Buried Child

The start of this play is slightly misleading. We see a normal American Family and you expect another American Dream story. However, in this play, the idea of the American Dream gets totally re-framed  Furthermore, as the play progresses, you realize how different this play world actually is. At the start of play we receive hints that things may not be as they seem. We begin noticing more and more mysteries regarding this family and their behavior. Tilden brings vegetables onstage that his parents swear cannot exist. Things then get even crazier when no one even recognizes Vince. You quickly begin to realize that everyone in this play world is a little bit mad. This concept that everyone is unstable is interesting because it makes you as an audience member question everything said by the characters within the story. You are never quite sure who to believe and if you can believe anyone at all. Even characters like Vince end up losing more sanity as the show progresses; therefore, the audience really can never be sure of what is going on. On a larger scale of the entire script, Shepard intentionally leaves questions unanswered in his script. This ambiguity is a choice which separates this play from those such as Glass of Water and Noises Off. For example, no one is ever sure what lies in the back yard. Multiple characters argue for either side: some say there is life back there and others say there is nothing. However, vegetables are brought onstage. Where did Tilden even get them? This question makes the ending when Tilden brings the "buried child" onstage one huge "HUH?" 
We are never sure who the child is, where is came from, and who made this family go nuts.