Fairy tale
... Topdog Underdog sets forth the characters of Lincoln and Booth, jettisoned by their biological parents, as they contend with economic, racial, and filial strife. ... So it is that Suzan-Lori Parks’ “Topdog Underdog” serves as a caricature of the human condition, indicating the inescapability of jealous attitudes derived from an opportunity structure shaped by history as played out by Lincoln and Booth, two representations of African American men on the outskirts of society. ... Now cards stand as the ultimate mode of liberation; cards will settle years of rivalry forever entitling one brother to the position of ‘Topdog’. ... In conclusion, the final events in Parks’ Topdog Underdog leave reader grappling to understand where the brothers went wrong.