Faith and Hope

Although the play is a somber one, several of the characters give expression to their faith and hope. Sunny, for example, tells of how, during her imprisonment, she resolved not to feel sorry for herself. She had a great realization:

I wasn't just a little lump of flesh that they could put in a cage. And I decided that I would have faith, that there was some power out there greater than them, to which I could make my appeal.

This faith gave her the strength to carry on.

Robert clings to hope because of a dream he had before he went to prison, in which he saw himself on death row and also saw himself released from it. “And 'cause a that dream, I always said, I'm gonna get a new trial.” Sure enough, this is exactly what happened.

Delbert comes across as a strong...