Eugene O'Neill's Quest For The Meaning Of Existence

Eugene O'Neill was the greatest American dramatist of the first half of the 20^th century. He did a great deal to establish the modes of the modern theatre in America and was the father of American Drama. His plays explore the inner world of modern man and represent the life and spirit of America in the 20^th century. Many critics have studied the themes in O'Neill's plays, but few pay sufficient attention to the meaning of existence explained by O'Neill through his plays. This study tries to dig out the meaning of existence embedded in O'Neill's plays by borrowing the theory of existential philosophy, and reveal that based on the premise of existence, making choices and taking responsibility is the meaning.Besides Introduction and Conclusion, this thesis consists of four chapters.The Introduction is about O'Neill's artistic achievement and brief analysis of the meaning of existence embedded in his plays. It discusses the research value, methods to be adopted in this thesis and the basic structure of this thesis.Chapter One introduces the reason of O'Neill's special attention to the meaning of human existence, offers the main idea of Sartre's philosophy of existence, and points out the similar understanding of choice and responsibility between O'Neill and Sartre.The body of the thesis is from Chapter Two to Chapter Four. It is a research on O'Neill's explanation of the meaning of existence through his plays. The three chapters adopt Sartre's view on human existence to analyze the representative plays in O'Neill's three creative periods respectively.Chapter Two analyzes the two plays Beyond the Horizon and Desire under the Elms in O'Neill's early period. Although the choice of the individuals brings them suffering, they never succumb to the suffering and courageously bear their responsibility, so their existence is meaningful.Chapter Three focuses on the analysis of. Strange Interlude and Mourning Becomes the Electra in O'Neill's middle period and reveals O'Neill's idealized state of a meaningful existence in which the individuals have more freedom to choose and more courage to take responsibility.Chapter Four analyzes the two plays The Iceman Cometh and Long Day's Journey into Night, and proves O'Neill's profound understanding of the meaning in self-deception.Conclusion generalizes the characteristics of O'Neill's explanation of the meaning of existence and points out man must first exist in the world and then gives his existence meaning by making choices and taking responsibility.