O'Neil's "Desire Under the Elm"

Paper Summary:

This paper presents an analysis of the play in terms of the theme of desire. The characters are probed and shown to demonstrate, each in their own way, the main desire of the play, lust and greed for material wealth. The desire for love in the play is also explored.

From the Paper:

"All the characters of the play desire to own the farm. They plot and scheme against each other for its ownership. But then love envelopes them and their desires take them to other emotional and dangerous extremes.

"Eugene O'Neil's "Desire Under The Elm" revolves around the concept of desire. There are several states of desire that are revealed by the characters of the play. The three main characters portray their desire and passion in different categories and stages of emotional expressions. The main desire in the play however is the lust and greed for material wealth. All the characters namely Eben, Abbie and Ephraim display the desire for owning the farm eminently and it is the emotional desire and want for the ownership of the property that turns them into evil-minded characters. In the backdrop of the play is the desire and passion of love which ultimately forces the two characters Eben and Abbie to realize that there is a more powerful desire in love than the desire for property, love which takes them into a totally different direction altogether."

More papers on O'Neil's "Desire Under the Elm":

• Analytical Essay # 3578 : "Biblical Themes from "Desire Under the Elms"
• Analytical Essay # 25227 : "Greek Mythology in Eugene O'Neill's "Desire Under the Elms"

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