No more toxic friends

4. How do the characters' relationships impact their ability to fulfill their dreams and reach their goals? When do the characters support one another and when do they obstruct one another? When friends and family members become barriers to achieving goals, why do you think this happens? 

The play 'Sweat' focuses on the changing lives of factory workers in Reading, Pennsylvania, between 2000 and 2008. The characters in the play are Cynthia, Tracey, Jessie, Cynthia's son Chris, Tracey's son Jason, Stan, and Oscar. Cynthia is described as a middle-aged African-American woman who is determined to not only do well for herself but to also see her son Chris do well.  However, Cynthia's best friend Tracy is described as a middle-aged white woman who loves to hang out at the bar with her friends and cannot stand the way Reading has been changing over the years. Cynthia was so tired of waiting for an opportunity, that she was thinking of applying to a higher position. When she says she "might apply" for the floor manager position, Tracey discourages her and talks about how she is more qualified than Cynthia for the job when she says "Well, I got you beat by two" (Nottage 24). Tracey wasn't happy for  Cynthia like any true friend would have been. Instead, she felt betrayed 

and competed with Cynthia for the job. Not only this, she had also "been going around town whispering that the only reason Cynthia got a job is cuz she's black" (Nottage 51). Having a friend like Tracey must have impacted Cynthia's ability to reach her goals. Just like Tracey, Jason also discouraged Chris from following his dreams. Chris always wanted to go to school, and he was proud that he had gotten into the teaching program at Albright. But Jason made fun of him by repeatedly saying to Chris that he'll "suck" (Nottage 30). This play proves that a lot of your friends aren't really your friends and that if you don't choose your friends wisely, you might end up struggling to reach your goals.