The Mule-Bone

<p><strong>The Mule-Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life</strong> is a play written in <strong>1930</strong> by <strong>Zora Neale Hurston</strong> and <strong>Langston Hughes</strong>. It is a lighthearted folk-based comedy set in an all-Black Southern town. The play was meant to celebrate <strong>Black vernacular speech humor and community dynamics</strong> but it was never staged during Hurston and Hughes' lifetimes due to a <strong>bitter feud between them</strong> over authorship.</p><p>The play was finally produced in <strong>1991</strong> at the New York Public Theater.</p><p>The play is set in the all-Black town of <strong>Lintel Florida</strong> and revolves around a simple yet dramatic event: <strong>a fight between two best friends over a woman</strong>.</p><p><strong>Jim Weston</strong> and <strong>Dave Carter</strong> are two good friends who both love <strong>Daisy Taylor</strong> a beautiful young woman who has just returned to town.</p><p>During an argument over who she prefers Jim hits Dave with a <strong>mule bone</strong> in a playful but heated moment.</p><p>The town takes the fight seriously and Jim is arrested for assault.</p><p>The trial takes place in the local church which also serves as the courtroom.</p><p>The town is <strong>divided into factions</strong>-some support Jim while others think he should be punished.</p><p><strong>The judge and witnesses are comically exaggerated</strong> showcasing Hurston's and Hughes' love for Southern Black folklore and humor.</p><p>Ultimately Jim is <strong>banished from town</strong> as punishment.</p><p>Jim meets Daisy outside town expecting her to choose him after all the trouble.</p><p>However <strong>Daisy refuses to choose between Jim and Dave</strong> saying she doesn't want a man she has to take care of.</p><p>In the end Jim and Dave reconcile realizing <strong>their friendship is more important than Daisy</strong>.</p><p></p><p></p><p></p>