A Comparative Study Of Spatial Construction In Fences And "Master Harold "...and The Boys

On the basis of Henry Lefebvre's spatial theory, this thesis strives to make a comparison between August Wilson's Fences and Athol Fugard's "Master Harold"...and the Boys and explore the similar spatiality implied in the two plays. Furthermore, it delves into the extreme resemblances of the spatial constructive techniques used by the two playwrights who live in different regional spaces. Meanwhile, this thesis intends to reflect the blacks' existential predicament in the white-dominated social space and to reveal the spatial practices that the spatial subjects strive to construct their living space.This thesis consists of five chapters:Chapter one is an introduction that sketches Wilson's and Fugard's literary achievements and the two selected plays, Fences and "Master Harold"...and the Boys. It also provides an explanation of the theoretical framework-Lefebvre's spatial theory. Chapter two explores how both playwrights reveal the constrained representations of physical space by using metaphorical skills. Chapter three studies the contradictory representation of social space from the perspectives of interracial relations and family relations. Chapter four analyzes the spatial subjects' defensive representation of mental space by the practice of traditional cultures and imagination. By the deep study of the multidimensional representations of spaces in both plays, this thesis delves into the blacks' living spaces in different regions under the same historic background constructed by Wilson and Fugard.All in all, spatiality is an indispensable constructive factor in both plays. Both Wilson and Fugard endow space with important worth of performance. By analyzing similar multidimensional spaces in the two plays, this study is conductive to examine the blacks' harsh living space in different regions, thereby causing people to rethink the issue of race.