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ESTABLISHING ABSURDISM
Created by:
AHMAD TAUFIQUR RAHMAN
13020117130052
B - CLASS
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF HUMANITIES
DIPONEGORO UNIVERSITY
2019
Abstract:
Caryl Churchill, the famed playwright in the late 1970s, who created several
plays that has so much impacts and influences on today’s play especially in surrealism
and absurdism theme. One of the most famous Churcill’s work is A Mouthful of Birds
which is the main subject that I will discuss in this paper. The purpose of this paper is to
find out the level of absurdism that created by a specific character, that is Derek. While
this paper is focusing on Derek’s characteristics and analyzing why Derek character
could make an absurdism impact on this drama. This study is also mainly to find out
that if there’s a relationship between Derek’s behavior in the play and the absurdism of
the play. Close reading method is used in this paper to fulfill the aim of this paper.
Churchill illustrated Derek in a unique way and she had so many reasons why she made
Derek in such a way of absurd that gave effects in this play.
On the other hand, A Mouthful of Birds has very unique theme which is
illustrated by Churchill herself as an absurdism. Absurdism in a play is a difficult
thing to be projected because there are so many people that will be misunderstood
the concept or the meaning of the purpose of the play itself. Characters in this play
are the ones that build the theme of the absurdism. One of the character is Derek
which is described as an unemployed man.
1.2 Purpose
3.1 Theory
3.2 Method
This paper is using close reading method. Close reading method, in literary
criticism, is a clear interpretation of a summary of a literary work. Close
reading method also dealing with formal structures of a text, and giving
attention to each word in the text.
4. RESEARCH OBJECT
4.1 Summary of the play
A Mouthful of Birds contains several primary themes which are
possession, obsession, and passion. The Greek classic also heavily influenced
this play which causing it has a dance theater part. This play is actually having a
strange structure because it’s focusing on each different character.
Stories in this play have been divided into seven separate parts which all
of them are set in London. The first story is describing an ungrateful wife that
always hallucinates that she should be drowning her baby into the bathtub and
well, she actually did it. The second story is a dude that is obsessed with a pig
and even this man is dreaming he was dancing together with his own pig.
Another story telling about a voodoo practitioner named Gillespie who just
arrived and enjoyed her life in Londo but got haunted by a spirit named Baron
Sunday. But, that spirit has left her after a moment, and unfortunately “The
Princess” or described as the gost of a dead britishwoman visited her.
Herculine Barbin who is someone that can change her sex from girld to
man or can be called hermaphrodite tells his own transformation by himself.
Another story is telling a woman that has difficlut time to throw away his
behaviour of drinking alcochol. Every character has their own conflict which is
difficult to categorized it as a sexual, murderous, or even worse both of them.
5. ANALYSIS
I think that Derek now accepts ‘his new appearance as well as his new role’
makes me think that Derek is now assuming that he is now a ‘essential’ being
because he was a man before which he thinks the male role wasn’t suitable for
him. He enjoys his new role and he becomes transsexual or whatever we call. It
also means that Derek doesn’t mind about stereotypical woman in universal
because as he has said before he is fine having small breasts and strong arms.
Derek’s transformation makes him live with satisfication life every day. He
thinks female body is the perfect choice for him, since he doesn’t have to
weight-lifting again. In his understanding, woman does not have to do works out
because their body is fragile and should be treated well.
The all Derek’s evidences reassure that this play has the enough amount of
absurdism to be showed to the audience. While the audience may be
misunderstood what the play trying to tell.
6. CONCLUSION
1. Literary work:
2. Writer bio:
3. Theory:
Camus, Albert (1991). Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays. Vintage Books.
ISBN 0-679-73373-6.
4. Method:
Williams Jackson, A.V. (2008) [1896]. Warner, Charles Dudley (ed.). The
Avesta. A Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern. III.
5. General:
Churchill, Caryl & David Lan. A Mouthful of Birds. London: Methuen's New
Theatrescripts, 1986.