On Plight Theme In Suzan-lori Parks’ Plays

Suzan-Lori Parks is a newly emerged playwright in American theatre, and she is another prolific African-American playwright after August Wilson. She received two Obie Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and became the first African American woman to win the Pulitzer in American theatre world. She has made outstanding contributions to contemporary American theatre. Her plays reflect the living states of the blacks. No matter whether the characters in Parks’ plays are male or female, all of them are in plights. Thus this thesis chooses Parks’ three typical plays Venus, In The Blood and Topdogl Underdog as the study objective.Through close reading, the author firstly explores the plight theme reflected in the plays according to the theories of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Alfred Grosser’s identity plight, ethnic identity and feminine consciousness. Centering on the study of the plots, the thesis discusses in detail the four patterns of plights existed in the three plays, the material plight, emotional plight, identity plight and belonging plight. Besides, the thesis explores the political, cultural and historical causes that lead to these plights from three aspects: social conditions, victims of history, and Parks’ personal factors. As for Parks’ personal factors, the author mainly focuses on the examination of her ethnic identity, feminine consciousness and experiences in childhood. In addition, the thesis explores Parks’ two ways to walk out of the plights:positive and negative. Parks’ plight theme reveals two far-reaching significances:the inappropriate methods of breaking out will result in the tragedy, however, the tragedy purifies people’s mind from the aesthetic angle. Finally, the authors points out that the study of plight theme in Parks’plays is a pioneering job. Although it may not be perfect, yet it will surely broaden the vision for Parks’ study in the dramatic circle and it will contribute a bit to the research work of Parks as well as African American plays.