August: Osage County

by

Tracy Letts

Johnna Monevata Character Analysis

A Native American woman from the Cheyenne tribe who is hired to be Beverly and Violet Weston’s live-in housekeeper. Despite the difficult emotional demands of the job she has accepted, Johnna quickly becomes a mostly silent but steadfast participant in the lives—and the dramas—of the Weston clan, intervening when she is most needed to protect, defend, and support the very damaged people she has signed on to care for. Though Johnna is often a victim of Violet’s verbal abuse and harsh language, she is the only one left, in the end, to comfort Violet in her moment of deepest sorrow and defeat.

Johnna Monevata Quotes in August: Osage County

The August: Osage County quotes below are all either spoken by Johnna Monevata or refer to Johnna Monevata. 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:
Parents, Children, and Inheritance Theme Icon
).
Prologue Quotes

BEVERLY: The facts are: My wife takes pills and I drink. And these facts have over time made burdensome the maintenance of traditional American routine: paying of bills, purchase of goods, cleaning of clothes or carpets or crappers. Rather than once more assume the mantle of guilt … vow abstinence with my fingers crossed in the queasy hope of righting our ship, I’ve chosen to turn my life over to a Higher Power … and join the ranks of the Hiring Class.

Related Characters: Beverly Weston (speaker), Violet Weston, Johnna Monevata
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3, Scene 3 Quotes

BARBARA: One of the last times I spoke with my father, we were talking about … I don’t know, the state of the world, something … and he said, “You know, this country was always pretty much a whorehouse, but at least it used to have some promise. Now it’s just a shithole.” And I think now maybe he was talking about something else, something more specific, something more personal to him … this house? This family? His marriage? Himself? I don’t know. But there was something sad in his voice—or no, not sad, he always sounded sad—something more hopeless than that. As if it had already happened. As if whatever was disappearing had already disappeared. As if it was too late. As if it was already over. And no one saw it go. This country, this experiment, America, this hubris: what a lament, if no one saw it go. Here today, gone tomorrow. (Beat.) Dissipation is actually much worse than cataclysm.

Related Characters: Barbara Fordham (speaker), Beverly Weston, Johnna Monevata
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:
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Johnna Monevata Quotes in August: Osage County

The August: Osage County quotes below are all either spoken by Johnna Monevata or refer to Johnna Monevata. 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:
Parents, Children, and Inheritance Theme Icon
).
Prologue Quotes

BEVERLY: The facts are: My wife takes pills and I drink. And these facts have over time made burdensome the maintenance of traditional American routine: paying of bills, purchase of goods, cleaning of clothes or carpets or crappers. Rather than once more assume the mantle of guilt … vow abstinence with my fingers crossed in the queasy hope of righting our ship, I’ve chosen to turn my life over to a Higher Power … and join the ranks of the Hiring Class.

Related Characters: Beverly Weston (speaker), Violet Weston, Johnna Monevata
Page Number: 11
Explanation and Analysis:
Act 3, Scene 3 Quotes

BARBARA: One of the last times I spoke with my father, we were talking about … I don’t know, the state of the world, something … and he said, “You know, this country was always pretty much a whorehouse, but at least it used to have some promise. Now it’s just a shithole.” And I think now maybe he was talking about something else, something more specific, something more personal to him … this house? This family? His marriage? Himself? I don’t know. But there was something sad in his voice—or no, not sad, he always sounded sad—something more hopeless than that. As if it had already happened. As if whatever was disappearing had already disappeared. As if it was too late. As if it was already over. And no one saw it go. This country, this experiment, America, this hubris: what a lament, if no one saw it go. Here today, gone tomorrow. (Beat.) Dissipation is actually much worse than cataclysm.

Related Characters: Barbara Fordham (speaker), Beverly Weston, Johnna Monevata
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis: