"Cloud Nine"

Term Paper # 100198

Drama and Theater > English
English > Analysis

"Cloud Nine"

An analysis of the nationalism and identity of place and people in Caryl Churchill's play, "Cloud Nine."

2,081 words () | 1 source | MLA | 2007 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper analyzes Caryl Churchill's play, "Cloud Nine." It discusses the play in terms of nationalism, as well as identity for place and people. The paper discusses and questions the central theme of "Cloud Nine" that all that is held to be revered as traditional, should be adhered to socially and culturally. The paper describes the unique perspective and unconventional techniques that are used in the play to construct the theme of nationalism.

From the Paper:

"Even though the vision of utopia has been created, there are major obstacles to its realization. Betty's maturity has been stunted by Clive. "I feel like a child with money. Clive always paid everything" (79). Victoria, meanwhile, expresses the basics of Marxist feminism when she comments on the need for a theoretical background and the links between sex and economics. However, although she knows feminist philosophy, she is still dominated by Martin who ironically is also very familiar with feminism. In an image of identity as mirror, Betty remarks that, "I thought if Clive wasn't looking at me there wasn't a person there" (82). Betty's rebellion was realized through masturbation where she learned to become her own person distinct from her mother and from Clive. The final outcome for Betty was that "I felt triumphant because I was a separate person from them" (Churchill 83)."