In 1918, Eugene O’Neill advocated a life within reality. Living outside reality, he sees as destructive. With this in mind, he wrote Beyond the Horizon. One of his later plays, Desire under the Elms, reverts in character to Beyond the Horizon, though it exhibits a fine progress in solidity and finish. Desire under the Elms is the last of O’Neill’s naturalistic plays and the first in which he re-created the starkness of Greek tragedy. The play involves O’Neill’s own family conflicts and Freudian treatment of sexual themes.Beyond the Horizon is O’Neill’s first major statement of the theme of self-deception, pipe dreams and life-lies, resulting out of passion and desire. At this point of his career, O’Neill believed that one must engage in the quest to find the ultimate meaning of life, to discover the mysterious behind-life force that lies just beyond the horizon. To his mind this was in fact the pursuit of a goal. Further in his career as a playwright, he begins to believe that just having a dream that can survive through time is more important than having a dream that is attainable or the pursuit of a dream.
In Beyond the Horizon, Eugene O’Neill dramatizes the conflict of the opposing ideals of adventure and security, emotion and ratio, embodied in the two brothers, Robert and Andrew. O’Neill identifies himself with the lead character, Robert Mayo whereas he compares Roberts brother Andrew to his brother Jamie. Both brothers represent two parts, the poetic, emotional dreamer and the rational down-to-earth farmer. During the play, both brothers give up their desires and passions; one of them flees into materialism, the other into a world of pipe dreams. When O’Neill wrote Beyond the Horizon, he was only able to see and to tolerate the emotional level of behaving and acting; in other words: rationalism. That is, in his point of view, something negative, which must be prevented. But his opinion changes: in 1924, he tolerates that motif although he still neither likes it nor considers it as a good value. The emotional way of behaving still overweighs in Desire under the Elms but there can also be found a profound way of rationalism in the behaviour of his protagonists. This change of O’Neill’s opinion comes out clearly in the characterisation of Abbie Putnam, who changes from rationalism to emotionalism. The fact that O’Neill changes his point of view made him a child of his time. [...]
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- Introduction
- Without desires, man could not exist
- The motif of desire in Beyond the Horizon
- The motif of desire in Desire under the Elms
- Blinded by the force of passion
- Passion in Beyond the Horizon
- Passion in Desire under the Elms
- The love triangle – the catalyst of failure
- Love, desire and passion - an attempt of a final comparison
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This paper compares Eugene O'Neill's Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms, focusing on the roles of desire and passion in shaping the characters' destinies. It examines how the characters' pursuit or denial of their desires and passions impacts their lives and relationships.
- The role of desire in shaping human destiny
- The contrasting forces of emotion and rationality
- The consequences of fulfilling or denying desires
- The impact of passion on character development
- A comparison of character development across the two plays
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
Introduction: This introduction sets the stage for a comparative analysis of O'Neill's Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms. It highlights O'Neill's evolving views on realism and the contrasting themes of self-deception and the pursuit of unattainable dreams present in both plays. The introduction establishes the core focus on desire and passion as driving forces in the characters' actions and their ultimate fates, emphasizing the shift in O'Neill's perspective from a preference for rationalism in his earlier work to a more nuanced understanding of the interplay between emotion and rationality in his later plays. The paper's structure is outlined, promising an exploration of desire, passion, and the characters' relationships in both plays.
Without desires, man could not exist: This section delves into the crucial role of desire in O'Neill's plays. It argues that characters' desires, whether fulfilled or denied, fundamentally shape their lives and destinies. The analysis contrasts the desires of Robert and Andrew Mayo in Beyond the Horizon. Andrew's contentment with a secure farm life contrasts sharply with Robert's yearning for adventure, highlighting how different desires lead to drastically different life paths. Andrew's eventual abandonment of his desires and retreat into materialism is juxtaposed with Robert's pursuit of an unattainable dream. The chapter underscores that the pursuit of, or the denial of, desire leads to distinct consequences, suggesting a complex relationship between personal fulfillment and the choices one makes based on their desires.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
Eugene O'Neill, Beyond the Horizon, Desire under the Elms, desire, passion, self-deception, realism, rationalism, emotion, dreams, destiny, character development, family conflict.
Eugene O'Neill's Plays: A Comparative Analysis of Desire and Passion - FAQ
What is the main focus of this paper?
This paper compares Eugene O'Neill's plays, Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms, focusing on the roles of desire and passion in shaping the characters' destinies. It examines how the characters' pursuit or denial of their desires and passions impacts their lives and relationships.
What are the key themes explored in the paper?
The key themes include the role of desire in shaping human destiny, the contrasting forces of emotion and rationality, the consequences of fulfilling or denying desires, the impact of passion on character development, and a comparison of character development across the two plays.
What plays are compared in this analysis?
The analysis compares Eugene O'Neill's Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms.
What is the structure of the paper?
The paper includes an introduction, sections analyzing the role of desire in both plays, a section focusing on passion, a section examining the love triangle as a catalyst for failure, and a final section comparing love, desire, and passion. It also includes chapter summaries and keywords.
How does the paper analyze the role of desire?
The paper argues that characters' desires, whether fulfilled or denied, fundamentally shape their lives and destinies. It contrasts the desires of different characters in both plays, showing how different desires lead to drastically different life paths and consequences.
What is the significance of the love triangle in the plays?
The paper identifies the love triangle as a significant catalyst for failure in the characters' lives, impacting their relationships and destinies.
How does the paper compare and contrast the two plays?
The paper compares and contrasts the character development, the roles of desire and passion, and the ultimate consequences of the characters' choices in both Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms, highlighting the evolution of O'Neill's themes and perspectives.
What are some of the keywords associated with this analysis?
Keywords include Eugene O'Neill, Beyond the Horizon, Desire under the Elms, desire, passion, self-deception, realism, rationalism, emotion, dreams, destiny, character development, and family conflict.
What is the conclusion of the analysis?
While not explicitly stated as a separate conclusion, the overall analysis suggests a complex interplay between desire, passion, rationality, and the shaping of human destiny, as demonstrated through the contrasting characters and their fates in O'Neill's two plays.
What is the purpose of the chapter summaries?
The chapter summaries provide a concise overview of the key arguments and analyses presented in each section of the paper, offering a structured understanding of the comparative analysis of O'Neill's plays.
- Quote paper
- Nadine Kröschel (Author), 2003, Of desire and passion - A comparison between Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/56731
