Fat Ham

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes references to assault, murder, racism, and anti-gay bias.

The play poses a central question of what, if anything, family members owe one another. In particular, it asks what parents and children owe each other. Pap’s orders for Juicy to avenge his death appeal to loyalty. Pap insists that Juicy, as his son, is obligated to defend his honor and carry out his wishes. For Pap, the mere act of physically fathering a child means that the child must display allegiance.

The play suggests that one does not owe anything to a cruel parent. One does not even owe love. Juicy experiences little real connection to Pap. He feels as though he should love him and mourn his loss, but the malice Pap metes out during his life makes this difficult. However, Juicy agrees that Rev is in the wrong for orchestrating Pap’s death.

Though Rev is Pap’s brother, Juicy also feels no obligation to show any love or loyalty to him. His debate over whether to carry out Pap’s wishes has more to do with whether Pap is deserving of Juicy’s loyalty than whether Rev is deserving of punishment and justice.