A Study Of Eugene O ’Neill’ Drama Desire Under The Elms-in The Perspective Of Friedrich Nietzsche’s Philosophy

Eugene O’Neill’s tragedy Desire under the Elms is often praised as a milestone work in American literary history and has received analyses from various perspectives. Extensive as all the existing studies are, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche reflected in Desire under the Elms needs further study. It is this thesis’s major aim to give a full expression to that philosophy embodied in the play. First, by quoting Nietzsche’s idea that all acts proceed from people’s inner will, this study attributes the fighting for the farm in the beginning of the plays to the motivation of will to power rather than moral judgment. Furthermore, it analyzes the two forms of life energy under will to power demonstrated through the characters, namely Apollonian and Dionysian spirits. Second, armed by Nietzsche’s anti-morality and anti-religion claims, the thesis takes a new look at the "sins" and "violations" described in the play and highlights their merits of destroying the decadent value system. Finally, via taking reference to Nietzsche’s famous idea of superman, the study regards the images of Eben and Abbie as the creator of new values in the sense of Nietzsche, thus revealing how O’Neill eulogizes life’s ceaseless course——transcending.After the discussion, this thesis reveals how Desire under the Elms corresponds to Nietzsche’s philosophical believes. By analyzing the philosophical ideas of Nietzsche embodied in this tragedy, the study also achieves a new understanding of the plot and characters in the play. In the perspective of Nietzsche’s theory, the study informs readers one significant idea of O’Neill represented in the play, that is, to bravely break the limits of phenomena and appearance and concentrate on the immense potential of human beings.