Jewish American Drama. Healing The Wounds of Alio: Subjectivity in American Ethnic Drama

Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2017 in the subject American Studies - Comparative Literature, grade: Excellent, Mansoura University (Faculty of arts), language: English, abstract: This thesis is an attempt to trace the issue of subjectivity in American ethnic drama. It also investigates how the members of the minority family are constantly struggling in a way or another in an attempt to sustain a particular identity of their own as if their whole life were a journey in search of identity. The main focus is on Clifford Odets' "Awake and Sing!", August Wilson's "The Piano Lesson" and Milcha Sanchez-Scott's "The Cuban Swimmer". This study is mainly a thematic study adopting the approach of cultural criticism. It falls into an introduction, three chapters and a conclusion. The influence of capitalism is the very core of the creative works of Odets who is more concerned with the influence of poverty on the middle class individuals and their relationships with each other. In fact, since the beginning of his career as a playwright, Odets has been keen on portraying how far the denial and frustration the individuals of the Jewish middle class face in the American society affected their communal bonds with their fellow people.