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World literature and its numerous interpretations have proved the point
that diverse human emotions find reflection in literature, as
literature is the mirror not only of society but also of human
feelings and aspirations. And the study of comparative literature helps in giving us
a better picture of ourselves in relation to those who lived in another time and
at another place.
In the plays, All My Sons and King
Lear, the problem is of the conflicting
self-image and the notion of self-identity. In both these plays, the
relationship between the parent and child is threatened due to the tug-of-war between
them. The parent is either too dominating or too possessive, and the child, on the
other hand, tries to challenge the image of the parent. This `war' between the
parent and the child is not spontaneous. As Koch (1967, 103) rightly remarks, "War
is not a spontaneous phenomenon; it is only the intensification of forces already
at work during the interludes of peace like humidity gathering before a storm."
Joe Keller in All My Sons is a man of self-contradictory imagesone of
a loving father and caring husband, and the other of a shrewd and
corrupt businessman. As a father and husband, he is concerned with the wellbeing
of his family; but as a businessman, he adopts unfair means to earn
moneyhe supplies defective cylinder heads to the American Air Force, as a result of
which twenty-one pilots lose their lives. The struggle between these two
conflicting images is the crux of Joe's personality. |
