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For centuries a man has been treated taking to the account his/ her role into a society, the role of class. And it is known that from the early times wealth played the main part in the process. There is a saying that there are two ordeals for a man: wealth and poverty. The examining works "This is Our Youth" by Kenneth Lonergan and "Dead End" by Stanley Kingsley show how these ordeals influence young people in America in different periods of time. , evaluate the role of wealth in creating of human relationships and depict concerning lives and hopes of ordinary Americans. Through their stories the authors showed the real fight between illusions and reality. Two points of great importance should be taken into account while comparing two works.
First of all it is the aspect of time, shown in them. The other is psychological one concerning the eternal problems of youth. "Dead End" by Stanley Kingsley (1935) was written first. The play was called a depression-era melodrama. The time shown in the work is a time of Great American Depression in 20 s 30 s years.
The situation is always worsen during the times of instability in a society. In America it happened after the World War I. After the War America was in chaos and violence. The generation start to live extravagant and wild life.
The conservatism of previous generation was changed into desire to make more money and to become popular. Personal perception of a life value was based on famous American dream of happiness and individualism. It was a time of material excess and quick prosperity. During that time there were many people from lower social background, who made fortune. Very often the sources of their incomes were speculation or criminal. So was the play's most colorful character Baby Face Martin, a tough guy who became a rich and powerful gangster and killer.
From the other hand it was a time of not only economical but inner or personal depression of American people, their inability to overcome reality. An unemployed architect Dave Connell has no chance to find the way out of the poverty and misfortune. In spite of six years of higher education he hasn't escaped the neighborhood. "This is Our Youth" was written by Kenneth Lonergan much more later (1982). The times described in the play were under Ronald Reagan ruling, 80 s.
The culture of the decade had materialistic basis. It was a time of economic growth when people tried to accumulate as much stuff as they could. There were the parents of the main heroes. Dennis father was a prominent artist and made great career in the movie business. The father of the other main hero, Warren, was one of the biggest lingerie manufacturer in the world. The both main characters were troubled sons of their fathers who made with successful careers but were unsuccessful marriages.
The time of both plays are different but the problems are almost the same. In both plays there are the problems of young people who did not get a good upbringing in the first play because of the poverty and war after-effects; in the next one because of the lack of family upbringing (in 60 s when main characters were small boys the society began to get money but ignore its kids problems). In both plays there is the same theme. The authors shows the misunderstanding of the sense of life, wrong approach to the lifes value and the downfall of illusions. The settings of both plays differ greatly. It goes without saying that the main characters are from different social groups.
Comparing with Dead Ends personages, young people from This is our Youth seem to be the kings of the world. They have great opportunity to get their aims. They have time, money and even drugs on their hands. The main characters live in a run down Upper West Side apartment in New York. Dennis is a young man who lives on his own.
He has his own apartment and his own illegal business. Warren comes to his friend to ask for shelter. Warren has no place to go to after the quarrel with his father. The man has thrown the son out of the Central Park West house. So, in the play This is our Youth there is one apartment, 48 hours, three characters and $ 1500 (that were stolen by Warren from his father). The events in "Dead End" by Stanley Kingsley takes place in Manhattan but in the district for poor.
It is along the East River and it borders with fashionable apartment houses. It is the most dramatic corner in New York city where poverty exists closely to riches. The district is known as Dead End. The name has two meanings. It was called so because the building of a fashionable residential community was stopped and the neighborhood along the waterfront had become neglected. Since that time it became a "cradle of crime. " But the name has another meaning.
Dead End symbolizes a hopeless life without any chance to overcome it. The contrast is so evident between the luxury hotels to the left and the slums to the right that the life of the young people from the slums is full of misfortune and crime from the very beginning. The many differences between the two classes are very noticeable. Though the places of the setting in the works are different the ideas seem to be alike. The main idea is to show how difficult to be young. It is time when a person is confused about the future, does a lot of wrong things, tries to be independent from the parents and throw down a challenge to the society he / she lives in.
Dennis and Warren both are college dropouts. They reject the way of life their fathers have prepared for them. The reality is that youngsters always do not want to follow the lives of their parents or their parents expect them to change. Very often parents are not ready to help their children. Warrens father as well as Baby Face Martins mother from Dead End reject them. Such cases were common for the both epochs.
Children want to create their own world. Though as it is seen from the end of both books sometimes it is a world of broken dreams and hopes. The world of emptiness. It should be pointed that very often mans fortune defends more on his character then on his upbringing.
The main personages of the both books have weak characters. Though they looks strong and powerful but follow the life-path their society and social class lead them. The main characters of "This is Our Youth" by Kenneth Lonergan are two friends, Dennis and Warren, and the young lady Jessica Goldman. They all are rich but not happy. Dennis is an irascible young man. He considers himself as a leveler of personal and business relationships.
He has bad nature and has killed any good intentions that he may have. Though he seems to be more self confident and selfish that his friend Warren. He makes his money by drug deals. He believes it a great business. Only after the death of Dennis dealer from overdose he returns home and begins to think about the meaning of life. But not for a long time.
He does not learn the lesson, does not gain redemption. Warren seems to be more needy and sympathetic of the two though not so bright as his friend. He is not successful with women as Dennis is and tries to copies his friend. He is rather shy and does not believe in love and marriage. When he meets Jessica Goldman Warren treats bad towards her. But then he feels sympathy to her and even convinces her to go on a date.
He has some good features in his character but he has weak character and cannot stand against the will of more power personalities like his father and Dennis. Warren has stolen $ 15, 000 of his father's money. He cannot live on his own and has no idea what to do with the sum. The only way out for him is to follow his friend. They both sit, using cocaine, with no clear idea of their future at the end of the story.
Kenneth Lonergan shows Our Youth (the youth of America at that times) goes nowhere and takes the longest way to it. Main characters of the other play Dead End quite differ in their social origin. They are guys from the slums of Manhattan. The most powerful and bright personage is Baby Face Martin. He appears in the second story.
For a long time there was nothing heard about him. Now he is rich and powerful gangster and killer. He returns home to see his mother and his former girlfriend France. He think that everybody will be happy to see him after all long years of departure. Martin meets the unhappiest fate of all.
His mother rejects him because of his past. His girlfriend is a prostitute. His friend Dave Connell is not very glad to see him. Later he has some hidden potential thoughts to get income from the reward on the head of Baby-face Martin. Martins wealth and power are only illusions. He cannot will and desire to get away from the slums.
He is weak to change his life and the life of other people for better. Martins friend, Dave Connell, is an unemployed architect. He was born in the slums but he had a chance to get an education. But he could not realize his dreams and had to come back to live a hopeless life in the slums. All the Dead End guys (martin, Dave and Tommy) aren't malicious by nature.
The life in the slums has twisted them into becoming tough and heartless. So, having examined some of main characters, it becomes clear that the both works reveal the emptiness and cruelty of the life for those who are weak natured and have no desire to fight for happiness till the final end. Though the personages are from different social groups all of them are able to do wrong things. Warren has stolen the money, Dennis sell drugs, Martin has criminal past and Dave has betrayed his friendship.
As to the structure of the books they are different. This is our youth is a one coherent story while Dead End consists of several stories and each story though is the continuation of the rest but has its own main hero. The language of the plays has some common features. The one from Dead End is full of slang. The language was much stronger in the play. It reveals the luck of upbringing and good education.
It shows the tough and heartless nature of the world surrounding the Bed End kids. Though Dennis is the son of a famous artist but his speech is more Brooklyn hood than of a person from Upper West Side. Both books can be concerned as the best works of social realism. They both present the realistic picture of social relationships of different time. The genre of This is our youth is melodrama, and of Dead End can be regarded as a drama. The both plays are great works with dramatic and instructive ends.
It is clear that if a society does not take care of its youth there will not be the way out for it in future. Bibliography: Philip, Fisher. This Is Our Youth. Review. New York Times, 14 July, 2002. The Play is the Thing.
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. , New York, 1999. web web web
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