The Theme Of Alienation In The Iceman Cometh And Long Day's Journey Into Night

Eugene O'Neill is regarded as the "the father of American drama." As a serious writer with conscience and responsibility,O'Neill could not ignore the insufferable existential situation of modern people from the end of 19^th century to the beginning of 20^th century when modern people suffered crisis and plight.He is quite concerned about their emotional desire,the depravation of their integrity,the distortion of their personality, and loss of soul which resulted in hostility towards society,separation from nature,antagonism towards life,indifference between individuals, and strangeness towards themselves.The Iceman Cometh and Long Day's Journey into Night are both autobiographic.They display the alienation,frustration and destruction in the modern world better than O'Neill's other plays and explicitly reveal O'Neill's deep concern about the existence of the human being.They give a vivid description of the cultural loss,the smashup of man's ideal, the loss of subjectivity and dehumanization.Many critics and scholars have done vast research on the two plays from different perspectives such as the dramatic techniques, psychoanalysis and feminist approach.However,little research has been done to comprehensively explore the theme of alienation in the two plays. This thesis adopts the theory of alienation from both Marxism and Existentialism in order to explore the alienated situation in terms of four aspects:alienation from the outside world;alienation from the Other; alienation from the self;and alienation and the meaning of life. Besides the introduction and conclusion,this thesis includes four chapters.Chapter One mainly elaborates the alienation from the outside world by presenting the physical and spiritual separation and the loss of social identity.Chapter Two elucidates the alienation from the Other by analyzing the hostility between people and the reified interpersonal relationship.Chapter Three demonstrates the alienation from the self concerning the alienation from the species being,bad faith and failure of transcendence.Chapter Four points out O'Neill's deep concern about the existence of the human being and his exploration of the meaning of life. However,O'Neill's ultimate purpose does not lie in the revelation of many manifestations of alienation.What he tries to do is to explore the meaning of life under the cover of alienation.His tone is not one of despair but one of hope.His ultimate message is life rather than death.