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 tiyatrosunda kıyamet temalarının en erken öncülerinden biridir. 1942 yılında Amerika İkinci Dünya Savaşı'nın büyüklüğünün içine dalarken yazılan oyun, kıyameti bir benzetme olarak kullanarak, 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 bir hizmetçiden oluşan tipik bir Amerikan ailesi Antrobus'lardır. Tekrarlanan kıyamet imgesi hem bir sonu—umutsuzluğu hem de yeni bir başlangıcı—umudu açığa vurur. Bu çalışma, Wilder'ın Ramak Kaldı oyunundaki kıyamet imgelemini, umut ve umutsuzluk ikilemini kapsayan geleneksel kıyamet yapısı ile karşılaştırarak incelemektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Thornton Wilder, Ramak Kaldı, Kıyamet, Kıyamet Edebiyatı

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 of apocalyptic themes in modern American drama. The play, written in 1942 when America was plunging into the enormity of World War II, criticizes the progress of humanity, life struggle, unity of American family, rise of technology and war using apocalypse as a metaphor. The focus of the play is on the Antrobuses—a typical American family with two children and a maid who have to survive apocalypses such as the glacier, the deluge and the war respectively in three acts. The recurrent image of apocalypse reveals a sense of both an ending—despair and a new beginning—hope. This study examines Wilder's apocalyptic vision in The Skin of Our Teeth by comparing it to the traditional form of apocalypse which contains the duality of hope and despair.

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