An Analysis Of Spiritual Ecology In Eugene O'neill's Beyond The Horizon

Eugene O'Neill is ranked with the greatest master of tragic mind in the field of serious American drama by virtue of great contributions to American drama and even world drama.He is the winner of four Pulitzer Prizes and also wins the Nobel Prize for Literature in his life time.O'Neill has fifty plays all together for the whole world,and most of them are tragedies.In his plays O'Neill reveals endless spiritual dilemma that modern human has to face,to look for the sickness source of current society,to find out the solution to balance material and spiritual world and to create a peaceful space for homeless soul to rest by using tragedy as his weapon.Because of O'Neill's reflection in the aspect of psychology and philosophy,he extends strength and insight to the human conflicts.At the same time,he also evaluates that he has got strong ecological awareness in his psychological plays.Because of his own tragic life,O'Neill has an insight into the reality that human is alienated and materialized under the background of the materialistic in the first half of the twentieth century.He shows the relationship between tragic mind and spiritual ecology incisively and vividly.Dissimilation,materialization,spiritual emptiness and behavior of incompetence are common points of O'Neill's tragic characters.The loss of nature must lead to the tragedy of life.In O'Neill's tragedies,the state of spiritual world which is a barren land is expressed vividly.The spiritual ecology lays emphasis on the existence of relationship.And the essence is the balance and peace of one's mind.If human separates the link from the nature and others,his spiritual world becomes darkness.O'Neill always seeks solutions to tragic characters,which make everything back to the original point.Understanding is a dose of medicine to let the heart calm.O'Neill's tragedies illuminate the root of pain of human in his works.Once achieving a harmony with the nature,the conflicts between humans can be alleviated or even relieved.And eventually tranquility will return to the mind.The whole thesis consists five chapters.The first chapter gives a brief introduction of Eugene O'Neill and the significance of study on his works from the perspective of spiritual ecology.Literature reviews are in the second chapter which includes the study on Eugene O'Neill abroad and at home as well as the study of spiritual ecology abroad and at home.In the third chapter,the tragic mind and awareness of spiritual ecology and the relationship between them are discussed deeply.The fourth chapter analyses the awareness of spiritual ecology presented in Beyond the Horizon.The tragic fates of main characters discussed by using spiritual ecology reflect the spiritual crisis of modern people and O'Neill finds the solution to getting rid of spiritual dilemma for people who suffer from spiritual problems.Finally,the fifth chapter is the conclusion of the thesis.Because modern people now face the complicated and colorful world,which is full of all kinds of temptations,heavy pressures from both body and mind,everyone has their own different survival difficulties and spiritual crisis.Under the background of building a harmonious society,the repetition of the classic seems particularly significant.There are many examples of spiritual ecology in O 'Neill's works.To analyzing spiritual ecology in Eugene O'Neill's Beyond the Horizon,we can further understand the theory of spiritual ecology and the realistic problems of current society.His strong awareness of spiritual ecology also can help us guide to build a harmonious society.