Character Analysis of Leeds in “The Wager”

Introduction

The Wager is a seriocomedy by Mark Medoff in 1967. In this play Medoff has shed a light on the foible characteristics and traits of humans. The Wager revolves around a bet between two roommates, Leeds and Ward. Leeds is a tart-tongued and a brainy graduate student bets Wade, who is his super jock roommate that he can seduce the wife of Ron, their young Professor. What follows, is a series of complex and serious situations as Leeds try to manipulate the circumstances for his own advantage. The play is a seriocomedy filled with wit and humor. This paper analyzes the character of the brainy Leeds in the play. An in-depth analysis of the character of Leeds is given in this paper.

Discussion

Mark Medoff is an American professor, actor, theater and film director, screenwriter and a playwright. His most famous play is entitled “Children of a lesser God,” which won both Olivier and Tony Award. His first ever play is “The Wager,” which is a seriocomedy. The play sets in a school campus and tells the story about two opposite individuals who happen to be roommates. Leeds is a brainy student who has to share a room with the college stud Ward. One day, Leeds bets Ward that he can seduce Honor, who is the wife of their young professor. Leeds also mentions that if Ward manages to seduce Honor then within forty-eight hours, Ron will kill him. This creates a lose-lose situation for Ward, but he still accept the challenge. He sets out to accomplish his bet, while Leeds tries to manipulate the entire situation for his own advantage.

Leeds is the central character of the play “The Wager.” He is the character which makes the entire play move forward. Following are some of ...