WASP

What is the theme in WASP by Steve Martin?

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Tradition and the Family is a main theme. The opening setting of WASP is described by Martin as "A kitchen in a fifties' house." On the one hand, the words "fifties' house" suggest a play designed to be a period piece, depicting a U.S. household of the 1950s. In this case, the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant family of the play is no longer necessarily representative of a contemporary W.A.S.P. family. Yet, in declining to state specifically that his play is a period piece, Martin allows his ambiguous words to be taken symbolically.