In your essay, be sure to

Suggested length: 4–6 paragraphs | Timed writing or take-home format

• Craft a clear, defensible thesis that asserts how the shifting power dynamics between Lincoln and Booth function thematically.
• Use specific textual evidence (dialogue, stage directions, key scenes) to bolster your argument.
• Analyze how Parks utilizes dramatic structure, naming, and symbolism (e.g., the card game, the costumes, the inheritance) to support your claim.
• Address the counterargument suggesting that one brother remains consistently dominant, and explain why the text complicates this perspective.
• Conclude by linking the brothers' personal conflict to Parks's broader commentary on race, legacy, and the American Dream.

Write a well-organized essay in which you argue how Parks uses the rivalry between the brothers and the motif of the con game (three-card monte) to delve into the cyclical nature of power and identity in America. In your essay, be sure to:

Support your argument with direct evidence from the text.

• Identify and analyze at least two specific moments in the play that clearly illustrate the shifts in power between Lincoln and Booth.
• Examine how performance and role-playing (including Lincoln's role as an Abraham Lincoln impersonator) serve as a commentary on race, identity, and social mobility.
• Present a clear thesis about what Parks ultimately conveys regarding the possibility of escaping one's prescribed social role.