Socialism and the Possibility of Utopia in Wesker Trilogy

Fazel Asadi Amjad,Mohsen Masoomi,Monireh Arvin

doi:10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s1p296

Fazel Asadi Amjad, Mohsen Masoomi + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s1p296

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Abstract

Every modern epoch seems to produce a small number of artists whose work provides society with an antidote to the ignorance of its own exhaustion. Arnold Wesker is one of these writers who offer this therapeutic service to an ailing body. The Wesker Trilogy (1960) has charted the gradual fading of Communist faith and youthful energy among a group of Jews in the East End of London (1936-1959). In this article the author has applied sociological approach, remarkably moral and philosophical socialism, to The Wesker Trilogy in order to reveal Wesker’s most ambitious achievement and impressive contribution to the English New Wave Theatre and all his working-class audiences. Therefore, the quest for a radically reconfigured socialism, which Wesker articulates with force and passion in The Trilogy, appears by the late 1960s as a quest for survival, not only for the Left itself but for all humankind. Meanwhile, he works to protect human freedom and dignity and to promote a life worth living. Although he follows many of the goals of socialism, he willingly subordinates his socialist principles of solidarity and communal cooperation to defending the rights of the individual. In Wesker’s estimation, no political or religious cause―not even Judaism or socialism―is worth the sacrifice of individual liberty. Finally, what is discussed here is Wesker’s notion of utopia. He thinks that the belief in the utopian ideal could provide a meaning and order for life. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2016.v7n3s1p296

Highlights

As Peter Buse argues, “The three plays which make up The Wesker Trilogy (1960)ʊChicken Soup with Barley, Roots, and I’m Talking about Jerusalem”ʊwere drawn “on Wesker’s working-class Jewish background” and “ on his own direct experience” (2003, P.1)
Arnold Wesker in his plays examines the problems of socialism directly, and he comments affectionately, nostalgically on the family ties that lie at the heart of Jewish life
Socialism in the First Play, Chicken Soup with Barley In The Trilogy Arnold Wesker explored the organization of society in terms of the “aspirations and disillusion of one family, struggling against political imbalance, unthinking ignorance, and personal weakness to establish a valid image of a good life” (Lambert, 1985, P.7)

Summary

Introduction

As Peter Buse argues, “The three plays which make up The Wesker Trilogy (1960)ʊChicken Soup with Barley, Roots, and I’m Talking about Jerusalem”ʊwere drawn “on Wesker’s working-class Jewish background” and “ on his own direct experience” (2003, P.1). Chicken Soup with Barley handles the Communist aspect, Roots handles the personal aspect, and I’m Talking about Jerusalem is a sort of study in a William Morris’ kind of Socialism.

Results

Conclusion