Cultural Conflict in the Plays of Eugene O’Neill

 

by

Ruchi Agarwal

ISBN 978-93-91984-95-3

pp.: 144

Price: Rs. 400.00

also available at amazon.in 

Eugene O’Neill’s plays often explore the complexities of cultural conflicts, portraying the clashes between different social classes, ethnicities and personal values. He presented characters of different races like Negro, Swedish, Irish etc. with remarkable workmanship. His characters grapple with issues of identity, belongingness and the tensions arising from different cultural backgrounds. Whether it’s the struggles of an Irish-American family in Long Days Journey into Night or the clash between tradition and modernity in The Hairy Ape, O’Neill’s work delves deeply into the struggles of individuals caught in the throes of cultural conflict. The present work attempts to highlight, how Eugene O’Neill treated racial and cultural conflict to produce such ever time great and classic tragedies.

Dr. Ruchi Agarwal is an Assistant Professor in English, Sahu Ram Swaroop Mahila Mahavidyalaya, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. She completed her research on American Dramatist Eugene O'Neill in 2005. Her research papers and articles on Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, V.S. Naipaul, Nayantara Sahgal, etc. are published in journals and books. Her area of interest is Indian English Literature and modern British Literature.

CONTENTS:

Introduction

Race Relationship As A Source of Tragedy

Negro Versus White

Irish Versus White

Technique and Workmanship

Conclusion

Appendix: Marginalization in American Society with special reference to Eugene O’Neill’s Major Black Characters

Bibliography