The Little Flower of East Orange was definitely the best show I have ever seen. Not only was it hilarious in a realistic way we can all relate to, it also left me curious and it made me actually want to do research to understand the play better.

Throughout the play, there are many religious references. The main one is Saint Therese, the "little flower." The mother and Saint Therese have many things in common such as they were both precocious, stubborn, had special bonds with their fathers and always thought about others before themselves. When Saint Therese was sick, she said everyone was babying her and had a constant watch over her just like the mother had when she was in the hospital for 10 years. When the mother went on about her love for the tugboat, the small ordinary tugboat that actually ended up keeping everything together, I fell in love with her character. The fact that she would rather be the ordinary one that supported everyone rather than one of the big lavish boats was really inspiring. It reminded me of one of the quotes in the playbill about how if every flower wanted to be a rose, then springtime would lose its beauty.

I thought the mother's life was presented in a very inspiring, poignant way because even though she was in the hospital for such a long time and was abused as a child, she still got to experience the best out of life. She said she got to travel the world, fall in love, and have children which made me wonder how she could have all of that starting her life off so late and yet there are others who have all the opportunities in the world and find none of that happiness. Unlike the mother who seemed to not dwell on the distressing times in her life but rather find the bright side in all of them, the son could only focus on the past and how much his mother suffered. I kept finding myself sympathizing with the mother when she said all she wanted was for her son to stop worrying about her and be happy and at other times I could identify with the son who felt his mother was demanding his love as a way to control him. The constant contradicting of views made the play what it is and that each person’s side was shown effectively. It made me realize how neither person has to be wrong in a relationship such as this one and how not every loving relationship is necessarily good for you. In this case, for example, his love for his mother seemed to be upsetting both of them. I found it ironic how the son felt it was his duty to give his mother all the things he felt she lacked in life while it's usually what parents do when they have a child. It really makes you wonder if the parent-child relationship switches as you get older.