True West Violence Quotes

This is the first real act of violence in the play. Something pretty serious must have happened to make Lee react like this, right? Well, Austin offered to lend Lee money, and someone making a gesture to help Lee out financially just doesn't go over well. Later, we find out that the brothers' dad had a similar reaction when Austin offered him money. It wasn't as violent, but spit was totally involved.

This ends the outburst covered in the previous quote. The key here is the "just as suddenly." Lee turns to violence at the drop of a hat. It's almost impossible to tell what will set him off.

So, what brought on this violent assault involving multiple inanimate objects? Austin suggested that there were mountains in the Texas Panhandle. Also, Austin had been making fun of Lee's movie idea, and Lee does not like to be made fun of.

Turns out Austin is utterly wrong. They are kind of insane, and they are totally driven to acts of violence.

Even Lee's monetary endeavors involve violence. He cashes in on dogs fighting each other. He has no moral qualms about it whatsoever.

Unfortunately for Austin, he doesn't connect on this punch, but this is still a big step for him. He's started to act out in the same violent way as Lee. His journey to the Dark Side is almost complete.

Sometimes when people get frustrated, they count to ten or take some deep breaths or maybe even scream. Lee destroys things.

Well, the operator did hang up on him. What did you expect?

Man, Austin is not messing around anymore. This is the moment when he truly completes his transformation. This unrepentant act of violence would never have seemed possible at the top of the show, but Austin has grown into a different man than he was—he has found a way to be his brother's equal.

This just about sums it up. Once Austin joins Lee as a man prone to violent outrage, the violence can't be stopped. Austin doesn't stop choking until it appears that Lee is dead. In that moment, when he thinks he's killed his brother, we catch a glimpse of Austin's former humanity, but that quickly disappears once it becomes clear that Lee is still alive.