The Comparative Reading of Sam Shepard and Akbar Radi’s Selected Plays: An Existential Reading

Subject Areas : Comparative (with literary and artistic features)

Hossein Moradi ¹

1 - Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.

Received: 2022-07-13 Accepted : 2022-11-23 Published : 2023-12-22

Keywords: Communication, Identity, desire, freedom,

Abstract :

The philosophical problems of modern society have been a concern of many playwrights. One of the reasons for Akbar Radi's fame in Iranian literature is to address such issues. In the United States, Sam Shepard is also a well-known activist. Questioning about human identity and individuality, as well as the relationship of the theatrical character with others, his relationship with society, freedom and desire to acquire desires, are among the topics seen in Shepard and Rady's plays. This article examines these existentialist concepts by comparing Shepard's True West, Buried Child, Rady's Night on the Wet Pavement and Mr. Gill's Magnificent Smile. In each group of plays, the authors reflect the lack of identity, disruption of relationships with others, desires, social responsibilities, and freedom of action. By examining and comparing the selected works of these two authors, in both completely different Eastern and Western societies, the social situation in the emergence of the mentioned philosophical concepts is similar in many respects and, except for a few debatable exceptions, are completely in line. This article aims at a comparative study of these two groups of plays with a view to the existentialist philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, and finally proves the disappearance of concepts of identity, inability to communicate in society, isolation and the disappearance of the concept of freedom in society. The purpose of writing this article is to investigate and compare the philosophy of existentialism in the selected works of Rady and Shepherd and to find common themes despite the cultural and geographical differences in them. This research is based on the school of comparative literature. Using a comparative approach in analyzing literary works and other works of art with each other leads to a deeper understanding of the works and erasing the boundaries between literary and artistic works.

References:

کتاب‌ها رادی، اکبر (1395) شب روی سنگفرش خیس، تهران: نشر قطره. رادی، اکبر، (1394) لبخند باشکوه آقای گیل، تهران: نشر قطره. سارتر، ژان پل (1386) اگزیستانسیالیسم و اصالت بشر، ترجمه مصطفی رحیمی، تهـران: انتشارات نیلوفر. شپرد، سم (1388) غرب حقیقی، ترجمه امیر امجد، تهران: نشر نیلا. شپرد، سم (1394) کودک مدفون، ترجمه آهو خردمند، تهران: نشر نیلا. عنقا، حمیده بانو (1390) رادی‌شناسی 1، ویراستار عطاالله کوپال، تهران: نشر قطره. عنقا، حمیده بانو (1395) نامه‌های اکبر رادی، تهران: نشر نشانه. ندا، طه (1391) ادبیات تطبیقی، ترجمه هادی نظری منظم، تهران: نشر نی. وال، ژان (1372) نگاهی به پدیدار شناسی و فلسفه‌های هست بودن، یحیی مهدوی، تهران: انتشـارات خوارزمی. مقالات سلامی، مسعود، و پیداد، لیلا. (1393). بررسی تطبیقی دو اثر از اکبر رادی و کسافر کروتس. مطالعات ادبیات تطبیقی، 8(32)، 7-33. سلامی، مسعود، و صفیئی، کامبیز. (1391). بررسی جهان بینی در دو اثر اسطوره‌ای حماسی شاهنامه و سرود نیبلونگن. مطالعات ادبیات تطبیقی، 6(23)، 83-108. منابع لاتین A. Tarancon, J. (1970). Visions of the True West: Sam Shepard, Identiy, and Myth. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, DOI:10.14198/raei.2004.17.17. Abbotson, S. C. (2003) Thematic guide to modern drama. London: Greenwood Press. Foley, Ruth (2013) Women as Victims in Tennessee Williams’ First Three Major Plays. Thesis, The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Winnipeg of North Dakota, Lincoln. April 8. Franchi, Leo, “Sartre and Freedom” (PDF), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University, retrieved 28 Dec. 2012. Frechtman, Bernard (1972) Psychology of the Imagination, London: Methuen. Gutting, G. (2001) French Philosophy in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hazel E. Barnes, intr. Mary Warnock (1985) Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology, London: Methuen. Heinke-Berenpas, Martin (2011) Jean-Paul Sartre and the Possibility of Authentic Love, Kritikos. Journal Of Postmodern Cultural Sound, Text And Image, 8(March-April). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/70183. Hinton, Peter (2008-2009) The National Arts Center English Theatre, Buried Child, Programs for Student Audiences, www.nac-cna.ca. 1-866-850-2787 613-947-7000. J. Bottoms. Stephen (1988) The Theatre of Sam Shepard, State of Crisis, Cambridge: Cambridge University press. J. Onof. Christian (1995) John Paul Sartre: Existentialism, London: University College. Macann, Cristopher (1993) Four Phenomenological Philosophers, London: Rutledge. Mahal. Ramandeep (2014) Incest and infanticide in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child. International Advanced Research, 2 (Jul). Mairet, Philip (1971) Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions, London: Methuen. Mairet, Philip (1973) Existentialism and Humanism, London: Methuen. Najar, Esmaeel (2012) A Survey of Man's Alienation in Modern World: Existential Reading of Sam Shepard's Buried Child and True West. International Humanities and Social Science, 2 (7). Newton P. Stalllknecht and Horst Frenz (1961) Comparative literature method and perspective, eds. Carbondale & Amsterdam, Southern Illinois Press. Opipari. Benjamin (2010) Shame; Silencing the Family Secret in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child. New Psychologies and Modern Assessments, 44(1-2). Remak, H. (1961) Comparative Literature, Its Definition and Function, In Comparative Literature: Method and Perspective, eds, Stallknecht, N.P. and Frenz, H., Carbondale & Amsterdam: Southern Illinois University Press. Sartre, Jean Paul (1957) The Transcendence of the Ego: An Existentialist Theory of Consciousness, Trans. Williams, Forrest and Kirkpatrick, Robert, New York: Noonday Press. Sartre, Jean Paul (1975) Existentialism and Humanism, London: Philip Mairet. Sartre, Jean Paul (1984) Being and Nothingness. Washington, Washington Square Press. Sartre, Jean, Paul (1970) Intentionality: A Fundamental Ideal of Husserl's Phenomenology. British Society for Phenomenology,1(2). Sheridan-Smith, Alan. Rée, Jonathan (1964) The Problem of Method, London: Verso. Weebber, Jonathan (2009) The Existentialism of John Paul Sartre, New York. Welzel, Martin (2017) Jean Paul Sartre's Philosophy in "The Transcendence of the Ego" and "Being and Nothingness," http://www.mwelzel.de/sartrebeing/

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Books Angha, Hamideh Banoo (2011) Radiology 1, Editor Atallah Kopal, Tehran: Qatreh Publishing. [In Persian] Angha, Hamideh Banoo (2016) Letters of Akbar Radi, Tehran: Neshaneh Publishing. [In Persian] Neda, Taha (2012) Comparative Literature, Trans. Hadi Nazari Manzam, Tehran: Ney Publishing. [In Persian] Radi, Akbar (2015) Mr. Gil's Magnificent Smile, Tehran: Qatreh Publishing. [In Persian] Radi, Akbar (2016) Night on Wet Pavement, Tehran: Qatreh Publishing. [In Persian] Sartre, Jean-Paul, (2010), Existentialism and Human Authenticity, Trans. Mustafa Rahimi, Tehran, Nilofar. [In Persian] Shepard, Sam (2009) The True West, Trans. Amir Amjad, Tehran: Nila Publishing. [In Persian] Shepard, Sam (2015) Buried Child, Trans. Deer Wise, Tehran: Nila Publishing. [In Persian] Wall, Jean (1993) A look at phenomenology and philosophies of existence, Yahya Hehdavi, Tehran, Khwarazmi. [In Persian] Articles Salami, M., & Safiie, K. (2012). A Comparative Analysis of Worldviews in Mythical and Epic Works of Shahnameh and Nibelungenlied. Comparative Literature Studies, 6(23), 83-108. [In Persian] Salami, M., & Piedad, L. (2014). An analytical Survey of the Work of Akbar Radi and Xaver Kroetz. Comparative Literature Studies, 8(32), 7-33. [In Persian] منابع لاتین A. Tarancon, J. (1970). Visions of the True West: Sam Shepard, Identiy, and Myth. Revista Alicantina de Estudios Ingleses, DOI:10.14198/raei.2004.17.17. Abbotson, S. C. (2003) Thematic guide to modern drama. London: Greenwood Press. Foley, Ruth (2013) Women as Victims in Tennessee Williams’ First Three Major Plays. Thesis, The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences, University of Winnipeg of North Dakota, Lincoln. April 8. Franchi, Leo, “Sartre and Freedom” (PDF), Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (SEP), Metaphysics Research Lab, CSLI, Stanford University, retrieved 28 Dec. 2012. Frechtman, Bernard (1972) Psychology of the Imagination, London: Methuen. Gutting, G. (2001) French Philosophy in the Twentieth Century, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hazel E. Barnes, intr. Mary Warnock (1985) Being and Nothingness: An Essay on Phenomenological Ontology, London: Methuen. Heinke-Berenpas, Martin (2011) Jean-Paul Sartre and the Possibility of Authentic Love, Kritikos. Journal Of Postmodern Cultural Sound, Text And Image, 8(March-April). Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/1887/70183. Hinton, Peter (2008-2009) The National Arts Center English Theatre, Buried Child, Programs for Student Audiences, www.nac-cna.ca. 1-866-850-2787 613-947-7000. J. Bottoms. Stephen (1988) The Theatre of Sam Shepard, State of Crisis, Cambridge: Cambridge University press. J. Onof. Christian (1995) John Paul Sartre: Existentialism, London: University College. Macann, Cristopher (1993) Four Phenomenological Philosophers, London: Rutledge. Mahal. Ramandeep (2014) Incest and infanticide in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child. International Advanced Research, 2 (Jul). Mairet, Philip (1971) Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions, London: Methuen. Mairet, Philip (1973) Existentialism and Humanism, London: Methuen. Najar, Esmaeel (2012) A Survey of Man's Alienation in Modern World: Existential Reading of Sam Shepard's Buried Child and True West. International Humanities and Social Science, 2 (7). Newton P. Stalllknecht and Horst Frenz (1961) Comparative literature method and perspective, eds. Carbondale & Amsterdam, Southern Illinois Press. Opipari. Benjamin (2010) Shame; Silencing the Family Secret in Sam Shepard’s Buried Child. New Psychologies and Modern Assessments, 44(1-2). Remak, H. (1961) Comparative Literature, Its Definition and Function, In Comparative Literature: Method and Perspective, eds, Stallknecht, N.P. and Frenz, H., Carbondale & Amsterdam: Southern Illinois University Press. Sartre, Jean Paul (1957) The Transcendence of the Ego: An Existentialist Theory of Consciousness, Trans. Williams, Forrest and Kirkpatrick, Robert, New York: Noonday Press. Sartre, Jean Paul (1975) Existentialism and Humanism, London: Philip Mairet. Sartre, Jean Paul (1984) Being and Nothingness. Washington, Washington Square Press. Sartre, Jean, Paul (1970) Intentionality: A Fundamental Ideal of Husserl's Phenomenology. British Society for Phenomenology,1(2). Sheridan-Smith, Alan. Rée, Jonathan (1964) The Problem of Method, London: Verso. Weebber, Jonathan (2009) The Existentialism of John Paul Sartre, New York. Welzel, Martin (2017) Jean Paul Sartre's Philosophy in "The Transcendence of the Ego" and "Being and Nothingness," http://www.mwelzel.de/sartrebeing/