Sticks and Bones

Sticks and Bones Summary | Act 1 Summary

Sticks and Bones is the story of a family's struggle to adapt their lives upon the return of their son who was blinded in the Vietnam War. The play opens in the suburban home of Ozzie and Harriett, where slides are being projected onto a movie screen. Images of family members dressed in clothing from the 1900s appear, with faceless voices trying to determine the names of those on the screen.

Amid all the black and white images is interjected a color shot of Ozzie, Harriet, and Father Donald, who holds a basketball. A bright light that reveals the full interior of the suburban home illuminates the stage. The three characters stand in the living room just as they did in the photograph and suddenly come to life bouncing and passing the ball to each other.

The phone interrupts their play and Ozzie listens as a government clerk informs him that his son, David, will be returning home from war. The news delights Harriet and Rick, their younger son, and the family spends some time reminiscing about David and how good it will be to have him home again.

Their conversation prompts Harry to remember his own wartime experience in World War II building trucks and jeeps. Although he never saw any fighting action, Ozzie feels he did his part for the cause in contributing the skills he had. His restlessness belies his discomfort at David's homecoming. A knock at the door reveals an army officer who has accompanied David home.

Surprised at his arrival so soon, Ozzie and Harriet are even more shocked to find that their son has been blinded. Adding to their dismay is David's disoriented behavior and apparent lack of recognition of his family and home. Ozzie feels more comfortable with the officer and tries to engage him in conversation or some refreshments, anything to avoid the necessity of addressing his son.

As Harriet tries to soothe David, the front door blows open with a strong gust and a small Vietnamese girl enters, although Harriet can't see her. The stage goes black and then lights again as Harriet lights a candle. The girl is still in the house and Harriet still cannot see her even though the child follows the woman upstairs. Pausing at David's bedroom door, Harriet speaks to him. David is aware not of his mother's presence but that of the child, and he calls her name, Zung.

The next morning, David resists Harriet's efforts to acclimate him back into the family's life. Because David refuses to acknowledge that he talks in his sleep, David must admit that he sensed the presence of someone in his room the night before. Ozzie's suggestion that it was the spirit of war buddies irritates David, who tries to explain that his preparations for meeting horror in Vietnam were confused by the presence of a girl he had met there. Ozzie vulgarly speculates on David's activities with the girl until the rage takes the shape of accusations and the inferiority of the "yellow people." Unable to take the violence between her husband and son, Harriett vomits and they all fall still.

In an attempt to right the situation, Ozzie suggests breakfast and Harriet offers to cook anything David would like. David is not interested and retreats to his room. Harriett phones Father Donald seeking intervention and counsel for her family.

Alone in the other room, Ozzie launches into a monologue about the trials he suffered during the Depression, which left him drifting from town to town as a runner for gamblers. His pride is that he was the best there was. Unbeknownst to Ozzie, David heard everything his father said. David tries to convince Ozzie that he is fine now, but Ozzie insists that even though he has left those towns, the towns are still with him.

The stage goes black and then fully illuminates to reveal Harriet and Rick carrying snacks for the movie Ozzie is cueing up on the home projector. They speculate about the film David has shot, expecting beautiful scenery and travel images. This could not be further from the truth. The imagery is blurred from underexposure, but David narrates the horrors of mutilated bodies and human slaughter that is not visible to them but seen explicitly in the mind's eye.

Stunned by David's descriptions of the atrocities in Vietnam, the family passes off the film as David's way of purging the nightmare he has lived through. David retires for the evening and for the first time since his homecoming, Harriet rages at Ozzie for having taught their son sports and fighting when he was so young. Her rage at the destruction of her boy needs to find a place, and it seeks out her husband.

The stage goes black again and then illuminates the living room of the home, where Ozzie sleeps on the couch. David whispers to his father about how much he hates him and his prejudice against Vietnamese people. Ozzie eventually awakes with a huge jolt and flies into a rage, accusing David of the outrageous possibility that David could have presented his parents with yellow grandchildren.

The front door blows open and Zung steps inside as she did the first time on the night David returned home. Speaking only to this imaginary girl, David promises warm clothes and love and a home where even Ozzie and Harriet will come to accept her one day. As the girl backs away from him, David is wracked with grief as he acknowledges that he had cast her aside on orders from others and that he faces a life of nothingness without her. Zung turns to leave but David makes another plea to get her to stay. At that moment, Rick snaps a picture and the door slams shut, trapping Zung inside.

Ozzie's distressed face appears on the movie screen as the stage fades to black.