T D 301 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Norm (Social), Bourgeoisie, Belle Reve
Document Summary
Born and educated in missouri: southern. Dysfunctional family: father: alcoholic, blue collar worker, mother: higher pedigree than dad, parents argued about how to raise kids, williams dropped out of school, went to work for dad, had a nervous breakdown at 24. Came out as gay: went back to school in ny, studied english, alcohol runs in the family, sister had severe mental illness. Ppl with mental problems were lobotomized at the time. Sister had lobotomy, failed, she was non-responsive after that. Most plays are autobiographical: said theatre helped him cope with life. Had a lifelong partner: partner died in 1963, he went into depression. Took a darker note, wanted to look into the depth of human sentiments. Critics did not like this new phase bc they were used to his old tone. Deteriorating, decaying settings: authors who think the south is crumbling. Disturbing or grotesque events: looking at problems associated with reconstruction. Examples: truman capote, cormac mccarthy, william faulkner.
