The Existentialist Interpretation of July 7， 1994： the Absurdity of the World

Abstract：Donald Margulies， born in 1954， is a significant contemporary？. In 2000， Donald Margulies won Pulitzer Prize for Drama.From the perspective of existentialism， this paper attempts to probe into the existential elements in Donald Margulies plays July 7， 1994. We can see Margulies has shown great enthusiasm in probing into the existence of human beings by focusing on the ordinary inner agonies and conflicts in the hearts of the main characters in his plays.

Key words：existentialism； Donald Margulies； absurdity

中圖分類號：I106 文獻標識碼：A 文章編號：1672-1578（2016）07-0004-02

1 Introduction

n the literary work of existentialists， the term “absurdity” refers to the incomprehensible state between man and the existential environment in which man struggles to seek for the meaning and the value of existence， but the world only turns out to be illogical， unreasonable and life to be meaningless. However， for existentialists， the absurd feeling is one of the essential experiences for human beings. The absurdity of human existence is the necessary result of our attempt to live a meaningful life in an indifferent， uncaring world.

Donald Margulies， born in September 2， 1954， is a significant contemporary American playwright and a current professor of English and Theater Studies at Yale University. In 2000， Donald Margulies won Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the play. July 7， 1994 is one of Margulies most powerful plays about human suffering. The context of the play is one day in the life of a general internist named Kate who finds herself helpless to aid any of her patients， as their suffering cannot be alleviated with anything she was taught in medical school. Lingering behind all the consultations are O.J. Simpson murder case and the national obsession with his murder trial， as each conversation Kate has with her patients relates to the impending decision on whether the evidence found at Simpsons estate would be admitted into the trial.

2 The Absurdity World in July 7， 1994

2.1 O.J. Simpson Murder Case： the Chaotic Society

The world of July 7， 1994 is just a world of “eternity chaos”. Donald Margulies， as a serious writer， is deeply concerned with American peoples living condition. In July 7， 1994， Margulies gives us a presentation of a chaotic and violent world in America. It is a chaotic society where death， racial conflict， insanity， political violence and riot are all inevitably mingled together， though seemingly civilized. In this absurd world there is no objective system of values.”

The Nicole Simpson murder case has been deemed as one of the highlights among the criminal trials in American history. Because of Simpsons celebrity status and the redundant television reports， the so called “Trial of the Century” drew national attention. Almost every major television network， as well as local news media，gave the prolix report with billions of viewers watching all through the country. The shared activity brought millions of viewers endless interest and a feeling of participation， as if they were playing a role in directing a national drama. Based on the evidence found and collected at the crime scene， the police had reason to suspect that O. J. Simpson was the murderer. Ironically， some public opinion polls had concluded that many blacks， having their suspicious of Simpsons innocence， were more inclined to be suspicious of the credibility and fairness of the police and the courts.

2.2 Kates Patients： Peoples Living Predicament

According to existentialist， man wants to understand the world and hopes the world can be well-regulated， rational and meaningful， but the world rejects to accommodate that desire. Thus the absurdity lies in the relationship between man and the world and this relationship is highly strained and disharmonious apparently.Once people realize the nature of the world is absurd and disordered， they cant avoid the feeling of absurdity； they will react differently to the absurd world.

Senora Soto， a Hispanic woman in her 40s， chooses to stay in America and earns a living by cleaning the offices of Maritine Center just to get more money. Earning a tiny wage and thinking all the time that she needs to send money home， she feels anxious and pressured. She has to separate from her children and asks her old grandmother to raise her children. She misses her hometown so much that she would go crazy. In Senora Sotos eyes， the relationship between man and society are not harmonious any longer， even became hostile to each other. She refuses to admit that her pain is generated by family problems rather than anything medical care. Since Senora Sotos life is full of wasted and useless effort， she always feels a sense of powerlessness and uselessness. There is no doubt that Senora Soto is spiritually tortured and her lives are involved in a chaotic state.

The black people are discriminated by the white people. Their history is a record of humility and misery. Their way of living， their customs， their music and other forms of art are greatly influenced by their culture. As we all know， the history of the blacks is filled with sufferings， insults， pains and prejudice. They are prejudiced and have been cut off from their own culture. The black woman Ms. Pike is subjected to domestic violence and finds no recourse in the countrys justice system. She is afflicted by her husband who abuses her and the children. He snacks and punches the kids to scare them just because they were yelling and screaming. Sadly， Ms. Pike thinks the abuse is justified and acceptable. She knows very well in how she got hurt but she refuses to admit it was the fault of her husband. She doesnt think herself the victim of domestic violence. When Kate encourages her to report it to the authorities， Ms. Pike refuses. She is trapped in domestic violent situations through insufficient financial resources， fear， shame or to protect children. In the play， Ms. Pikes life is full of spiritual emptiness and living predicament. She realizes her life is actually nothing and meaninglessness. Whats more， her destiny is controlled not by herself， but some power beyond control.

The randy male patient Mr. Caridi who harasses his doctor is an unstable working-class man. He is living a lonely， helpless and unstable life. He suffers bi-polar disease and envies the doctors happy family. He feels he is deserted by the world. Mankind cannot get rid of loneliness all his lifetime. Man increasingly feels he is a stranger or outsider to the world. The omniscient loneliness exists everywhere. It is not restricted by time or space. Mr. Caridi has to work day and night to live a decent life. His isolated， disconnected experience makes him fail to live in harmony with the indifferent world. When he leaves the clinic， he steals Kates family photos. This inappropriate practice is to show his dissatisfaction and anger to this disorderly and complicated word.

Paula，a woman suffering from AIDS，refuses to acknowledge her impending death or make plans for someone to care for her children after her death. She is a frail and sick black woman， obsessed by her illness and poverty. Seeing such similar scene that father lion died in The Lion King， leaving the little lion alone， the poor woman Paula cant control herself anymore and feels depressed and heartbroken. Nobody can take care of her children after her death. The relatives and friends themselves suffer the living dilemma and have problems in feeding themselves. She cant imagine the result that her children would be shipped all over the place and tossed around in the children welfare system and maybe get lost forever. Sadly， when that happens， she will be helpless. She regrets everything she ever did towards the end of her life. Paula has no idea of what is happening in the world and why she is defeated by misfortune of life.

As Sartre points out， the whole world and human beings living in it are full of nothingness and absurdity. Human beings have no root and are thrown into the dehumanized existence. Through the eyes of Kate and her patients， Margulies shows us the living predicament of modern people. They dont understand the meaning and purpose of their lives. We can conclude that these characters have become mental fragmented and their trivial hopes are deprived by the cruel society.

3 Conclusion

In July 7， 1994， Margulies exposes that in the late twentieth century the suffering does not go unnoticed， but just unaided and incurable. With this play stressed that， every individual has different forms of angst. Angst is not immune to human beings. Donald Margulies unfolded the picture of tragic fates of different people in July 7， 1994. People become fragmented because their original existence states are absurdity， loneliness， anxiety and so on. They are often in the plight as being excluded and abandoned by others or the external society in the absurd world.

參考文獻：

[1] Margulies，Donald. July 7，1994：Short Plays and Monologues[M].New York： Dramatist's Play Service， 1997.

[2] Sartre， Jean-Paul. Existentialism and Humanism. New York： Haskell， 1948.

[3] 郭繼德.20世紀末期以來的美國戲劇[J]. 英美文學(xué)研究論叢， 2012.1.

[4] 胡開奇. 美國當(dāng)代嚴肅戲?。?990-2013）[J]. 劇本， 2013.9.

作者簡介：曹麗華（1983-），女，籍貫：江蘇，學(xué)歷：本科，職稱：講師，研究方向：英美戲劇。