Claiming identity: The effect of the American myth on human relationships in David Mamet's "American Buffalo", "Glengarry Glenn Ross", and "Speed-the-Plow"

David Mamet's American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross, and Speed-the-Plow explore the damage American business has done to the human spirit. The frontier myth has evolved into exploitative capitalism where competition becomes an obstacle for community and friendship. The characters in these plays try to establish and define their identities by their particular status within the business hierarchy. Unfortunately the nature of competition creates an environment in which the characters use each other's needs and vulnerabilities for their own gain. To openly express the need for love and community in this climate is to expose weakness. Fear of revealing such vulnerability prohibits Mamet's characters from accepting their real needs. The conflict between the need for community and the fear of rejection from society because of a weak position within the business structure relegates them to compromised versions of truth and the identities they seek.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (MA)

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Theatre Arts

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Year

1999

Author dc:creator

• Sattazahn, Lyn

Contributors dc:contributor

• Jeffrey Koep

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/rtds/982

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:oasis.library.unlv.edu:rtds-1981