The tragic consequences of societal and cultural memory: William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller.

摘要

This dissertation argues that tragedy occurs not to a great man or a common man, but to the family left behind to confront the societal and cultural implications of the manipulated memories they have inherited. Using Chris Hedge's book War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning, I investigate how storytelling and legacy are passed along to family members who have been affected by war. Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus and Miller's All My Sons suddenly seem very similar: both plays have fathers who lost sons, which is tragic in itself. The deeper psychological tragedy occurs, however, as the fathers, in order to preserve their own sense of honor and familial responsibilities, create false memories or manipulate current memories, thereby causing irreparable fractures in their family lives.; Chapter two, "16th-Century British Drama and Post-World War II American Drama: Tensions and Tragedy," suggests cultural links between the two time periods: a history of civil war, insecurities felt by Elizabeth's court and by the American public, intellectual and religious debates, patriotism providing a facade of unity, and the idea that wealth and consumerism become the focus of tragic drama in an effort to express the negative effects these national and international anxieties have on individual families.; Chapters three and four provide detailed comparative analyses of plays by William Shakespeare and Arthur Miller. "Memories of Yesterday and Tomorrow: Familial Legacies in Titus and All My Sons" focuses on post-war families and how memories are manipulated to preserve honor or to alter the families' and/or societies' version of history. "King Lear and Willy Loman: Fear of Displacement in their Illusory Worlds" explores the fear of failure that parents experience and why that fear compels them to create fabrications for their children.; The final chapter, "The Role of Tragedy: A Family Affair," asks that audiences view tragedies from a family-centered perspective rather than a protagonist-centered one. This perspective requires a cultural materialist approach, which intermingles past and present and links materialism to sociological situations. If we make these associations, we might be better able to connect our interpretations to a wider society and to the human family.