Clybourne Park

by

Bruce Norris

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Clybourne Park makes teaching easy.

Kenneth Stoller Character Analysis

A young white man and the son of Russ and Bev Stoller. Kenneth is a veteran of the Korean War, during which he was charged with killing civilians. After returning home, he had difficulty reintegrating into society, and killed himself two and a half years before the events of Act I take place. Although clearly unhappy and unstable, Bev remembers him as a thoughtful, if complicated boy, who simply needed people to take time to understand him. In some productions Kenneth is played by the same actor who plays Jim and Tom, but in other productions he is played by an actor employed specifically for this role.

Kenneth Stoller Quotes in Clybourne Park

The Clybourne Park quotes below are all either spoken by Kenneth Stoller or refer to Kenneth Stoller. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Race and Racism Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

Tell ya what I think. And I’m not a psychiatrist or anything but I do think a lotta people today have this tendency, tendency to brood about stuff, which, if you ask me, is, is, is — well, short answer, it’s not productive. And what I’d say to these people, were I to have a degree in psychiatry, I think my advice would be maybe, get up offa your rear end and do something.

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Jim, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:

Bev: Well, you’re being ugly, and I don’t like ugliness.
Russ: — private matters, matters that are between me and the memory of my son —
Bev: I think his mind has been affected, I really do.
Russ: — and if the two of you want to talk about Kenneth on your own time, if that gives you some kind you comfort
Bev: And what’s wrong with comfort? Are we not allowed any comfort anymore?

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Bev Stoller (speaker), Jim, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis:

Russ: If you honestly think I give a rat’s ass about the goddamn—
Jim: Okay. Okay.
Russ: —what, ya mean the community where every time I go for a haircut, where they all sit and stare like the goddamn grim reaper walked in the barber shop door? That community?
Karl: My wife is two weeks away from giving birth to a child.
Russ: Where, Bev stops at Gelman’s for a quart of milk and they look at her like she’s got the goddamn plague? That the community I’m supposed to be looking out for?

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Karl Linder (speaker), Jim (speaker), Bev Stoller, Betsy Linder, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:

And Francine walking in at nine in the morning to find him there. You be my guest, Karl. You go ahead and tell those people what kind of house they’re moving into and see if that stops ‘em, because I’ll tell you what, I don’t care if a hundred Ubangi tribesman with a bone through the nose overrun this goddamn place, ‘cause I’m through with all of you, ya motherfucking sons of bitches. Every one of you.

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Bev Stoller, Karl Linder, Francine, Jim, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 92
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2 Quotes

But you know, I think things are about to change. I really do. I know it’s been a hard couple of years for all of us, I know they have been, but I really believe things are about to change for the better. I firmly believe that.

Related Characters: Bev Stoller (speaker), Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 210
Explanation and Analysis:
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Kenneth Stoller Quotes in Clybourne Park

The Clybourne Park quotes below are all either spoken by Kenneth Stoller or refer to Kenneth Stoller. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Race and Racism Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

Tell ya what I think. And I’m not a psychiatrist or anything but I do think a lotta people today have this tendency, tendency to brood about stuff, which, if you ask me, is, is, is — well, short answer, it’s not productive. And what I’d say to these people, were I to have a degree in psychiatry, I think my advice would be maybe, get up offa your rear end and do something.

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Jim, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 35
Explanation and Analysis:

Bev: Well, you’re being ugly, and I don’t like ugliness.
Russ: — private matters, matters that are between me and the memory of my son —
Bev: I think his mind has been affected, I really do.
Russ: — and if the two of you want to talk about Kenneth on your own time, if that gives you some kind you comfort
Bev: And what’s wrong with comfort? Are we not allowed any comfort anymore?

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Bev Stoller (speaker), Jim, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis:

Russ: If you honestly think I give a rat’s ass about the goddamn—
Jim: Okay. Okay.
Russ: —what, ya mean the community where every time I go for a haircut, where they all sit and stare like the goddamn grim reaper walked in the barber shop door? That community?
Karl: My wife is two weeks away from giving birth to a child.
Russ: Where, Bev stops at Gelman’s for a quart of milk and they look at her like she’s got the goddamn plague? That the community I’m supposed to be looking out for?

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Karl Linder (speaker), Jim (speaker), Bev Stoller, Betsy Linder, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 87
Explanation and Analysis:

And Francine walking in at nine in the morning to find him there. You be my guest, Karl. You go ahead and tell those people what kind of house they’re moving into and see if that stops ‘em, because I’ll tell you what, I don’t care if a hundred Ubangi tribesman with a bone through the nose overrun this goddamn place, ‘cause I’m through with all of you, ya motherfucking sons of bitches. Every one of you.

Related Characters: Russ Stoller (speaker), Bev Stoller, Karl Linder, Francine, Jim, Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 92
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 2 Quotes

But you know, I think things are about to change. I really do. I know it’s been a hard couple of years for all of us, I know they have been, but I really believe things are about to change for the better. I firmly believe that.

Related Characters: Bev Stoller (speaker), Kenneth Stoller
Page Number: 210
Explanation and Analysis: