The disintegration of a dream : a study of Sam Shephard's family trilogy, Curse of the starving class, Buried child and True west
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Authors
Watt, Diane Lilian
Issue Date
1995 , 1995-11
Type
Dissertation
Language
en
Keywords
Bibliographic profile , American dream and the disintegration therof , Family and drama , Modern mythology , Betrayal of the land , The frontier , The Rock Garden , Curse of the starving class , Buried child , True west
Alternative Title
Abstract
The family trilogy, Curse of the Starving Class, Buried
Child and True West, presents Sam Shepard's strong bond with
his culture and his people, illustrates an intense connection
with the land, and reveals a deep longing for the
traditions of the past, through the dramatisation of the
betrayal of the American Dream. Although obviously part of
the American tradition of family drama, Shepard never completely
conforms, subverting the genre by debunking the
traditional family in order to make a statement about the
present disintegration of the bonds of family life and
modern American society. In the trilogy Shepard decries the
loss of the old codes connecting with his despair at the
debasement of the ideals of the past and the demise of the
American Dream. Finally, the plays insist on the importance
a new set of tenets to supplant the sterile ethics of modern
America
Description
Citation
Watt, Diane Lilian (1995) The disintegration of a dream : a study of Sam Shephard's family trilogy, Curse of the starving class, Buried child and True west, University of South Africa, Pretoria, <http://hdl.handle.net/10500/17851>