Both tried to spread their influence and divided the world into two hostile groups. Capitalism and Communism are usually seen as antithetical, and it can be argued that the Cold War began when Communism began, in 1 917 with the Russian Revolution. Or, if not quite in 1917, then in early 1 sass, when Lenin and his Bolsheviks consolidated their power in Russia and tried to spread Communism to the West, to Europe on the blade of their swords-?although they were rather quickly unsuccessful, being defeated by the Poles in the Polish-Soviet War.
Another commonly argued cause of the Cold War is, fittingly enough, the beginning of World War II in Europe. The Soviet Union, now under Stalin, had signed a secret pact with Germany’s Hitler, and both countries attacked Poland. However, the most popular cause of the Cold War was not the beginning, but the end of World War II. Stalin, after being betrayed by Hitler in 1941, finished the war on the Allied side, but the tensions between the victorious Western Powers and the USSR were already in evidence. The USSR was gobbling up the countries East of Germany, and art of Germany itself, which made the Americans and British somewhat hesitant.
The British feared too strong a Soviet presence in Europe and the Americans wanted a free and open Germany which would become a large market for its products. The Soviets stood in the way to both. In fact, American General George Patton once famously remarked that when the Americans had gotten to Berlin, they should have kept going on to Moscow. Between 1 969 and 1978, the powers realized that such a situation could not establish peace in the world. During this period, there was a marked decline n the cold war although we cannot say it has ended completely.
Many factors have contributed in ending the cold war. Both the blocs realized that there would be no winner in a nuclear war. The popular anti-war movements in every part of the world had positive effect on the warring camps. Also, it is believed that the reason for the end of the cold war was Soviet Leader Secretary Mikhail Geographer. Geographer introduced two policies which changed a lot of things in the Soviet government. First, he relinquished the function of the party by transferring the economic control from the party to he State.
Secondly, he ordered for the quick and immediate implantation of the new policy. Foreign policy, which he called “new thinking. ” Geographer said that security was a game from which all could benefit through cooperation. Rather than try to build as many nuclear weapons as possible, he proclaimed a doctrine of “sufficiency,” holding only a minimal number for protection. He also believed that Soviet control over an empire in Eastern Europe was costing too much and providing too little benefit, and that the invasion of Afghanistan had been a costly disaster.
Drama Transition To Eclectic Realism
DRAMA Transition to Eclectic Realism provides only amoral observation, while absurdism rejects even the possibility of debate. (Frances Babbage, Augusto Boal). The cynicism of this remark reflects the aberrant attitude towards absurdism, yet there is truth to it. Theatre of the absurd is an esoteric avant-garde style of theatre based on the principles of existentialism that looks at the world without any assumption of purpose. Existentialism and Theatre of the Absurd became identified with a cultural movement that flourished in Europe in the 1940s and 1950s, after the Second World War.
The idea that man starts with nothing and ends with nothing is a common theme amongst most absurd plays. Despite this strange philosophy, Theatre of the absurd mimics certain elements of realistic acting to produce an anomalous yet comical and entertaining style of theatre. Emerging in the late 1940’s, authors such as Beckett, Camus and Pinter were pioneers of Theatre of the absurd, who to some extent redefined modern theatre, yet Pinter describes his works as merely “symbolic realism” as opposed to absurd.
The plays “The Caretaker” by Harold Pinter and “A Streetcar Named Desire” by Tennessee Williams are both classic plays of their genre, truly exploiting the absurd and realistic styles of drama through their similarities and differences to evoke an interesting yet markedly different approach to theatre. Many facets of realistic theatre pertaining to the elements and conventions are openly employed in absurd plays, with no clear distinction separating them. The acting, tension and staging are analogous in both plays, while the plot and language are markedly dissimilar setting the plays apart.
Themes and issues are transposable between both realistic and absurd, with each style of theatre often conveying similar messages. The traditional attitudes towards theatre and the conventions of realist drama are distorted by Pinter. The issues and themes are the engine and fuel of any play, regardless of the style, driving the plot and tension; the purpose is to provide the audience with a better interpretation of the motives of each character. In spite of the two different styles, the issues of deceit, lies, fantasy and llusion are common amongst both texts, each strongly displayed throughout each play. Emerging from these issues is a common theme of “life is a fantastic voyage of illusion” and how the perspective of reality is skewed. In The Caretaker, none of the characters in the play can be trusted to speak the truth. All are to some extent, deceptive, twisting reality in order to manipulate one another and to delude themselves. Davies, a tramp, constantly tells lies about his past, trying desperately to win the respect of Aston and Mick and also as a feeble attempt to bolster his own self esteem.
Going under a false name of Jenkins, Davies’ assertiveness and lying is constant throughout the entire play. “I’ve had dinner with the best,” he says in Act One, and is even accused of being a liar by Mick in Act 3: “Every word you speak is open to any number of different interpretations. Most of what you say is lies”. The issue of lying and deceit is seen in A Streetcar named Desire through Blanche, who to some degree is a compulsive liar, driven by her desire to be viewed as a youthful and respectable she tells lie after lie after lie to gain a false respect.
She tries to escape reality through lying but eventually deteriorates into madness, believing her lies to be true; her false telegrams from Shep Huntleigh inviting her on a Caribbean cruise in Scene 10 is the turning point between her lies and insanity. Both Blanche and Davies live in a fantastical world built of their own illusion, plagued with delusions and outbursts that illustrate the insecurities of one another. Both plays feature certain aspects that are indistinguishable between styles.
Setting the two plays apart is the distinct lack of plot evident in The Caretaker compared to a detailed and fully explicable storyline found in A Streetcar Named Desire. A Streetcar Named Desire follows a dramatic structure, with an exposition rising to a climax then falling to a resolution. The Caretaker follows no such structure, with a metaphysical approach that promotes a mystical and confusing mode. Pinter divorces and exposes society’s codes, institutions and human relations. Throughout the play the audience is rarely comfortable.
This disruption is established from the outset of the play when Mick, a character who at this stage of the play the audience knows nothing about, sits on the bed and stares at the audience in silence for ‘30 seconds’. Mick’s arrival on stage generates unease within the audience and the tension only increases as Pinter provides the audience with no explanation for his being there. Mick leaves the stage in a state of maintained silence; hence the first images presented in the play confront and challenge many of the assumptions of a traditional theatrical experience. Pinter does not adhere to the accepted use of dramatic conventions.
There is no traditional relation of character histories within the opening scenes and lack of revelation is maintained throughout the play as relatively little is exposed about the character’s backgrounds. This makes events within the room conditional phenomena, which are dependent on the individuals involved and what the audience is able to interpret. A distinguishing feature separating realism from absurd is the style of language employed throughout the plays. In A Streetcar Named Desire the language and dialogue reflects real life, where each line has a subtext and motivation behind it, and is often heightened for emotional moments.
Blanche’s educated speech and literary allusions contrast with Stanley’s down-to-earth language and crude–but often effective and amusing–imagery. In contrast to this, Pinter’s characters often speak in broken sentences, utter non-sequitors, repeat themselves, pause for no apparent reason and don’t listen to what is said to them or appear to understand it. When Mick is conversing with Davies, he repeats the same question over and over: “What did you say your name was? ”, until Davies erupts in a fit of frustration, confused by the nature of the conversation in turn creating a very funny scene when reproduced on stage.
The constant silences and pauses within character’s conversation makes clear the sub-text of all human interaction. Pinter himself said that “one way of looking at speech is to say it is a constant stratagem to cover silence’ this view and the presentation of this view within the play would be very disturbing to an audience, as it disrupts the traditional notions that language, the basis of all human interaction is one-layered and can be defined, classified and understood. Featured numerous times throughout the text is stichomythic dialogue, hand bag.
It exposes the use of our language to construct fictions about our lives and for the purpose of self-deception. The play produces a loss of faith in language to unproblematically represent realities in the world and a loss of faith in humanity to know what reality is. Symbols within theatre are supplements to the dialogue as a means of communicating ideas to the audience. Both Pinter and Williams utilise symbols throughout each play to convey both subtle and obvious concepts. In A Streetcar Named Desire, the paper lantern that Blanche places over the “harsh light” is one of the most power symbols in the play.
The paper lantern represented Blanche’s wish to hide her past. It was symbolic when Stanley ripped the paper lantern at the very end of the play, as it was he who revealed the truth behind Blanche and he past. Symbolic of her wish to hide her age is the lighting as well, with Mitch saying: “I don’t think I ever seen you in the light. That’s a fact! You never want to go out in the afternoon. You never want to go out till after six and then it’s always some place that’s not lighted much. What it means is I’ve never had a real good look at you. In contrast to A Streetcar Named Desire, in which most of the symbols are quite obvious, The Caretaker is much more subtle at conveying its symbols, with most s arising directly from the action. Despite the veiled nature of symbols in the play, items such as the Buddha and Davies dinner jacket are physically symbolic. The Buddha is an object that Aston has picked up and brought back to the already cluttered room. In this sense, the Buddha resembles Davies, who can also be seen as something useless that Aston has picked up – in this sense the Buddha is symbolic of Davies.
The Crucible- Themes Of Fear, Guilt And Revenge
Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, explores the compelling forces driving human behavior, including fear, guilt, and revenge. These powerful emotions are prominently portrayed through different characters and their interactions. Through a close analysis of their actions, we can attain a deeper comprehension of their motivations and feelings, enabling us to grasp the decisions they make. Fear exerts a notable influence in prompting individuals to act with cowardice and deceitfulness. This is exemplified by Mary Warren who yields to her anxieties and is manipulated by Abigail into betraying John Proctor through false accusations of witchcraft.
The inability to prove the girls’ perjury leaves him at the Judges’ mercy. Reverend Paris also demonstrates his fear-based influence by urging the Judges to condemn the accused and encouraging them to confess. He believes this will help him maintain his moral appearance in the town, despite the immoral and unjust proceedings. If he loses his facade of morality, he will lose his position of power as reverend. Mary Warren and Pearls both betray others when given the chance to save themselves, illustrating the detrimental impact of fear on judgment.
Despite being a negative emotion, guilt can have a positive impact on the actions of a good person. John Proctor contemplated admitting his involvement in witchcraft to save himself but ultimately decided against it to protect the reputation of others who were falsely accused. He understood that carrying the burden of guilt from confessing would be overwhelming. Reverend Hale believed that Proctor’s desire to confess stemmed from his guilt over condemning innocent individuals to death. Guilt can weigh heavily on one’s conscience and potentially result in positive outcomes.
The power of revenge has the ability to incapacitate and even annihilate when executed effectively. Abigail demonstrated the ultimate illustration of revenge in action, creating a hysteria of witches in Salem as a means of punishing John Proctor for spurning her advances. Similarly, Thomas Putnam also sought retribution against those who refused him, killing his neighbors and falsely accusing them of witchcraft to acquire their land. Both Abigail and Putnam possess the qualities of overconfidence and deceitfulness, making revenge a foreseeable course of action for both individuals. The consequences of their vengeful tactics establish them as two of the most odious characters.
These compelling themes of fear, guilt, and revenge can incite individuals to take drastic actions. It is the decisions people make that ultimately determine how they are evaluated, as these choices are influenced by their true character. Moreover, it is within one’s power to allow emotions to cloud their judgment or not. Regrettably, it isn’t always the deserving who bear the consequences of these choices.
John Proctor, recognizing this, concludes that his most effective retaliation against the guilty is to refuse to confess and instead instill a sense of fear in them. He aims to make them comprehend that innocent lives will not be disregarded or tolerated.