Ben Harcourt A Character We All Love to Hate
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The Mercy Seat, by Neil Labute, is a tale of solipsism, deception, and morality. Labute's play is about a couple who is struggling with their relationship and sees the events of September 11th as an opportunity to leave their old lives behind. Labute depicts the protagonist, Ben Harcourt, as being an unsympathetic, solipsist, and cruel person. Throughout the play, the protagonists debate over the moral issues behind Ben's idea of running away, which compels the reader to his character.
Throughout the play, Ben's character tries to redeem himself. He claims that he is a considerate person and takes other people's feelings into account. However, Ben still comes off as unsympathetic. Ben is sorry that many lives were taken, but he still sees the tragic events of September 11th as an advantage. For example on page 31, Ben and Abby are thinking back of their time in Vermont and they wish things could still be that way. Ben tries to convince Abby that he usually does not see tragedies as opportunities...