The Presence of the Past: the past as
a matter of debate
Death of a Salesman
past is present in the memories of the characters
Willy's past continually
invades his present ->
collision of past and
present
past influences Willy's behavior the same way as his
current interactions with other characters
he retreats to his memory to confront the truth that
lies there and in part to escape the consequences of
the past exposed by the linear present
Long Day's Journey Into Night
each character controlled by his
memories of the family's history
example: Both sons and Mary hold
grudges towards Tyrone for refusing to
pay for a quality doctor for Mary
Mary cannot let go of the
dream of being a professional
pianist or nun
family is decaying
because it is trapped by
suspicions and problems
resulting from mistakes
made long ago which can
neither be forgiven nor
ignored
"the past is the present" (Mary, Act II)
Title: the day is not unique --> repetitive
cyclic structure: each
confrontation leads to a
relevation about the past and to
another confrontation
sole activity of characters:
dealing with the past and
its present repercussions
all problems of past cannot be forgotten
past as a burden:
fixed the present
and future, letting
go impossible
past as a refuge
Our Town
Emily returns to Grover's Corners to
relive her 12th birthday: impossibility of
recovering the past -> Emily is a product
of her relationships and cannot go back
importance of a moment in
developing the pattern of a
lifetime and the intrinsic worth
future significance of the events
she relives -> dramatic irony
bombarded
of details
that she
had
forgotten
often: focus on present moment
repetition of details and circularity
of daily activities: expose the past
while depicting the present
memory as blessing and curse
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
several characters retell the past
-> several versions of the story
memory as a
creative process ->
truth never
captured
first 15 pages: Maggie's one-sided conversation exposes the path
and elicits our sympathy for Maggie -> Maggie recognizes: Brick
uses memory to preserve an unchanging past -> influence on
present is destructive
end: lie about baby -> survival not
adhering to personal vision as it is
frozen in memory -> it should
interact with present and adjust to
its demands
Painting churches
Fanny and Gardener
(parents) in decline from
their artistically
productive years and
daughter is moving up -> self-centered
Mags want to erase her past ->
hated her childhood (send away
from the table, because playing
with food & parents destroyed
her first "art work")