2007, Vol.20, No.2

Journal of Modern English Drama 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 0.11

pISSN : 1226-3397
https://journal.kci.go.kr/medak

Kim, YungdukShepard has openly expressed his fascination with American cowboys, and his True West (1980) represents the frontier myth as an integral part of American life. Focusing on America's concept of the cowboy, the play dramatizes the American male quest for masculinity marked by rugged individualism and independence. Shepard's male characters cherish fantasies of freedom and adventure, and of escape from familial responsibilities and from strictures of civilization, but their pursuit of the idealized cowboy life results in adolescent sibling rivalry and male violence. Their "acting out" of cowboy masculinity shows that it is not an essence but a performance whereby they repeat the ideals of the American cowboy. The mythical American West cannot be materialized in the present, nor can it be embodied in a living cowboy. In Shepard's play, cowboys/fathers as role models are either dead or absent; the brothers in the final tableau end up getting lost in a vast empty space, alienated both from the idealized past of the frontier and from the present wasteland of the city. Cowboy masculinity becomes simply one of the American mythologies that fails to give male characters any stable identity. They are fractured subjects shifting in their masculine pursuits and performances. In this seemingly male-oriented play, Shepard demythisizes the myth of the West and in so doing deconstructs cowboy masculinity.

Nam, JanghyunDuring his life, Harold Pinter experienced angst and frustration when subjugated by different bodies of authority and control prevalent within society. Such was his reaction to such experiences, he used his play writing skills to convey the notion that any member of society, at no matter what level they are, can become the target of intimidation, control and fear from authoritarian institutions.In The Birthday Party, this idea is first blatantly depicted by the character Stanley who is brutally assaulted by representatives of some control-centric institution that he has tried to break away from and resist, and then, more subtly by allowing every other character to become a victim at some level. By analyzing the dynamics of the storyline, it becomes clear that the everyday normality we all take for granted can be turned on its head as we become prey to those who might seek to control us. Pinter constructs things in such a way as to allow the audience to identify with this concept to such an extent that they can feel the impact of change suffered by the different characters. Towards the end, we see that the principal predatory character loses their confidence and authority to some degree and are able to relate this to Pinter's view that authority cannot endure indefinitely and may itself fall prey to others.

Lee, Young-JooEver since its premiere in 1965, Harold Pinter's The Homecoming has puzzled the audience and critics with its shocking and bewildering elements. This paper is intended to interpret the embarrassing world of The Homecoming within the context of traditional dramatic comedy itself. In The Homecoming Pinter creates the life affirmative comic vision by achieving a social movement from Max's home to Ruth's home. At the beginning of the play, we confront a society, Max's home, filled with mutual indifference, isolation, and hostility and these blocking elements threaten the comic vision. None of Max's family members celebrates life or makes us feel the joy of the life affirmative comic vision. However, as the play develops, the obstructing elements are gradually eliminated and Max's conflicting and rigid society/home changes into Ruth's new society/home by virtue of Ruth's acceptance of a life of prostitution. In Ruth's newly formed home the negative forces of Max's home are replaced with the positive forces such as love and togetherness. They abandon their obsessions and reveal their real selves in order to be faithful to their true natures because Ruth's new home is a fantastic world of comedy where the standard morality and social values do not matter and only freedom exists. With her puzzling behavior Ruth is introducing us to a realm of fantasy where we can experience this freedom along with her. So, following the tenacious structural principles of comedy, Pinter successfully attains the triumph of the life affirmative comic vision.Key Words comedy, comic spirit, comic vision, Harold Pinter, The Homecoming, Northrop Frye, a social movement