“Socks” is an adventure-drama story that centers around Richard: an average, middle-class American. He works hard, pays his taxes, provides for his family, and lives the American Dream. His idyllic life masks over the fact that he is burned out and struggling with other issues beneath the surface. After suffering a meltdown at the office that nearly costs him his job, he travels toward a beachside resort with his family, searching for some much-needed rest and relaxation.
Instead, they become lost on the back roads and encounter a hitchhiker at a lonely gas station in the middle of the night. What should have been a forgettable encounter instead erupts into a violent confrontation. After his wife berates him for his behavior, Richard begrudgingly offers the hitchhiker a ride as an act of penance.
As the journey continues, the hitchhiker’s observations and unconventional worldview dredge up uncomfortable feelings and unspoken truths. In the microcosm of the road, the hitchhiker’s very presence threatens to upend Richard’s family, his career, and everything he has believed in and worked for.
Characters
Socks is a good-natured individual who loves life and tries to see the good in people. He is friendly, generous, scruffy, cute, and loves to laugh. There is a puppy dog quality about him as he delights in simple pleasures like a hot meal or a warm blanket. Despite having so little, he is quick to share what he has with those he considers friends. He is also quick to throw himself into danger to defend others against bullies. He is a quintessential “diamond in the rough”.
Richard is a husband, a father, and your average, hard-working, tax-paying American who is pursuing the American Dream. Although his political views are never specified, he believes in working hard and accumulating wealth to live a comfortable and luxurious life. He resents paying taxes because he perceives that his money goes to welfare cheats and other deadbeats.
Mary is Richard’s wife. Like her husband, she believes in the American Dream and has grown accustomed to a life of comfort and luxury. She is obsessed with status, appearances, and material possessions. However, she is an excellent and loving mother and extends her compassion toward others – including strangers.
Kate and Caleb are Richard and Mary’s teenage daughter and young son. Kate is fiercely protective of her little brother, and candid and blunt with her observations. Caleb is curiosity and innocence personified – he has not yet learned how to judge and hate others.
Themes & Messages
First and foremost, the story is meant to challenge the presumption of the American Dream. It doesn’t necessarily reject the American Dream, but it challenges the audience to consider whether the American Dream is actually their dream, or a dream that was imposed upon then at an early age. It also challenges the audience to question pro-capitalism and pro-consumerism propaganda that we take for granted, such as the virtue of hard work, the reality of a cost of living, and how we measure success in our lives.
Second, the story invites the audience to see the humanity of people who live in poverty, people who are homeless, and people who embrace a lifestyle that is very different from that of ordinary Americans. It challenges stereotypes and presumptions that vagrants are dangerous, drug addicts, opportunistic, or lazy.
Socks 