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Brucie
Evan is an African American man in his forties; in 2008, he’s Chris and Jason’s parole officer after they’re released from their eight-year prison sentences. Evan encourages Chris and Jason to be straightforward with him and to open up about their struggles reintegrating into society and coping with guilt as ex-convicts. However, he also has no patience for nonsense—for instance, when Jason is uncooperative and racist during his parole meeting, Evan threatens him with a drug test and a negative report, and he’s vocal about his distaste for Jason’s white supremacist facial tattoos. Ultimately, though, Evan serves an important role as a confidant and voice of reason for Chris and Jason. He teaches both men one of the play’s central lessons: that shame is a destructive and counterproductive emotion and that the best course of action is to forgive oneself and others. As such, Evan is the catalyst for Sweat’s tentative resolution: at the end of the play, Chris and Jason take his advice, meeting up amicably and going to the bar to make peace with Oscar and Stan. Though the final scene leaves off with the four men standing in an ambivalent state of “fractured togetherness,” Evan’s guidance opens up the potential for reconciliation and sends the optimistic message that animosity, blame, and self-destruction can be overcome.
Evan Quotes in Sweat
The Sweat quotes below are all either spoken by Evan or refer to Evan. 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:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
CHRIS (Escalating emotions): I dunno. A couple minutes, and your whole life changes, that’s it. It’s gone. Every day I think about what if I hadn’t…You know…I run it and run it, a tape over and over again. What if. What if. What if. All night. In my head. I can’t turn it off. Reverend Duckett said, “Lean on God for forgiveness. Lean on God to find your way through the terrible storm.” I’m leaning into the wind, I’m fuckin’ leaning […] What we did was unforgiveable…
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Act 2, Scene 7
Quotes
EVAN: I’ve seen enough guys in your situation to know that over time it’s…it’s crippling. I’m not a therapist, I’m not the right dude to talk to about any of this. But what I do know, is that it’s not a productive emotion. Most folks think it’s the guilt or rage that destroys us in the end, but I know from experience that it’s shame that eats us away until we disappear. You put in your time. But look here, we been talking, and we can keep talking—but whatcha gonna do about where you’re at right now?
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Get the entire Sweat LitChart as a printable PDF.
Evan Quotes in Sweat
The Sweat quotes below are all either spoken by Evan or refer to Evan. 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:
).
Act 1, Scene 1
Quotes
CHRIS (Escalating emotions): I dunno. A couple minutes, and your whole life changes, that’s it. It’s gone. Every day I think about what if I hadn’t…You know…I run it and run it, a tape over and over again. What if. What if. What if. All night. In my head. I can’t turn it off. Reverend Duckett said, “Lean on God for forgiveness. Lean on God to find your way through the terrible storm.” I’m leaning into the wind, I’m fuckin’ leaning […] What we did was unforgiveable…
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Act 2, Scene 7
Quotes
EVAN: I’ve seen enough guys in your situation to know that over time it’s…it’s crippling. I’m not a therapist, I’m not the right dude to talk to about any of this. But what I do know, is that it’s not a productive emotion. Most folks think it’s the guilt or rage that destroys us in the end, but I know from experience that it’s shame that eats us away until we disappear. You put in your time. But look here, we been talking, and we can keep talking—but whatcha gonna do about where you’re at right now?
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