The Influence of Anton Chekhov on Samuel Beckett: Inaction and Investment of Hope Into Godot-like Figures in Three Sisters and Waiting for Godot

Anton Chekhov has been very much influential on modern drama, especially on the Theatre of the Absurd; however, not much work has been done on his influence on the absurdist playwrights. Considering Harold Bloom's definition of ‘influence'—writing “much like” someone in the past—the seminal influence of Chekhov on Beckett is studied in this article. Chekhov in his plays, especially his major plays, very much like Beckett's waiting for Godot, portrays people who are passively waiting and investing their entire hope into Godot-like figures without taking any action. Thus, the sense of ennui, desperation and consequently disappointment of these characters originates from their unreasonable inaction, stagnancy and their passivity while waiting, rather than ‘waiting for Godot figures'. This article tries to show the influence of Chekhov on Samuel Beckett, investigating the similarities in form, atmosphere and theme between Waiting for Godot, the paradigm of the Theatre of the Absurd, and Three Sisters, one of Chekhov's major play

Unveiling the Identity through the Circuitous Path of Concealment in Long Day's Journey into Night

Long Day's Journey into Night portrays a small family who is isolated from the world outside. The members of the family are entangled in their own relationships and the more they discuss the problems the less they are able to solve them, the more they are dragged into the quicksand of failure and the more they get far from reality. The interactions among these characters lead them to the untenable situation in which they have no other choice than being bad or mad. The immediate algorithm of "interpersonal perception" of "I know that you know" is perceived at first glance but probing more deeply into the interactions, one encounters a more complex algorithm. This play is full of love-hate relationships, paradoxical relationships, syncopations, deceits and concealments which paradoxically lead to the revelation of the identities. Two characters are in "one-up position" and cunningly manipulate the game of deceit which the other two characters, who are in "one-down position", are completely unaware of. It is towards the end of the play that the weaker characters, Mary and Edmund, dare to face the reality and understand that they have been defeated in a chess-like power game set by wiser characters, Tyrone and Jamie. This paper applies the communication theories of Watzlawick and Laing to this play to explore the pathological interactions among the family members and to investigate how the identities are revealed through the circuitous path of concealment

A large choroid plexus cyst diagnosed with magnetic resonance imaging in utero: a case report

The incidence of choroid plexus cysts represents approximately 1% of fetal anomalies. We describe a case in which fetal ultrasonography and fetal magnetic resonance scans were used to identify a large choroid cyst in a fetus without the use of a diagnostic amniocentesis to detect aneuploidy. After birth, the child underwent surgery. In conclusion, the nature of prenatal intracranial cysts should be fully evaluated and differentiated between choroid plexus cysts and other types of cysts. We believe that a detailed evaluation of detected cysts and other structural brain abnormalities are essential. Prenatal magnetic resonance scans clearly can decrease the need for risky procedures, such as an amniocentesis, in the evaluation of antenatal choroid plexus cysts

Post-traumatic people in Paul Auster's The Book of Illusions from Cathy Caruth's and Michelle Balaev's perspectives

In his novel The Book of Illusions, Paul Auster displays his knowledge not only as a writer, but also as a talented critic of cinema, painting and world literature. Opening up the question of identity after the loss, Auster presents the reader with the traumatic form of grief over the dead ones. The trauma which is portrayed in The Book of Illusions is the direct experience with death, with those who are left behind and for those who find death as the only solution for being forgiven. Strangely enough, while the main theme is death, Auster portrays the ways of resistance and the power of love to shape the process of post-traumatic identification. Precisely the aim here is to analyze Auster’s novel with the help of new theories that are introduced recently into the realm of literary criticism and trauma studies by Cathy Caruth and Michelle Balaev. By studying different opinions about loss and trauma and applying new perspectives, this research scrutinizes Austerian characters. Therefore there is a survey, a study of trauma from vantage points of traditional model theoreticians like Caruth and also pluralistic model argument represented by Balaev.   Keywords: Paul Auster; The Book of Illusions; Trauma Theory; Cathy Caruth; Michelle Balae

Darkness in the costume of whiteness: a glimpse of black gaze, white mask in heart of darkness

To begin with, Heart of Darkness has always been challenging for every critic who feels the urge to take either pro-colonialist or contra-colonialist positions. However, herein the main focus would be set less upon the binary stances regarding the protagonist and his leanings toward the natives. Based on the indissociability of the psychological-cum-cultural operations, this study lends itself best to an amalgam of Freudian together with Bhabhian theories such as the dreamwork, repetition-compulsion, mimickry and hybridization. That is to say, it deserves attention to see the colonialist ideology through the dissecting lens of psychoanalysis. Besides, Tiffin's subversive counter-discourse would provide a valuable source to this study. The present study aims to explore the underlying motive for Marlow's narration and his interaction with the natives free from a slippery evaluation of the narratives prime facie. Since any consideration of the native-settler relation without taking the mutual impact of one on the other would only reveal a limited angle to the events, Marlow's narration will be less concerned with the Hegelian subject-non-subject dichotomy than the intersection of both, however disguised. Of particular note is that such intersection gives rise to the ensuing ambivalence at the heart of the text, Marlow's account of events, thence the clash of perspectives, whether fictional or critical, can be discerned. Eventually, this hybrid ambivalence casts the text into a hybrid existence that would account for the narrators' neurosis on the one hand and the contradictory critiques on the other

Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games and the society of the spectacle

The theory of spectacle is introduced by Guy Debord in his famous book The Society of Spectacle. Debord presents the society of Spectacle as a mere representation of seemingly real images which is used by the capital for its own good. Spectacle consists of images such as games, entertainments or television shows which are political tools in the hands of the Capitol to stabilize its power. In fact, by applying these images through different exciting entertainments and shows, the Capitol disperses people more and destroys their unity so that people cannot be united to rebel against the Capitol’s power. This paper tries to apply the theory of spectacle to Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games and as the title of the novel is very telling of itself, it revolves around the annual event of Hunger Games connoting the starvation of the poor people in the twelve districts and the Capitol. The setting of this novel is Panem which is shown as a dystopia because of its misusing of the modern technologies which are much more developed than our own so that people's mind will be entrapped within the images produced by these technologies. This research tries to prove that the city of Panem, with its governor President Snow, well represents the society of spectacle. This paper shows the influence of such a society on the poor people of these districts and the way they overcome President Snow