The play “Pure Confidence” relates directly to the topic of dominants and subordinates that we covered in class. The permanent in equality in this performance was between white slave owners and black slaves. The dynamic between the dominant and subordinate did not exactly line up with Miller’s view, though. Miller claimed that once a dominant was established, the subordinate was labelled as defective. In “Pure Confidence,”the slave had an outstanding talent of jockeying, and this talent was a large part of both the slave and the slave owner’s identity. However, the play did have some parallels with the Miller reading. Miller also claimed that when subordinates develop characteristics such as competency or intelligence, there is no way for them to apply them in a productive way. For example, Simon Cato, the male slave, makes enough money to buy his own horse, which he hopes will make him enough money to buy himself out of slavery. Even though Cato is proactive in his attempt to free himself, his slave owner makes his price impossible to pay, thus proving that he cannot apply his intelligence in a productive way.
Another theme that is present in both Miller’s work and in “Pure Confidence” is that subordinates often know more about dominants than vice versa. At the beginning of the play, Cato is able to manipulate the slave owners by striking deals and racing for different white men. His knowledge of the behavior of the white men allows him to maximize his profit to get what he wants.
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