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V·M·L University Microfilms International a Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, M148106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800,'521-0600 INFORlV!ATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adverselyaffect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand corner and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Each. original is also photographed in one exposure and is included in reduced form at the back of the book. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6" x 9" black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. V·M·l University Microfilms International A Bell & Howell Information Company 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, M148106-1346 USA 313/761-4700 800,'521-0600 Order Number 9215010 Cultural authoritIes in transition and Sam Shepard'8 search for identity Cho, Eun Young, Ph.D. University of Hawaii, 1991 V·M·I 300 N. ZeebRd. Ann Arbor,MI 48106 ~-_._-_.- CULTURAL AUTHORITIES IN TRANSITION AND SAM SHEPARD'S SEARCH FOR IDENTITY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN AMERICAN STUDIES DECEMBER 1991 By Eun Young Cho Dissertation Committee: Mark Helbling, Chairperson Floyd Matson Reuel Denney Jonathan Morse Juli Thompson ~ I Acknowledgements I wish to express sincere appreciation to professor Mark Helbling in the Department of American Studies for his academic advice and careful reading. I should also like to express gratitude to professors Floyd Matson and Reuel Denney, Department of American Studies; to Jonathan Morse, Department of English; to Juli Thompson, Department of Theatre and Dance. To all the members of my committee, I give grateful appreciation for their willingness to extend their personal and professional enthusiasm and inspiration. iii Abstract The objective of this study is to locate Sam Shepard's works in terms of the changing cultural context of the nineteen sixties. In chapter I, I have tried to see a common sentiment underlying the various formR of turmoil and disruption that shaped the new theatre and Shepard's imagination. It was a sentiment that questioned the legitimacy of almost all forms of traditional authority. In chapter II, I have tried to show that the reckless escapes and the many transformations in Shepard's early plays hide a yearning for the pursuit of one's true self free from the repression of existing institutions. Chapter III is about the confusion and conflict after the escape. Relating Shepard's apocalyptic imagination to the nature of technological society, I have tried to show that the protagonist's agony in Operation Sidewinder reveals an embryonic longing for a mythic past and the need for 'home.' Chapter IV deals with Curse of the Starving Class. In this play, I have tried to see Shepard's attempt to relocate the sense of self into a community of other selves. Chapter V is about Buried Child. By focusing on the implications of the homeward journey of the protagonist, I have tried to see that all the attempts of. escape and rebellion are ultimately an effort to search for one's true self. iv Table of Contents Acknowledgement __ iii Abstract iv Preface vi Chapter I: Introduction 1 Cultural Authorities in Transition 1 Dialectics of Rebellion 17 The Fusion of Theatre, Revolutionary Politics, and Counterculture 34 Sam Shepard 59 Chapter II: The Rock Garden and La Turista 72 Chapter III: Operation Sidewinder 107 Chapter IV: Curse of the Starving Class 150 Chapter V: Buried Child 186 Chapter VI: Conclusion 229 Bibliography 245 v Preface Th€ objective of this study is to locate Sam Shepard's works in terms of the changing cultural context of the nineteen sixties. The experiments in the theatre during the sixties were not only spurred on by contemporary experiments in other art forms but also by current socio-political events and the countercultural movement. Indeed, the sixties were exceptional years in that the political, social, cultural, and artistic efforts were deeply interrelated. To study Sam Shepard's works in the immediate cultural context helps to provide" an understanding of his plays frequently judged to be intentionally vague, mysterious, difficult, and fragmented. It also makes it possible to see his earlier works and his later family trilogy in a thematically coherent way. At the same time, Shepard provides an excellent example of an American who grew up in the fifties, enthusiastically jumped into the cultural vortex of the sixties, and moved into the seventies. His importance as a writer has also grown in relation to the degree that he has moved from the extravagant pursuit of freedom under the vi spell of the immediate cultural scene to a more serious search for an authentic self. Chapter I consists of four parts. In the first part, I have tried to see the multifaceted movements and wide spread dissent that energized and helped to shape the new theatre and Shepard's dramatic imagination. Underlying the various forms of turmoil and disruption was a sentiment that questioned the legitimacy of almost all forms of traditional authority. And for the enthusiastic participants of the various movements in the sixties, it was a time when dreams of a total transformation of society seemed a real possibility. The second part is about the critique of language: the challenge that language had been debased by corrupt authority and excessive dependence on rationality, and that language had been distorted by a dominant ideology and consequently had become a tool of repression. Thus, this challenge against language was primarily a form of rebellion and suggested an alternative set of values. In this sense, it was a revolutionary gesture, too. At the same time, I have tried to show that this challenge hid a yearning to see one's true self uncontaminated by existing cultural authorities. In part three, I have focused on the fusion of revolutionary politics, the counterculture and the theatre. The avant-garde theatre of the sixties provides fertile Vll ground to see the revolutionary enthusiasm and the yearning for a new order free from the repression of the establishment. The theatre of the sixties not only mirrored but actively influenced the time. This intense interplay of art and politics expressed itself in such artistic innovations as a rejection of the form and practice of the traditional theatre. The last part in chapter I is about Sam Shepard and his relationship to his times. Shepard was very much a product of the Off Off Broadway Movement. He became a playwright almost by chance. His early works, especially, show a disregard for classical dramatic conventions and a resistance to rational structuring together with other characteristic features of the avant-garde theatre of the sixties. In addition, he shared persistent thematic concerns with many others involved in revolutionary politics and the countercultural movement; the challenge to authority and restless energy for rebellion. In chapter II, I have chiefly focused on The Rock Garden, and La Turista. In these early plays, the act of escape was an attack on the American family and what was perceived to be a hypocritical society. I have tried to show that the reckless escapes and the many transformations relate not only to the immediate cultural environment but also to a larger American cultural context: the belief in the possibility of inventing a new identity not fixed by viii L family or class. In this sense, the escape and rebellion in Shepard's early plays hide a yearning for the pursuit of an authentic self which increasingly became a persistent thematic concern in Shepard. In chapter III, I have tried to show in Operation Sidewinder the connection between Shepard's apocalyptic imagination and his criticism against oppressive technology. The protagonist, Young Man, who agonizes for the loss of innocence and for his alienated self is almost unique In Shepard's works up to that point and signifies a major change in his writing. In Shepard's earlier plays, his characters deserted their family and rebelled against the constraints of society. In relation to these predecessors, I tried to see the protagonist's confusion and conflict originated from his dilemma after the escape. He provides a good example of 'homeless mind.' I have argued that his agony and desperation revealed an embryonic longing for mythic past, and the need for 'home' for a solid sense of identity. Chapter IV deals with the first of Shepard's family trilogy, Curse of the Starving Class. In this chapter, I have tried to show Shepard's adoption of rather traditional imagery---cloth imagery---can be a way to see his attempt to reconcile with his past, a gesture to relocate the sense of self into a community of other selves. ix Chapter V is about Buried Child, the second play in his family trilogy. In this chapter I have tried to see the prevalent use of journey imagery in Shepard's works and its changing thematic implications.
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