A Study Of Black Desire In Desire Under The Elms

Eugene O’Neill is an internationally renowned American dramatist, he was praised as "American’s Shakespeare", Desire Under the Elms has been regarded as a classic drama of Eugene O’Neill, the scholars study on it also have great enthusiasm. But the image is often greater than thought and the research work itself, the show is more important than the writer’s express of subjective wishes.With Desire Under the Elms as the studying object, this paper focuses on the " black desire. The characteristics of the paper is not to grasp the macro to start analysis of the play, but starting from the dramatic text itself, from the detail and artistic performance. I found that in this three—act story, the "baby" is the main clue throughout the theater, the drama experienced a process of "Praying for son derived from material desires","incest son","kill the child for love" and "the guilty punished". The process of gradually moving towards destruction figure out the corresponding deep meaning:the growth of the black desire to produce evil, the black desire to stifle, to save the soul struggle and salvation of humanity. In addition, I think that killed the baby is actually as a "symbol" in the drama, maybe is not the entity,"he" is the externalization form of the inner character, he is the embodiment of thought, will, emotions and incarnation of the "black desire", is a writer analysis of characters, psychological and expressing the mediator of social thought.In view of the above thinking, this paper is select "black desire" as an entry point, discussion around the "Praying for son derived from material desires","incest son","kill the child for love" and "the guilty punished" and "soul salvation".This thesis is divided into four parts:Chapter Ⅰ——The first part analyze the meaning of "desire", and lead to the concept of the "Black Desire", then analyzed it. Next, establish links between "black desire" and the image of "baby", point out that the baby is concentrated outside of the black desire; Section II discuss the ethical environment, including the social and historical environment, the alienation of the natural environment and distorted family environment.Chapter Ⅱ——Black desire and incest infant, this chapter divided into two part. Analysis that infant is greatly inflated the product of material desires and passions, rather than divine and pure love crystalline. Section II describes that he is the son of abnormal lust.Chapter Ⅲ——Black desire and to kill the baby for love. This part focus on discourse the multiple symbolic metaphorical meaning of "to kill the baby". Such as the heroine stifle the greed of materialism.Chapter Ⅳ——Black Desire and guilt punished, Soul Salvation. The first section elaborate that the heroes in this drama brave to bear the consequences, accept the punishment, performance that a symbol of the soul salvation, the recovery of human nature, and also crash human’s lonely fate, but on another level is compromise the reality of civilization.The implication of this classic play text focus on life and analysis of the nature of humanity, and exploration of individual human nature, to thinking of a whole human predicament and rescue pathway——self-redemption of humanity.