adam

• thesis

  in dna, dennis kelly uses the charecter of adam to serve as a symbol of vulnerability and victim hood, highlighting the cruelty of peer pressure and the consequences of moral corruption in a hierarchal society. through his torture, absence, isolation and eventual inhumane fate adam embodies the key message going against corruption and abuse in gangs against weaker, vulnerable members.
• act 1 - ”dead? like dead dead”


  • scene one
  • set in a “street” a more public setting so language used has to be more aware
  • vague monologue
  • repetition of dead shoes disbelief at the situation
  • highlights adam’s vulnerability
  • the dehumanising, inhumane acts that were enforced on him were incomprehensible and had left the gang in denial
• act 1 - “we got him to eat some leaves”


  • mark describes the inhumane bullying the gang inflicted on adam in his final moments
  • he phrases it in a casual tone
  • shows a lack of compassion for adam and his dignity rather a fear for the repercussions on themselves
  • using pronoun “him” further dehumanises him as they refuse to acknowledge him as a human
  • was an experiment to them not a person
  • ”we got him to nick some vodka”
  • colloquial tone
  • yet again shows a lack of guilty conscience or responsibility for the crime
  • adam submits himself to peer pressure at the fear of loosing his “friends”
• act 3- “are you… is this… i mean are you… there’s no mistake or…”


  • fragmented speech with repeated use of ellipses
  • shows fear and panic over increased possibiltyy of being caught in involvement
  • shows lack of morality
  • still no sympathy for adam all they care about is protecting themselves
  • no care for if adam is okay
• act 3- “phil looks back at his waffle, irritated he puts it away” 


  • scene 2
  • stage direction
  • shows resentment and lack of remorse for adam
  • doesn’t care about the severity of the situation
  • cares more about his pleasure and food rather that helping the victim of the situation
  • would have been more ideal if adam stayed dead for him
  • foil in their plan
• act 3- “i thought i was dead. but im not. am i?”


  • scene 3
  • juxtaposition and rhetorical question
  • the harsh contrast shows adam’s confusion and the physiological repercussions as result of the gang
  • adam has been left in an identity crisis
  • unsure of his existence and his identity
  • left in a state of dubiety
• act 3- “i drank the liquid, it was blood, there was, it was mine.”


  • scene 3
  • fragmented sentence structure and lack of grammatical fluency reflects adam’s disoriented and fragmented mental state
  • his speech is halting as if he is struggling to process and recall the expirience
  • the employment of euphemism initially describing it as “the liquid” instead of immediatly calling it ”blood” suggests his initial denial or confusion
  • makes the revelation more harrowing and shocking