Modern Drama - Critiques and Such ...
Final Exam for Professor Cahn's Modern Drama Exam - Spring 2012 ...
Final Examination - Works Under Discussion ... Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Equus, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Fences, Crimes of the Heart, The Price, Blood Wedding, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Oleanna
Part 1
1. A bitter Willy claiming that despite the fact that Al was a great performer, no one could stand him as a person.
2. Babe in Crimes of the Heart, regarding the reason for momma’s suicide by hanging
3. The Player to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, on how to conduct oneself in a world that is confusing and where identity is fluid.
4. Rose to her husbandTroy, on allowing their son Corey to fulfill his dream of playing football and, in the process, fight against the forces of discrimination inAmerica.
5. The player to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, on wanting them to stay to watch him and his fellow actors perform.
Part IB
1. Willy objected to Al’s retirement because there act was a two-man show and he personally was not ready to retire. He felt that Al was leaving him behind.
2. Momma hung the cat alongside her. Babe speculated that it was because she did not want to die alone.
3. Galloping is a spiritual experience for Alan. It allows him to be closer to Equus, the god embodied in all horses.
4. Because it is a right that African Americans were not permitted. It reflected society’s prejudice andTroywas struck by the injustice of the situation.
5. “The Group” is the politically correct, feminist organization that Carol is a part of. It assists in preventing John from getting tenure.
Extra Credit
1. Willy
2.
3. Smith and Dale
Part II
Essay 2
Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Equus and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf are very different plays, but they all heavily involve the search for meaning in a world where it is often hard to find. Sometimes this key theme comes up in conversation among characters, and sometimes it is conveyed by the playwright’s use of certain literary devices. Regardless, we are encouraged to perceive reality, if it even exists, as something that is not always obvious or desirable.
Of al the aforementioned four plays, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is perhaps the most overtly concerned with the search for meaning. Never does the playwright let us in on the exact nature of the mysterious entity known as Godot, but we can infer based on his protagonist’s inability to function until he arrives that he will provide them with some kind of direction. As things stand, waiting for him seems to be the only purpose that the characters have in life.
Vladimirand Estragon wind up in many comical situations, but the play is fundamentally unsettling. Its lack of a traditional narrative or backstory places us in a situation where we must work hard to make sense of what is on stage. In doing so, Beckett places us in a similar situation to the characters. Our search for meaning in the play parallelsVladimirand Estragon’s search for meaning in their lives, causing us to ponder deep existential questions without asking them explicitly.
At numerous points throughout the play,Vladimirand Estragon, individual and together, consider abandoning their constant vigil. However, they prove unwilling or incapable of doing so, because it would entail giving up the only meaning in their lives. Estragon briefly contemplates hanging himself to escape the agony of waiting, but decides that doing so would be pointless, and since they have waited so long already they might as well keep at it.
The protagonists’ only source of comfort in their futile search for meaning is each other’s company.Vladimirconstantly complains about his companion’s stupidity, but when Estragon actually considers leaving he convinces him to stay. In a way, their companionship gives their lives meaning. Even as they remain ignorant of Godot’s true nature throughout the play, they find a certain kind of meaning in their own interactions.
The search for meaning also lies at the heart of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which is in many ways very similar to Waiting for Godot (Tom Stoppard admitted that Beckett’s play was a major influence on his masterwork). LikeVladimir and Estragon, the play’s protagonists live in a world where their lives are devoid of any essential meaning. Unlike in Beckett’s play, however, the characters are constantly on the move. Far from giving them a purpose, constant motion only serves to underline the lack of purpose in their lives.
The aptly named Lucky, despite being a rather pathetic character, is lucky in that his life has a clear meaning. He exists and is content to serve his master, Pozzo, and therefore is not forced to wrestle with the existential questions that plague Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and most human beings. On the other hand, his position is not really enviable, because his lack of concern for the questions all other people face in trying to find meaning in the world infantilizes him (he cries on several occasion) and makes him more like an animal than a human being (Pozzo throws him bones like a dog).
The play begins with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern repeatedly flipping a coin. Ostensibly, they are gambling, seeing as whoever wins gets to keep the coin. However, their investment in the game is not really about material gain. A coin toss, provided that it works according to the ordinary laws of probability, underscores the world’s essential chaos and has disturbing implications for those who seek out meaning in their reality. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Stoppard chooses this as the game his characters indulge in at the beginning of the play. Oddly, however, Rosencrantz keeps winning the toss, implying that there are forces at work in the world of the play that go beyond simple chance.
It is for this and similar reasons that Guildenstern, the more thoughtful of the two protagonists, questions whether the two of them are inhabiting a parallel reality. Unlike in Waiting for Godot, the audience is aware that the two of them are in fact a part of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and therefore subject to that famous play’s narrative. Nevertheless, we can relate to the two baffled characters because we face similar questions in our own lives.
We can also relate to the characters frustration in being unable to grasp the meaning of their reality. Events are constantly happening on and off stage that baffle Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, causing even the former, who is initially more accepting of his ignorance, to voice his frustration. Even when Claudius provides the two of them with a mission, namely to discover the cause of Hamlet’s apparent insanity, they are not at peace. The fact that they constantly forget what they are supposed to be doing highlights their inability to grasp any essential meaning in their actions.
The Player seems to be aware of things that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not. For one thing, he seems to know that he and all of the other characters are inhabiting a play. On a deeper level, though, he comprehends the fact, according to Stoppard, that reality is a subjective phenomenon and that the only way to find true contentment is to recognize as such and “act natural.” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern struggle to follow this advice, constantly questioning their purpose and growing frustrated when they are unable to find it.
The only certainty in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is death. However, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot seem to come to terms with its inevitability. There is a certain dramatic irony in this, since audience members who have seen Hamlet are aware that the two characters are destined to die. In an example of theater mirroring reality, the tragedians perform a play, the Murder of Gonzago, which tells almost the exact story of Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, however, are unable to recognize themselves in the plot and regard the deaths of their characters with puzzlement. To them, death is something that must be experienced, and cannot be portrayed on stage. Even death, then, does not give life meaning, because is fundamentally unknowable.
In Equus, Alan Strang’s search for meaning leads him to behave in a way that society deems unacceptable. At the beginning of the play, we are introduced to Martin Dysart, a renowned psychiatrist who has helped many young men recover from mental illness. Dysart holds his career and his own abilities in high esteem, but is also uneasy with the possibility that he is robbing people of the quirks and beliefs that give their lives meaning.
Dysart’s uneasiness is compounded by his own inability to find meaning in his life. The doctor explains how he constantly reads books on the classics, particularly ancientGreece, because it provides a sense of spiritual resonance and meaning that is lacking in the modern world.
The modern world, defined by logic and practical pursuits, deprives the majority of human beings of the capacity to find their own meaning in life. Television, as Alan’s father Frank Strang points out, “takes something away.” This essential something is the innate ability of human beings to find their own meaning in life free from the ubiquitous presence of popular culture in the modern world.
Shaffer suggests that the forms of spiritual meaning that are present in the modern world are rather hollow in comparison to what existed in the pre-modern world. Like the products advertised on television, they are commodities, like the Jesus picture hanging on Alan’s Wall. Everything is provided, and individuals are not encouraged to seek their own spiritual meanings.
Alan, relatively free of such external influences as television and Christianity, fashions his own unique religion revolving around the horse god Equus. Dysart is envious of the boy because he finds his own spiritual meaning in the world rather than relying on the empty materials of the modern world. Alan’s personal religion brings him into conflict with mainstream society, founded as it is on an objective, universally accepted reality. Therefore, Dysart feels guilty at the prospect of depriving Alan of his unique spiritual meaning.
In Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, George and Nick come into conflict over the different ways they find meaning in the world. Nick is a highly logical, concrete person who sees the world in terms of what is tangible. His career consists of trying to improve the human genetic code, in the process taking away people’s “problems.” Nick is unable to differentiate between uniformity and perfection; to him, one necessarily includes the other. Because Nick takes a utilitarian approach to life, he is unbothered by the necessity of conforming to social expectations and is therefore disturbed by George and Martha’s display.
George, on the other hand, is suspicious of a mindset that discounts the unquantifiable “human element.” In his life, he refuses to compromise his individuality for the purpose of society’s version of success. This prevents him from taking advantage of his position as the son-in-law of the college president, a source of disappointment to his wife Martha. George finds humanity in the imperfection and flaws. Therefore, he is highly skeptical, even antagonistic at time towards Nick for wanting to make everyone “perfect” by ironing out the “problems” and eccentricities that makes them individuals and gives every life its own meaning.
3.
Oleanna, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, A Streetcar Named Desire, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
In Oleanna, David Mamet offers a harsh critique of contemporary standards governing relations between the sexes in society in general and academia in particular. Far from being in everyone’s interests, an excessively PC atmosphere makes it possible for women to level questionable allegations of sexual abuse, potentially ruining the lives and careers of men who are innocent, or at least not unambiguously guilty.
That being said, Mamet does not by any means excuse John’s behavior. For example, his offer to raise her grade from a failing one to an A if she continues to come to his office is suspect, as is his initiation of physical contact. However, Mamet leaves the question of whether sexual harassment has occurred up to the audience, casting serious doubt on the fairness of modern day standards for how men and women should behave.
John’s actions, while questionable, are by no means damning. It is conceivable that he really was just trying to comfort Carol and help her succeed in his class. Even if he does enjoy a too-comfortable relationship with a female student, this can easily stem from non-sexual factors. He claims that he can relate to Carol, as he too struggled with classes when he was in school and questioned his professors. This is a perfectly valid, if improbable, explanation.
Mamet does not portray John as guilty or innocent; Carol’s allegations may be valid. However, the playwright condemns an environment where there is a presumption of guilt for the alleged defender. John is not granted tenure (effectively forcing him to move on to a new institution, if that is even possible) and loses his wife based on mere suspicion and unsubstantiated claims. It is this presumption of guilt that hangs over all men accused of sexual abuse, abetted by feminism taken to the extreme, that Mamet takes issue with and causes the audience to doubt.
Oleanna is an extremely effective play because it raises uncomfortable questions about male-female interaction without providing easy answers. John’s guilt is left up to the audience, and it is plausible that Carol, given her serious concern with her grades, is an opportunistic climber willing to use her sexuality to get ahead without regard for the damage it does to a man.
In A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Mary and James Tyrone have a depressingly bad marriage. The former is bitter because the latter has never truly provided her with a “home,” somewhere she can consider her own, in favor of moving around constantly. This is exacerbated by the fact that Tyrone, a former stage actor, constantly acts in real life as well. His inability to be genuine is a source of endless frustration to Mary, who can see right through his charades.
James, for his part, is also not happy in their marriage. He cannot come to terms with the fact that his wife is addicted to morphine, and deals with it by pretending that everything is ok. He also cheats on her with at least one other woman. He loves his wife, but he is unable to show his love in a genuine way and so relies on artifice. Alcohol assists him in maintaining “the fog,” or his illusions of a happy family life.
George and Martha’s relationship in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is also fraught with tension. They are both unable to face their feelings towards each other, so they play a “game” of trying to get a rise out of each other. In doing so, they passively aggressively express their anger towards one another without truly acknowledging its source. Indeed, the play is named after Virginia Woolf, who focuses on getting inside the heads of her characters and capturing their emotional states and views on the world. George and Martha are both, metaphorically, afraid of Virginia Woolf because they are afraid of facing their own emotions. Martha is angry at George for not realizing his potential, and George resents Martha for judging him in this fashion. They both attempt (although only Martha succeeds) infidelity as the ultimate way of getting back at each other. They also create an artificial child to avoid facing the fact that they never really had one.
Nick and Honey put on a better show of civility, but they too display signs of avoiding the issues plaguing their marriage. Like Martha and George, they frequently rely on alcohol to manage their tensions. When Honey peels a label off of a jar in the bathroom, she is symbolically pulling the superficial label of “happy couple” off of her marriage. Nick’s dissatisfaction with his wife manifests itself when he cheats on his wife with Martha, a woman with intelligence and strong personality, which are the things that Honey lacks.
In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois relies on men for her own self-esteem. Stripped of all other power, such as the weight of her southern lineage and the money that came with it, the only power left to her is her sexuality. She is so reliant on men that she ends up getting into trouble for sleeping with an underage boy. She is also unable to find true love because her original husband ended up being a closeted homosexual who killed himself when Blanche confronted him about it.
Blanche is attracted to her sister Stella’s husband Stanley Kowalski because he possesses a certain animal quality that more refined men lack. The two of them are unable to resist each other’s charms and end up having sex. However, unwilling to allow Blanche to destroy their marriage, Stanley and Stella have her shipped off to a mental institution for a lobotomy. Stanleyalso spares his friend Mitch from having his heart broken by the promiscuous Blanche, who tries to project a false image of modesty and innocence to the world.
4.
Fences, Crimes of the Heart, The Price and Blood Wedding portray the problems that arise in the relationships between different generations. In all of these plays, the vastly different world’s in which the characters grew up affect their interactions in the present.
In Fences,Troy constantly clashes with his sons because he cannot reconcile the present day with the past.Troy grew up during a time period in which Blacks were discriminated against and forced to endure segregation from the rest of society. As a young man,Troy’s ambition was to become a major league baseball star. However, he was unable to do so because, at the time, African Americans were forced to compete in the separate Negro leagues.
Corey, on the other hand, comes of age in the 1950s. The following decade, the Civil Rights Act would be passed, ending segregation and providing African Americans with legal (if not actual) equality. Even then, change is clearly in the air. Professional football and baseball have been integrated, meaning that Blacks and Whites can play on the same teams. Corey, like his father, dreams of being a professional athlete, albeit a football player rather than a baseball player.
When he quits his job at the local A&P in order to devote himself fully to his football and get the attention of talent scouts,Troystrongly disapproves. He claims that he does not want his son’s dreams to be crushed like his were, and that Cory would do better to keep his current job. There is some legitimacy toTroy’s stated ambivalence, but he also harbors more selfish reasons.Troycannot accept that Cory has a real shot at success in the NFL because doing so would also force him to acknowledge that the world has changed and that his own ambitions were crushed by nothing more than the circumstances of a time period. Tragically,Troy’s doubts can only become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Troywas also shaped by his relationship with his father. He became a man by rebelling against his abusive parent and learned independence when he ran away from home. Bono grew up without a present father and was therefore afraid to have his own children based on the fear that he would inherit his father’s “walking blues.”
In Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart, the three sisters at the center of the play, Lenny, Meg and Babe are emotionally stunted by their needy, manipulative “granddaddy.” Although not yet deceased, the ailing old man never appears in the play. His presence, however, is constantly felt, and he comes across as a rather complex character in his own right. On the one hand, he is to be admired for taking care of the three sisters when their parents are no longer around. The sisters’ father ran out on the family when they were still little girls, sending their mother into a deep depression that culminated in her suicide by hanging. After her death, granddaddy comforted his granddaughters by taking them for milkshakes. This charming, heartwarming anecdote allows us to see why the daughters love their granddaddy so much.
Alas, he is also a tyrannical and harmful presence in their lives. In his old age, he relies on Lenny for constant care and companionship, holding her back from living a life of her own. He does so in a highly manipulative fashion, telling Lenny that no man will ever want her because of her defective ovary and lack of good looks. In doing so, granddaddy provides an insecure Lenny with an excuse to avoid meeting men.
Meg’s relationship with granddaddy is also unhealthy. He seems to appreciate her exclusively for her singing voice and looks rather than knowing her on a deeper level. The pressure on Meg is so strong that she continues to tell granddaddy that she sings even though she has given it up years ago. This is a source of immense, crippling guilt to her. Without a paternal figure who loves her for who she is, Meg seeks approval from an endless number of men and her promiscuity causes her to lose respect for herself.
Similarly, in Arthur Miller’s The Price, siblings Victor and Walter Franz are haunted by the presence of their father. Having fallen ill when the brothers were young men, Victor stayed home to take care of the old man and Walter went on to pursue his own interests. Devoting much of his time to caring for his father, Victor did not live his own life to the fullest, working a police officer rather than getting a high-paying job. alter, on the other hand, became a renowned surgeon, making lots of money and living a luxurious life.
Forced back together by circumstances (to dispose of some “junk”), Victor and Walter come into conflict as a result of their past. Victor is bitter towards and envious of his brother for not having done his share in caring for their father. Walter, however, is convinced that Victor only used caring for their father as an excuse not to pursue his own ambitions. The two brothers cannot overcome the legacy of the previous generation, embodied in their father, which had a profound effect on how they lived their lives as adults.
In Lorca’s Blood Wedding, the grievances of a past generation destroy the lives of the new one. The Groom and Leonardo must hate each other because the latter’s family members killed the brother and father of the former. The bridegroom’s mother and the bride’s father want their children married despite a lack of love between them because they want to join their properties together. The significance of past generations also manifests itself in the characters’ attachment to the land on which they live. It is not merely soil and grass, but their family history given physical form.
Final Examination - Works Under Discussion ... Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Equus, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Fences, Crimes of the Heart, The Price, Blood Wedding, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Oleanna
Part 1
1. A bitter Willy claiming that despite the fact that Al was a great performer, no one could stand him as a person.
2. Babe in Crimes of the Heart, regarding the reason for momma’s suicide by hanging
3. The Player to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, on how to conduct oneself in a world that is confusing and where identity is fluid.
4. Rose to her husbandTroy, on allowing their son Corey to fulfill his dream of playing football and, in the process, fight against the forces of discrimination inAmerica.
5. The player to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, on wanting them to stay to watch him and his fellow actors perform.
Part IB
1. Willy objected to Al’s retirement because there act was a two-man show and he personally was not ready to retire. He felt that Al was leaving him behind.
2. Momma hung the cat alongside her. Babe speculated that it was because she did not want to die alone.
3. Galloping is a spiritual experience for Alan. It allows him to be closer to Equus, the god embodied in all horses.
4. Because it is a right that African Americans were not permitted. It reflected society’s prejudice andTroywas struck by the injustice of the situation.
5. “The Group” is the politically correct, feminist organization that Carol is a part of. It assists in preventing John from getting tenure.
Extra Credit
1. Willy
2.
3. Smith and Dale
Part II
Essay 2
Waiting for Godot, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, Equus and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf are very different plays, but they all heavily involve the search for meaning in a world where it is often hard to find. Sometimes this key theme comes up in conversation among characters, and sometimes it is conveyed by the playwright’s use of certain literary devices. Regardless, we are encouraged to perceive reality, if it even exists, as something that is not always obvious or desirable.
Of al the aforementioned four plays, Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett is perhaps the most overtly concerned with the search for meaning. Never does the playwright let us in on the exact nature of the mysterious entity known as Godot, but we can infer based on his protagonist’s inability to function until he arrives that he will provide them with some kind of direction. As things stand, waiting for him seems to be the only purpose that the characters have in life.
Vladimirand Estragon wind up in many comical situations, but the play is fundamentally unsettling. Its lack of a traditional narrative or backstory places us in a situation where we must work hard to make sense of what is on stage. In doing so, Beckett places us in a similar situation to the characters. Our search for meaning in the play parallelsVladimirand Estragon’s search for meaning in their lives, causing us to ponder deep existential questions without asking them explicitly.
At numerous points throughout the play,Vladimirand Estragon, individual and together, consider abandoning their constant vigil. However, they prove unwilling or incapable of doing so, because it would entail giving up the only meaning in their lives. Estragon briefly contemplates hanging himself to escape the agony of waiting, but decides that doing so would be pointless, and since they have waited so long already they might as well keep at it.
The protagonists’ only source of comfort in their futile search for meaning is each other’s company.Vladimirconstantly complains about his companion’s stupidity, but when Estragon actually considers leaving he convinces him to stay. In a way, their companionship gives their lives meaning. Even as they remain ignorant of Godot’s true nature throughout the play, they find a certain kind of meaning in their own interactions.
The search for meaning also lies at the heart of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, which is in many ways very similar to Waiting for Godot (Tom Stoppard admitted that Beckett’s play was a major influence on his masterwork). LikeVladimir and Estragon, the play’s protagonists live in a world where their lives are devoid of any essential meaning. Unlike in Beckett’s play, however, the characters are constantly on the move. Far from giving them a purpose, constant motion only serves to underline the lack of purpose in their lives.
The aptly named Lucky, despite being a rather pathetic character, is lucky in that his life has a clear meaning. He exists and is content to serve his master, Pozzo, and therefore is not forced to wrestle with the existential questions that plague Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and most human beings. On the other hand, his position is not really enviable, because his lack of concern for the questions all other people face in trying to find meaning in the world infantilizes him (he cries on several occasion) and makes him more like an animal than a human being (Pozzo throws him bones like a dog).
The play begins with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern repeatedly flipping a coin. Ostensibly, they are gambling, seeing as whoever wins gets to keep the coin. However, their investment in the game is not really about material gain. A coin toss, provided that it works according to the ordinary laws of probability, underscores the world’s essential chaos and has disturbing implications for those who seek out meaning in their reality. Therefore, it is no coincidence that Stoppard chooses this as the game his characters indulge in at the beginning of the play. Oddly, however, Rosencrantz keeps winning the toss, implying that there are forces at work in the world of the play that go beyond simple chance.
It is for this and similar reasons that Guildenstern, the more thoughtful of the two protagonists, questions whether the two of them are inhabiting a parallel reality. Unlike in Waiting for Godot, the audience is aware that the two of them are in fact a part of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and therefore subject to that famous play’s narrative. Nevertheless, we can relate to the two baffled characters because we face similar questions in our own lives.
We can also relate to the characters frustration in being unable to grasp the meaning of their reality. Events are constantly happening on and off stage that baffle Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, causing even the former, who is initially more accepting of his ignorance, to voice his frustration. Even when Claudius provides the two of them with a mission, namely to discover the cause of Hamlet’s apparent insanity, they are not at peace. The fact that they constantly forget what they are supposed to be doing highlights their inability to grasp any essential meaning in their actions.
The Player seems to be aware of things that Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are not. For one thing, he seems to know that he and all of the other characters are inhabiting a play. On a deeper level, though, he comprehends the fact, according to Stoppard, that reality is a subjective phenomenon and that the only way to find true contentment is to recognize as such and “act natural.” Rosencrantz and Guildenstern struggle to follow this advice, constantly questioning their purpose and growing frustrated when they are unable to find it.
The only certainty in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is death. However, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern cannot seem to come to terms with its inevitability. There is a certain dramatic irony in this, since audience members who have seen Hamlet are aware that the two characters are destined to die. In an example of theater mirroring reality, the tragedians perform a play, the Murder of Gonzago, which tells almost the exact story of Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, however, are unable to recognize themselves in the plot and regard the deaths of their characters with puzzlement. To them, death is something that must be experienced, and cannot be portrayed on stage. Even death, then, does not give life meaning, because is fundamentally unknowable.
In Equus, Alan Strang’s search for meaning leads him to behave in a way that society deems unacceptable. At the beginning of the play, we are introduced to Martin Dysart, a renowned psychiatrist who has helped many young men recover from mental illness. Dysart holds his career and his own abilities in high esteem, but is also uneasy with the possibility that he is robbing people of the quirks and beliefs that give their lives meaning.
Dysart’s uneasiness is compounded by his own inability to find meaning in his life. The doctor explains how he constantly reads books on the classics, particularly ancientGreece, because it provides a sense of spiritual resonance and meaning that is lacking in the modern world.
The modern world, defined by logic and practical pursuits, deprives the majority of human beings of the capacity to find their own meaning in life. Television, as Alan’s father Frank Strang points out, “takes something away.” This essential something is the innate ability of human beings to find their own meaning in life free from the ubiquitous presence of popular culture in the modern world.
Shaffer suggests that the forms of spiritual meaning that are present in the modern world are rather hollow in comparison to what existed in the pre-modern world. Like the products advertised on television, they are commodities, like the Jesus picture hanging on Alan’s Wall. Everything is provided, and individuals are not encouraged to seek their own spiritual meanings.
Alan, relatively free of such external influences as television and Christianity, fashions his own unique religion revolving around the horse god Equus. Dysart is envious of the boy because he finds his own spiritual meaning in the world rather than relying on the empty materials of the modern world. Alan’s personal religion brings him into conflict with mainstream society, founded as it is on an objective, universally accepted reality. Therefore, Dysart feels guilty at the prospect of depriving Alan of his unique spiritual meaning.
In Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, George and Nick come into conflict over the different ways they find meaning in the world. Nick is a highly logical, concrete person who sees the world in terms of what is tangible. His career consists of trying to improve the human genetic code, in the process taking away people’s “problems.” Nick is unable to differentiate between uniformity and perfection; to him, one necessarily includes the other. Because Nick takes a utilitarian approach to life, he is unbothered by the necessity of conforming to social expectations and is therefore disturbed by George and Martha’s display.
George, on the other hand, is suspicious of a mindset that discounts the unquantifiable “human element.” In his life, he refuses to compromise his individuality for the purpose of society’s version of success. This prevents him from taking advantage of his position as the son-in-law of the college president, a source of disappointment to his wife Martha. George finds humanity in the imperfection and flaws. Therefore, he is highly skeptical, even antagonistic at time towards Nick for wanting to make everyone “perfect” by ironing out the “problems” and eccentricities that makes them individuals and gives every life its own meaning.
3.
Oleanna, A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, A Streetcar Named Desire, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf
In Oleanna, David Mamet offers a harsh critique of contemporary standards governing relations between the sexes in society in general and academia in particular. Far from being in everyone’s interests, an excessively PC atmosphere makes it possible for women to level questionable allegations of sexual abuse, potentially ruining the lives and careers of men who are innocent, or at least not unambiguously guilty.
That being said, Mamet does not by any means excuse John’s behavior. For example, his offer to raise her grade from a failing one to an A if she continues to come to his office is suspect, as is his initiation of physical contact. However, Mamet leaves the question of whether sexual harassment has occurred up to the audience, casting serious doubt on the fairness of modern day standards for how men and women should behave.
John’s actions, while questionable, are by no means damning. It is conceivable that he really was just trying to comfort Carol and help her succeed in his class. Even if he does enjoy a too-comfortable relationship with a female student, this can easily stem from non-sexual factors. He claims that he can relate to Carol, as he too struggled with classes when he was in school and questioned his professors. This is a perfectly valid, if improbable, explanation.
Mamet does not portray John as guilty or innocent; Carol’s allegations may be valid. However, the playwright condemns an environment where there is a presumption of guilt for the alleged defender. John is not granted tenure (effectively forcing him to move on to a new institution, if that is even possible) and loses his wife based on mere suspicion and unsubstantiated claims. It is this presumption of guilt that hangs over all men accused of sexual abuse, abetted by feminism taken to the extreme, that Mamet takes issue with and causes the audience to doubt.
Oleanna is an extremely effective play because it raises uncomfortable questions about male-female interaction without providing easy answers. John’s guilt is left up to the audience, and it is plausible that Carol, given her serious concern with her grades, is an opportunistic climber willing to use her sexuality to get ahead without regard for the damage it does to a man.
In A Long Day’s Journey Into Night, Mary and James Tyrone have a depressingly bad marriage. The former is bitter because the latter has never truly provided her with a “home,” somewhere she can consider her own, in favor of moving around constantly. This is exacerbated by the fact that Tyrone, a former stage actor, constantly acts in real life as well. His inability to be genuine is a source of endless frustration to Mary, who can see right through his charades.
James, for his part, is also not happy in their marriage. He cannot come to terms with the fact that his wife is addicted to morphine, and deals with it by pretending that everything is ok. He also cheats on her with at least one other woman. He loves his wife, but he is unable to show his love in a genuine way and so relies on artifice. Alcohol assists him in maintaining “the fog,” or his illusions of a happy family life.
George and Martha’s relationship in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf is also fraught with tension. They are both unable to face their feelings towards each other, so they play a “game” of trying to get a rise out of each other. In doing so, they passively aggressively express their anger towards one another without truly acknowledging its source. Indeed, the play is named after Virginia Woolf, who focuses on getting inside the heads of her characters and capturing their emotional states and views on the world. George and Martha are both, metaphorically, afraid of Virginia Woolf because they are afraid of facing their own emotions. Martha is angry at George for not realizing his potential, and George resents Martha for judging him in this fashion. They both attempt (although only Martha succeeds) infidelity as the ultimate way of getting back at each other. They also create an artificial child to avoid facing the fact that they never really had one.
Nick and Honey put on a better show of civility, but they too display signs of avoiding the issues plaguing their marriage. Like Martha and George, they frequently rely on alcohol to manage their tensions. When Honey peels a label off of a jar in the bathroom, she is symbolically pulling the superficial label of “happy couple” off of her marriage. Nick’s dissatisfaction with his wife manifests itself when he cheats on his wife with Martha, a woman with intelligence and strong personality, which are the things that Honey lacks.
In Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire, Blanche Dubois relies on men for her own self-esteem. Stripped of all other power, such as the weight of her southern lineage and the money that came with it, the only power left to her is her sexuality. She is so reliant on men that she ends up getting into trouble for sleeping with an underage boy. She is also unable to find true love because her original husband ended up being a closeted homosexual who killed himself when Blanche confronted him about it.
Blanche is attracted to her sister Stella’s husband Stanley Kowalski because he possesses a certain animal quality that more refined men lack. The two of them are unable to resist each other’s charms and end up having sex. However, unwilling to allow Blanche to destroy their marriage, Stanley and Stella have her shipped off to a mental institution for a lobotomy. Stanleyalso spares his friend Mitch from having his heart broken by the promiscuous Blanche, who tries to project a false image of modesty and innocence to the world.
4.
Fences, Crimes of the Heart, The Price and Blood Wedding portray the problems that arise in the relationships between different generations. In all of these plays, the vastly different world’s in which the characters grew up affect their interactions in the present.
In Fences,Troy constantly clashes with his sons because he cannot reconcile the present day with the past.Troy grew up during a time period in which Blacks were discriminated against and forced to endure segregation from the rest of society. As a young man,Troy’s ambition was to become a major league baseball star. However, he was unable to do so because, at the time, African Americans were forced to compete in the separate Negro leagues.
Corey, on the other hand, comes of age in the 1950s. The following decade, the Civil Rights Act would be passed, ending segregation and providing African Americans with legal (if not actual) equality. Even then, change is clearly in the air. Professional football and baseball have been integrated, meaning that Blacks and Whites can play on the same teams. Corey, like his father, dreams of being a professional athlete, albeit a football player rather than a baseball player.
When he quits his job at the local A&P in order to devote himself fully to his football and get the attention of talent scouts,Troystrongly disapproves. He claims that he does not want his son’s dreams to be crushed like his were, and that Cory would do better to keep his current job. There is some legitimacy toTroy’s stated ambivalence, but he also harbors more selfish reasons.Troycannot accept that Cory has a real shot at success in the NFL because doing so would also force him to acknowledge that the world has changed and that his own ambitions were crushed by nothing more than the circumstances of a time period. Tragically,Troy’s doubts can only become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Troywas also shaped by his relationship with his father. He became a man by rebelling against his abusive parent and learned independence when he ran away from home. Bono grew up without a present father and was therefore afraid to have his own children based on the fear that he would inherit his father’s “walking blues.”
In Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart, the three sisters at the center of the play, Lenny, Meg and Babe are emotionally stunted by their needy, manipulative “granddaddy.” Although not yet deceased, the ailing old man never appears in the play. His presence, however, is constantly felt, and he comes across as a rather complex character in his own right. On the one hand, he is to be admired for taking care of the three sisters when their parents are no longer around. The sisters’ father ran out on the family when they were still little girls, sending their mother into a deep depression that culminated in her suicide by hanging. After her death, granddaddy comforted his granddaughters by taking them for milkshakes. This charming, heartwarming anecdote allows us to see why the daughters love their granddaddy so much.
Alas, he is also a tyrannical and harmful presence in their lives. In his old age, he relies on Lenny for constant care and companionship, holding her back from living a life of her own. He does so in a highly manipulative fashion, telling Lenny that no man will ever want her because of her defective ovary and lack of good looks. In doing so, granddaddy provides an insecure Lenny with an excuse to avoid meeting men.
Meg’s relationship with granddaddy is also unhealthy. He seems to appreciate her exclusively for her singing voice and looks rather than knowing her on a deeper level. The pressure on Meg is so strong that she continues to tell granddaddy that she sings even though she has given it up years ago. This is a source of immense, crippling guilt to her. Without a paternal figure who loves her for who she is, Meg seeks approval from an endless number of men and her promiscuity causes her to lose respect for herself.
Similarly, in Arthur Miller’s The Price, siblings Victor and Walter Franz are haunted by the presence of their father. Having fallen ill when the brothers were young men, Victor stayed home to take care of the old man and Walter went on to pursue his own interests. Devoting much of his time to caring for his father, Victor did not live his own life to the fullest, working a police officer rather than getting a high-paying job. alter, on the other hand, became a renowned surgeon, making lots of money and living a luxurious life.
Forced back together by circumstances (to dispose of some “junk”), Victor and Walter come into conflict as a result of their past. Victor is bitter towards and envious of his brother for not having done his share in caring for their father. Walter, however, is convinced that Victor only used caring for their father as an excuse not to pursue his own ambitions. The two brothers cannot overcome the legacy of the previous generation, embodied in their father, which had a profound effect on how they lived their lives as adults.
In Lorca’s Blood Wedding, the grievances of a past generation destroy the lives of the new one. The Groom and Leonardo must hate each other because the latter’s family members killed the brother and father of the former. The bridegroom’s mother and the bride’s father want their children married despite a lack of love between them because they want to join their properties together. The significance of past generations also manifests itself in the characters’ attachment to the land on which they live. It is not merely soil and grass, but their family history given physical form.