Holding In Tony Kushner's Angels In America

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The Importance of Holding
While facing a life-threatening illness, one tries to hold on and control things around them. This is very prevalent in Angels in America by Tony Kushner. The hold button that Roy uses contains symbolism in regards to his control over his life and also his control over words and their meanings. Through this, one can see his continuing attempts to gain more control over his life as it is slipping away from him. Not only is Roy’s use of the hold button symbolic of his repressed gay identity, but it also enables him to assert his dominance and control over words and others.
Throughout the play, even if Roy does not expressly use the word “hold,” the symbolism of the word is demonstrated by his holding down or suppressing
of both his identity as a gay man and the meaning of certain words. One example is when Roy says to his doctor, Henry, “Homosexuals are men who in fifteen years of trying cannot pass a pissant antidiscrimination bill through City Council. Homosexuals are men who know nobody and nobody knows”(46). Roy is afraid of what “homosexual” connotes to him and what it will mean for his career and standing in society; the word also carries his own confirmation of his failure as he sees any hint of his homosexuality as a falsity unto his character as a person.
His statement that “Homosexuals are men who know nobody and nobody knows” clearly expresses his fear of being alone and helpless in that he will not be able to “hold” down or assert his power over people, thus leaving him powerless (46). He is afraid of being cast aside from society and having people look down on him. This can be understood in the notion of “ men who…nobody knows,” which expresses the idea of having no power or stature in society (46). This can clearly be seen in his outrage over being disbarred. Having no power in society is his ultimate fear because he yearns to live up to his father’s expectations, namely becoming a successful lawyer, and attain social status by gaining the respect of his peers. Without this power, he is unable to dictate what happens around him and prevent things (disbarrement) from affecting his stature in society. An example of Roy commenting on how society looks down upon him and his own insecurities relating to his identity is when he says to Martin in the presence of Joe, “The disbarment committee: genteel gentlemen Brahmin lawyers, country-club men. I offend
them, to these men I’m what, Martin? Some sort of filthy Jewish troll?”(69) “Some sort of filthy Jewish troll?” indicates that Roy views himself as not being good enough since he thinks, despite his status of power, he does not have the authority to stop himself from being disbarred (69). Furthermore, “troll” connotes an inhuman aspect as “troll” he is associating the term with his ethnic identity thus placing “troll” in direct connection with him; he desires to be like the “genteel gentlemen Brahmin lawyers, country-club men”, to do this, it requires that his ethnic identity to be taken away from him. This lack of power to prevent his disbarment indicates to him that he is losing his power in society because of his religion.
Roy’s problem with words and labels extends throughout the play as he again tries to assert and overpower the connotations of words.
This is shown when Roy tries to take away power from the word “homosexual” in order to demean and diminish the power that it has over him. He also does not want homosexual to define him because it would lower his social stature and the way that he views himself. “You are hung up on words, on labels, that you believe they mean what they seem to mean. AIDS. Gay. Lesbian. You think these are names that tell you who someone sleeps with, but they don’t tell you that”(46). This is a prime example of Roy trying to devalue the meaning of words, in order to reinstate his place of power. In this same passage, he takes away the upper hand that the doctor had over him, which results from the revelation of Roy having AIDS, by threatening to sue him. “They don’t tell you that” also shows very clearly that Roy is denying everything, and his obstinacy towards Henry further solidifies that (46). Roy’s focus on labels is also important because he self identifies as Jewish, but it is ironic that Roy tells Henry to not be hung up on labels because Roy uses his Jewish heritage as an excuse for being disbarred as “some sort of filthy Jewish troll?”(69) The idea of the hold button can be applied here as he is holding back who he is from everyone including himself. The use of hold symbolizes him trying to gain back control over his life as his illness and later the
threat of being disbarred starts to gain control over him. Roy’s use of the hold button on the telephone is employed frequently when Roy is in front of Joe. This use of the word displays the power that he exerts over people, exhibiting that he is the boss and that he is all-important. An example of this is when he talks to Harry, “You hold. I pay you to hold”(13). This dominance over his clients defines his character as wanting to be in control of his life in that he has the authority to say who speaks and who does not. “I pay you to hold” also shows that Roy is putting people in their place, or in their social place in the hierarchy, therefore elevating his own importance (13). Through Roy imposing his dominance over Belize, it displays his desire to maintain authority. By now, Roy’s disease has basically rendered him helpless, which he tries to reverse through his dialogue and how he masks his pain with a stoic front. “And get me a real phone, with a hold button”(155). This quote emphasizes him wanting to feel powerful despite his circumstances; here, he is bedridden and constantly has searing pains. Furthermore, he is going to get disbarred, eliminating his place in social society. Therefore, this phone with the hold button essentially brings him back to when he was healthy and in control of his life. His request to have the phone with the hold button allows Roy to retake control over his life. “Don’t start jabbing that goddamned spigot in my arm till you find the fucking vein or I’ll sue you so bad they’ll repossess your teeth”(151). This blatant show of power on the part of Roy clearly shows his arrogance and sense of self-worth, as well as him trying to assert his dominance and his power as a lawyer over Belize, who he deems inferior to him; however, since Roy is vulnerable, this may be him trying to cover his insecurities through mainting a facade of authority and control. His threat of suing Belize is important as even from his place of weakness, he still wants to be important and carry power in a place where he does not have any. As the play progresses, the meaning of “hold” begins to gain a slightly different connotation from gaining power to holding power. As can be seen through “I’ll sue you so bad they’ll repossess your teeth,” Roy is trying to hold on to the remaining power that he has as a lawyer (151). This leaves him with power only over Ethel, and he exercises it by pretending to die in order to make Ethel sing.
When Roy dies, his last line is, “Remember that, OK? A fucking-Hold”; this use of “hold” as his last line carries several meanings (255). The use of it represents him trying to keep a hold of his life, even at his last breath, as well as trying to assert himself over Ethel and death in a way by dying on his own terms. Through the use of the hold button, he is again putting himself in power as he has none left: he is disbarred and he is bedridden; meanwhile through this action, he cheats death by putting his life on pause, thus dying on his own terms. The stage directions, “(Punching an imaginary button with his finger,)” revisits the beginning of the book when Roy was in a position of power and dictated everything (255). This further reinforces the idea that Roy is indeed ending his life on his own terms. At Roy’s death, his tricking Ethel into singing to him is the final example of him making himself more powerful than Ethel, who had been haunting him in order to assert her own power over him and to challenge him. This is a reversal of power from Roy being the person who prosecuted Ethel to Ethel now judging Roy and therefore replacing him as judge. “I just wanted to see if I could finally, finally make Ethel Rosenberg sing! I WIN!”(255) “I WIN!” clearly shows Roy’s hierarchic thinking as he declares himself the winner (255). Ethel also represents death as she is revisiting him from the dead to mock his powerlessness over his fate and everything that he previously controlled. By being a winner in his own view, he is cheating death by forcing it to do his bidding. Another symbolic moment occurs when Roy presses the hold button in front of Ethel. Throughout the whole play, Ethel shows up when Roy is at his weakest; however, when Roy dies, he presses the hold button in front of her, asserting himself over death and attempting to regain his power in front of Ethel. In conclusion, the hold button contains symbolism as it shows how Roy tries to regain control over his life, even at death. Through Roy being in control of his life, he shows his power over people; however, this power is taken away when he becomes bedridden and eventually disbarred. The hold button represents his overall hold on people, his life, and especially words. Roy’s attempt to grasp the remnants of his former life applies to everyone as even with a minor change, people still try to retain familiar objects or in Roy’s case his power and status in society.