“Strychnine in the Gut”

In his essay titled, “Strychnine in the Gut,” Stephen Bottoms discusses many of the ideas and images that permeate the first two of Sam Shepard’s “family” plays, Curse of the Starving Class and Buried Child. Select a passage from the essay that you find interesting or significant—a direct quote of two or three sentences, along with a page citation—and discuss your reasons for choosing it. After everyone has posted a comment, read all of the entries and post another comment to extend and deepen the conversation.  Make a connection to human nature!