by Steven Levenson is set during the late 60s and t he Vietnam War. The story opens to the character Jenny, a young college dropout who has now devoted her life to activism. She’s handing out leaflets outside a Sears to advertise an anti-war and anti-racism protest. Hal, a Sears employee grabs her attention, trying to strike up a conversation with Jenny before telling her she needs to leave. Jenny quickly becomes angered by this, believing that she has done nothing wrong. Days Of Rage focuses on three radicalists living in a beat-up apartment in upstate New York. They all desperately believe that they can be the ones to change the world, or at least the United States. Their main goal is to sign up as many people for this protest as possible as the date is quickly approaching. Along the way the characters meet Hal and Peggy and soon they realize that someone is out to get them. Peggy is chased by a strange man and shortly after the character Spence is beat up by the same man. How will these characters save themselves? Days Of Rage is a hard-hitting play about extreme politics. And although it takes place in the 60s, it is still relevant today.
The opening scene is simple, yet particularly interesting. The viewer is instantly drawn in, wondering what Jenny is doing and how she will react when she’s forced to hand out her pamphlets elsewhere.
Throughout the story, the group of radicalist’s ideals tend to be questionable. When Spence, Quinn, and Jenny are low on rent money, they all vote on the fact that Jenny should call her parents and ask for money. Strangely, their voting system seems to be a normal thing. Even though Quinn and Spence agree that Jenny should ask her parents to send money, Jenny is hesitant, but that doesn’t change the fact that she is still forced to do so. In another scene Quinn explains to newcomer Peggy that they are all strictly in an open relationship. “Um. Monogamy, monogamous two-person relationships, that’s one of the main forms of oppression that capitalism uses against people.”, she says (Levenson 30). Also Spence says, “We’re just, we’re this one thing. Right?”, when referring to the group. According to Spence they are all expected to be one entity, not individuals (Levenson 61). The dialogue is so real, it’s not awkward, and it’s so easy to imagine someone actually talking in such a way. One of the group's biggest beliefs is that they’re against racism. Hal, who doesn’t seem to take a strong political stance, attempts to illustrate his disagreements with the group. The group constantly tells him that he’s incorrect. It’s ironic because Hal is black, yet all the white characters (who claim to be anti-racists) refuse to listen to any of his ideas. All of these things are interesting because they almost treat their group like a cult, yet they’re supposed to be pushing back against powerful laws and standards. These situations also show that each of these characters are incredibly deep, they all have their own ways of thinking and all have contrasting personalities, making the characters realistic.
Photo by Sara Krulwich from The New York Times.
In the story Spence also states that the Jews of the Holocaust should have tried fighting back, ignoring the fact that it was not that simple. In addition, he ignores that many did fight back, however failed. In another instance Spence discusses his beliefs that Vladimir Lenin was a revolutionary leader. This goes to show that one of the biggest themes in the play is extremism. It’s clear that Levenson believes that extremities can be harmful on all sides of the political spectrum. This is important to highlight because it reveals that it is ethical to follow your own beliefs when your intentions are to be helpful, but when it becomes violent it is damaging to society.
The only thing disappointing about Days Of Rage is that Levenson (unintentionally) makes socialists look dangerous. This can be harmful to politics as well. Socialist are already stereotyped, therefore making them look bad is not helpful. One could look at this story the wrong way and take from it that all socialists are evil. This is simply untrue and many socialist beliefs come from a place of knowledge and if implemented they could do a lot to aid humanity. Though, it can be argued that this was done to further the plot.
Furthermore, the ending of the play was unique. Typically the end to most plots take place in the future, but Levenson did something different. The last scene takes place neither in the future nor the present. It’s almost as if it takes place in the ether. It consists of Spence asking questions to Quinn of what is going to happen. “Is this the end?”, Spence is left to question (Levenson 77).
I would also like to mention that the radicalists start out as the protagonists of the story. And the person who is “out to get them” is seen as the antagonist. But in the end these characters fight a ‘man vs self’ battle and it is discovered that they are the true antagonists. They must realize that they are the issue in itself.
This play is still pertinent because it demonstrates that to create change we need to come together and find a middle ground. All people can learn a lesson from this story whether it be about morals, practicality, or standing up for what one believes is right. There is still time for the U.S. to change and for the government to fix issues, like institutional racism, violence, and imperialism. When it comes down to it Days Of Rage is a great play.
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