Prompt 11: Fires in the Mirror

Fires in the Mirror by, Anna Deavere Smith is a collection of monologues told from many different characters in various locations, all of which on a particular side of the controversy we discover throughout. Smith speaks of a historical incident from the real world, therefore, risking loosing an unbiased audience to take her story for what it is. Smith gives us 13 monologues before ever mentioning what happened at Crown Heights, and she did so with intention. The characters revealed to us before the controversy came to light had their own stories and their own perspectives of what was to come. Smith gave her audience a chance to get to know these characters personally before addressing their stance of which most readers would soon disagree with. These monologues serve as a more intimate introduction of the characters in their world before any mentioning of the riots that affected ours. This way, we are able to see each character with a clean slate and an unbiased opinion on whose they are according to what we currently know.

These monologues justify the other side of the argument that is so hard to comprehend once you’ve formulated an opinion of wrong and right. Smith’s choice to connect us to characters on both sides of the equation allows us to understand the reasons behind some of their opinions and relate some of their actions back to certain things we learned about them before the riots came into play. Ultimately, the playwright did what she did for a reason. It is not our place to simply cut out what doesn’t immediately settle with us, rather it is with great pleasure that we dig up motifs, themes, and underlying messages in order to understand and appreciate what we’ve been given.