Study On The "Marginal People" In Tennessee Williams' Plays From The Perspective Of Ethical Literary Criticism

Tennessee Williams(1911-1983)is a dazzling superstar in the American theatre.He wrote at least 70 plays in his life,totally winning him four New York Drama Critics Circle Awards,two Pulitzer Prizes and other various theatre awards.Linde Vain,a famous theatre critic commented in USA Today: “in modern era we can not find the second playwright like Tennessee Williams who influenced American consciousness in such a complex and vivid way”.Indeed,unlike the great realist masters like Eugene O'Neill,Arthur Miller who were good at depicting the tragedies of ordinary people,Williams turned his attention to some of special people abandoned in the realistic society——“marginal people”.He took them as the eternal protagonists in his plays,silently telling the tragic life of these often neglected groups.There are three reasons for choosing the “marginal people” as the research object of this thesis.First,the “marginal people” are a miniature of Williams himself.His identity of a southern writer and homosexual made him live in solitude and loneliness on the edge of the society at that time.It was his own marginalized experience that made him created so many “marginal people” in his plays.Thus studying on the “marginal people” in Tennessee Williams' plays will certainly deepen the understanding of Tennessee Williams.Second,the “marginal people” are the kind of typical characters in Williams' plays,appearing in almost every play.These “marginal people” are neglected in the mainstream society,but they exist as protagonists in Williams' plays.Taking out the “marginal people” in Williams' plays to make a holistic analysis,it is bound to enrich the understanding of his plays.Third,the “marginal people” in Williams' plays are the true portrayal of some people in today's real society,who live solitarily and vulnerably in the dark corners of society,forgotten and even abandoned by us.Williams wrote them into his plays so that let us see and feel these neglected “marginal people” again.Therefore,it will give us some realistic significance from Williams' ethical concern for the “marginal people”.The thesis will analyze the “marginal people” in Tennessee Williams' three most representative plays,The Glass Menagerie,A Streetcar Named Desire,Cat on a Hot Tin Roof under the framework of Ethical Literary Criticism theory to reveal the causes of the tragic life of the “marginal people” and the purpose of Williams' attention to these “marginal people”,which intends to deepen and enrich the understanding of Williams and his plays.The thesis consists of five parts.The introduction part will give a brief introduction to the life of Tennessee Williams and his three representative plays.And In the following section,I will summarize the previous researches of Tennessee Williams both at home and abroad,and briefly introduce Ethical Literary Criticism and point out the significance of study under this framework.Chapter two will excavate the three kinds of “marginal people” in Williams' plays: southern belles;homosexuals;the disabled.The analysis of the characters in literary works should be combined with the ethical environment in which they were located to explore why they became marginalized in the society at that time.For the southern belles,they are leftovers in the transitional period of American society,and the failure of marriage under patriarchy leads to their difficult survival;For the homosexuals,they are victims in the homophobic society,and the unacceptability of families under traditional family structure pushes them step by step to the desperate situation;For the disabled,they are misfits in the money-oriented society,and lack of competitiveness under the value of “survive of the fittest” leads them to be eliminated by others.Chapter three will analyze the ethical identity crises of the “marginal people”.Southern belles experience the change of ethical identity.As society has changed,they change from noble ladies to despised prostitutes,from men' s accessories to independent women.Homosexuals experience the confusion of ethical identity.Due to the society's homophobia and the families' unacceptability,they are often confused about their gender and family roles(husband/son).The disabled experience the collapse of ethical identity.Because of inadaptation to the money-oriented society,they have to give up their ethical relationships with society and family.Collapsing in ethical relationship with society,they are no longer social man.Collapsing in ethical relationship with family,they are no longer daughter/son/brother/sister.The ethical identity crises brought about by the social environment is part of the causes for their tragic life.Chapter four will explore the destructive ethical choices of the “marginal people”.In the face of the above dilemmas and crises,choosing to face and solve them positively or choosing to face and neglect them negatively will cause different endings.The “marginal people” in Williams' plays have chosen to face them negatively.Southern belles choose to indulge in the past;Homosexuals choose to escape from reality;The disabled choose to elude into the fantasy world.The ethical choices they make in the end are the fundamental determinants to lead to their final tragic life.The conclusion part summarizes the main findings of the first four chapters.Both social and personal factors result in the “marginal people” lost in society,lost in themselves,and ultimately lead to their tragic life.The “marginal people” in Williams' plays are the true portrayal of some people in today's real society.As a playwright,Williams' attention to these “marginal people” reflects the great ethical concern of a playwright.By telling their tragic life,Williams hopes that we can be kind and tolerant to our compatriots,giving understanding and love to the absurd world and the meaning of life,so that the marginal people/disadvantaged groups can be completely saved.At the same time,he also warns that those who are experiencing the marginalized experience cannot give up their own salvation——facing positively and re-embracing the world is the most correct choice.