An Interpretation Of Symbolism In The Iceman Cometh

As a pioneer of modern American drama, Eugene O'Neill (1888—1953) is the only playwright that has the honor to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in the 20th century. The Iceman Cometh is one of the most profound and thought-provoking plays of O'Neill. This thesis intends to deeply unscramble symbolism in this play by analyzing such images as doors, pipe dreams, alcohol and Hickey based on theories of symbolism, which may provide valuable material for international studies on O'Neill's late works This thesis consists of introduction, main body, and conclusion.The first part is introduction. It introduces O'Neill's status and great achievements in American theatre as well as current international researches on The Iceman Cometh in combination with purposes, theories and realistic significance of this thesis.The second part is main body. It is divided into three chapters with specific analyses of symbolic images such as doors, pipe dreams, alcohol and Hickey.Chapter One analyses the image of doors from the angles of door on the stage, door of the soul and door of the image. In The Iceman Cometh, the swinging doors appearing in Act Three leave us a deep impression. And they are not only indispensible part of the stage setting, but also doors with symbolic significance. The swinging doors serve as a boundary of two states, separating reality and dream world, death and pipe dreams as well. The doors strike terror into the hearts of people in Hope's saloon. The real world outside throw strong pressure on them so that they are afraid of going outside. There are many images in O'Neill's plays. Usually, trace of doors can be found in many frequently used images which are considered as extension of doors. In The Iceman Cometh, time serves as an animated threshold. In this play,"tomorrow"is mentioned over a hundred times, because"tomorrow"is the faint hope of those lower-class people in Harry Hope's saloon, down and out, drunken and befuddled. Tomorrow, all those pipe dreams will become reality and everyone will realize his dreams. They live a life in this way, waiting for tomorrow one after another.Chapter Two analyses symbolic images one by one from the aspect of fear for reality, illusion about realization of pipe dreams and paralysis function of the alcohol. Each one in Harry Hope's saloon dare not go outside because of abnormal society. In the early 20th century, the whole world stepped into an era of sharp turbulence and great changes. Against this background, people have lost their faith with the soul of them start to sway. A great gap feeling springs up in their heart. Therefore, their pipe dreams turn out to be their only spiritual support. They recollect their show-off"yesterday"and dream about achieving success and winning reputation tomorrow with everything going smoothly. However, tomorrow becomes yesterday. And they still day dream about tomorrow which is an alternative way of living under cruel reality. People in Hope's saloon day dream every day, wishing wonderful tomorrow. Such state of living interwove with alcohol. Looking through the whole play, there is no part that hasn't referred to alcohol. Fear for reality results in hiding themselves in Hope's saloon and jumping into alcohol with the wish of drinking for a lifetime as if it could make people forget pains.Chapter Three deeply analyses the image of Hickey from the following three aspects—introduction of mysterious Hickey, the arrival of Hickey and losing power of truth. Every one in Hope's saloon expects Hickey's arrival. At the beginning of this play, hints about Hickey occur continuously in dialogues, which produce a sense of mystery. Each time when Hickey arrives, it becomes a heaven here with laughs and happiness as if celebrating a significant festival. This time, however, what Hickey brings is not happiness and harmony but annoyance and chaos. People start to become terrified, uneasy and irritated. He persuades people into giving up drinking, facing the reality courageously and stepping out of this saloon. When people run into snags and be foiled everywhere, they realize that their dreams can't come true. At this time, Hickey puts forward his own saving measures stepping on a peaceful road—death. Under his advise, Piet commits suicide by jumping down escape stairs while Larry says that he really wishes to die. And Hickey himself has to face his own reality—punishment for killing his wife. To people in this saloon, their soul can not be attacked any more, and wonderful pipe dreams are their only remedy. Hickey sets his mind to save people's soul, but he doesn't realize that it means the coming of death to them. Hickey is thought to be the Saviour, but evidence proves that he is not the Redeemer but angel of death. What he says loses the ability of persuading them to be true to reality and saving spirit.The third part is conclusion. In The Iceman Cometh, O'Neill makes a masterly application of symbolic way of expression. By reviewing and summarizing the main body of this thesis, the conclusion helps readers better understand the usage of symbolism in this play so that one can comprehend this O'Neill's late work more profoundly.