"Insanity in the Darkness": Anti-Semitic Stereotypes and Jewish Identity in Max Frisch's "Andorra" and Arthur Miller's "Focus"
1997; Modern Humanities Research Association; Volume: 92; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.2307/3733383
ISSN2222-4319
Autores Tópico(s)Jewish and Middle Eastern Studies
ResumoMax Frisch's experimental play Andorra and Arthur Miller's realistic novel Focus are based on the same unusual theme of a Gentile who is mistaken for a Jew and responds to persecution by declaring that he is a Jew. Both works explore issues of personal identity and social responsibility in conjunction with anti-Semitism as an example of stereotyping and prejudice in general. Both show affinities with the thought ofJean-Paul Sartre, Theodor Adorno, Hannah Arendt, and Bruno Bettelheim. Conditioned by the authors' different temperaments and circumstances, Focus ends in hope, Andorra in despair. In this essay the parallels and contrasts between the two works are analysed for the first time.
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