Who's Not Afraid Of Wolf?

Absurdity is a philosophic and aesthetic concept stating that the human efforts to find meaning in the universe ultimately fail,and hence are absurd,because no such meaning exists,at least with regard to the individual human being.This is vividly depicted in Albert Camus' The Myth of Sisyphus,in which Sisyphus is shackled by the absurd task of rolling a stone up a hill only to have it roll back down again and again. The origin of the concept of absurdity stems from the pursuit of liberty.With the existential philosophy as theoretical foundation,and the WWⅡas the catalyst,the Absurdist movement in theatrical domain—the Theatre of the Absurd—comes into being,creating a ritual-like,mythological,archetypal and allegorical vision,closely related to the fantasy world,and has produced some classic Absurdist plays like Beckett's Waiting for Godot,and Ionesco's The Bald Soprano.In 1961 English critic Martin Esslin published his acclaimed book Theatre of the Absurd,and coined the term for this dramatic genre.The title of the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? employs a common technique of Absurdist writing and parodies a children's song,"Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?," in which "Woolf"(or "wolf"),according to the playwright,refers to reality without illusion.The play was such a hit that "Who's Afraid of..." has now become a popular expression.To parallel this expression,this thesis is entitled "Who's Not Afraid of Wolf?," "wolf" referring to "Theatre of the Absurd" which is often regarded as abstract,illogical,confusing,grotesque and unpleasant.Consequently,the ones who're not afraid of Wolf become Wolf Tamers,the practitioners of the Theatre of the Absurd.They tame the big Wolf into the small Wolf which is filled with the tamer's creative individual characteristics.Therefore,this thesis is divided into three integral and complementary parts,namely:First,how has the Wolf(big Wolf,Theatre of the Absurd) come? Second,who is the Wolf Tamer(writers of the Theatre of the Absurd)? Third,what has become of the Wolf(small Wolf,individual works of Theatre of the Absurd)? Through analysis,the thesis affirms the great value of the Theatre of the Absurd as a major trend in contemporary Western theatrical circle,in philosophical, aesthetic and artistic perception.Though it has gradually lost its popularity since the late 1960s,with its contribution to the human perception,its creation of new modes of human expression,the Theatre of the Absurd has already been absorbed into the mainstream of Western dramatic thought after decades of evolution,and will continue to live on.The effort of the Theatre of the Absurd is obviously far from Sisyphean.It is the same with the effort of men.Men's way out lies,first of all,in action,which is the proof of one's existence,and then in building certain values,involving in their engagement or commitment,and considering them as a prior existence.Men shall not be afraid of the general Wolf—the absurdist living condition of mankind.Therefore,as for the question "Who's Not Afraid of Wolf?",be the Wolf big,small,or general,the answer will definitely be "We're not afraid." As for Albee's question,"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?",with the power and outlook we obtain from taming the Wolf,the answer now is also crystal clear,"We're not afraid."...