The duality of hope and despair: Thornton wilder’s apocalyptic vision in the skin of our teeth

Thornton Wilder’ın Ramak Kaldı adlı eseri modern Amerikan tiyatrosundakıyamet temalarının en erken öncülerinden biridir. 1942 yılında Amerika İkinci DünyaSavaşı’nın büyüklüğünün içine dalarken yazılan oyun, kıyameti bir benzetme olarakkullanarak, insanlığın gelişmesini, yaşam mücadelesini, Amerikan ailesinin bütünlüğünü,teknolojinin yükselişini ve savaşı eleştirir. Oyunun odak noktası üç perdede sırasıyla buzul,tufan ve savaş gibi kıyametlerden sonra hayatta kalmak zorunda olan, iki çocuk ve birhizmetçiden oluşan tipik bir Amerikan ailesi Antrobus’lardır. Tekrarlanan kıyamet imgesihem bir sonu—umutsuzluğu hem de yeni bir başlangıcı—umudu açığa vurur. Bu çalışma, Wilder’ın Ramak Kaldı oyunundaki kıyamet imgelemini, umut ve umutsuzluk ikileminikapsayan geleneksel kıyamet yapısı ile karşılaştırarak incelemektedir.

Umut ve umutsuzluk ikilemi: Thornton wılder’ın ramak kaldı’daki kıyamet imgelemi

Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth is one of the earliest precursors ofapocalyptic themes in modern American drama. The play, written in 1942 when Americawas plunging into the enormity of World War II, criticizes the progress of humanity, lifestruggle, unity of American family, rise of technology and war using apocalypse as ametaphor. The focus of the play is on the Antrobuses—a typical American family with twochildren and a maid who have to survive apocalypses such as the glacier, the deluge andthe war respectively in three acts. The recurrent image of apocalypse reveals a sense ofboth an ending—despair and a new beginning—hope. This study examines Wilder’sapocalyptic vision in The Skin of Our Teeth by comparing it to the traditional form ofapocalypse which contains the duality of hope and despair.

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