Thunderstorm And Desire Under The Elms:A Comparative Study

Thunderstorm And Desire Under The Elms:
A Comparative Study

Abstract: Thunderstorm and Desire Under the Elms are both great dramas of China and the United States. In my thesis, I will compare the two dramas in the two countries cultural backgrounds. The thesis are divided into three parts with an introduction.In the introduction, I think that Cao Yu was influenced by Eugene O¡¯Neill in drama writing, esp. in writing his masterpiece Thunderstorm. In Part I, I study the historical and cultural backgrounds when the two stories happened. In my opinion, the background function actively in the two dramas. The stage settings, which represent the cultural backgrounds, serve as a great force in the fate of characters. Part ¢ò compares two fathers in the two dramas. In my opinion, Chou Fu-yuan and Ephraim are ¡°Hostages of history.¡± They represent the main ideas and principles of the time they live in. They are symbols of repression. Part ¢ó discusses the fate of two wome...