Abstract
This paper aims to interpret both the female
characters in Naomi Wallace’s play And I and Silence (2011), Jamie and
Dee’s desire to be free and their resistance to power within the framework of
Michel Foucault's Discipline and Punish (1975). Emphasizing concepts
such as power, freedom, and resistance, Foucault advocates that nobody is out
of power for there exists no place absent of power. Furthermore, it is
impossible not to mention freedom wherever there are power and resistance where
freedom exists. Wallace introduces her audience to two female characters who
had been convicted of different crimes and then met in prison. Jamie is African
American while Dee is a white American woman. Both women dream of making a good
life together after being set free. The moment that they do get released, they
deem that they have gotten rid of disciplinary power, and are free. However,
both of them begin to resist as they encounter power again. Characters who feel
the power much more as they resist eventually accept that power is everywhere.
They commit suicide in order to find freedom, regardless whether or not it is
an exact solution. As a result, Wallace effectively reveals the American power
system through her avant-garde play. Wallace's characters, moreover, are
dramatic instances of Foucault's conceptualization of power, freedom, and
resistance.
Keywords
References
- Adler, T., Cummings, ST, Achilles, J., Urban, K., Benesch, K., Vandenbroucke, R., ... Abbotson, S. (2013). The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights . A&C Black. Bigsby, C. (2018). Twenty-First Century American Playwrights. Cambridge University Press. Cummings, ST, & Abbitt, ES (2013). The Theater of Naomi Wallace: Embodied Dialogues . Springer. Foucault, M. (2005). The order of Things: An archeology of the human sicences, Taylor & Francis, New York. Foucault, M. (1980a). Power / knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977 . Vintage. Foucault, M. (1980b). The History of Sexuality. Volume one: An introduction. Foucault, M. (1982). Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, The University of Chicago Press , Vol. 8, No. 4, 777-795. Foucault, M. (1987). The interview with Michael Foucault on 20th January 1984. Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. NY Gardner, L. (2011). And I and Silence-review, The Guardian, 22 May 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/22/and-i-and-silence-review Gornick, V. (1997). An Exile in America, New York Times, March 2, 1997. www.nytimes.com/1997/03/02/magazine/an-american-exile-in-america.html?pagewanted=all Isherwood, C. (2014) Women in Prison: the new black ?. The New York Times. 25. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/theater/and-i-and-silence-a-prison-drama-by-naomi-wallace.html
Abstract
Bu makale Naomi Wallace tarafından yazılan And
I and Silence (2011) isimli oyundaki Jamie ve Dee isimli kadın
karakterlerin özgür olabilmek için çabalarını ve iktidara karşı direnişlerini
Michel Foucault’un Discipline and Punish (1975) eserinin çerçevisinde
incelemektir. İktidar, özgürlük ve direniş gibi kavramlara vurgu yapan
Foucault, iktidarın olmadığı bir yerin olmadığını ve hiç kimsenin iktidarın dışında
yer almadığını savunur. Dahası, özgürlüğün var olduğu yerde iktidardan ve
direnişin olduğu yerde özgürlükten bahsetmemek imkansızdır. Wallace,
seyircisini farklı suçlardan mahkum olan ve cezaevinde tanışan iki kadın
karakter ile tanıştırır. Jamie, Afrikan Amerikalı iken, Dee beyaz bir Amerikalıdır.
Her iki kadın da hapisten çıktıktan sonra birlikte iyi bir hayat kurmayı hayal
ederler. Jamie ve Dee serbest bırakıldıkları an, disiplinci iktidardan
kurtulduklarını ve özgür olduklarını düşünürler. Ancak ikisi de tekrar iktidar
ile karşılaştıklarında direnmeye başlarlar. Direndikçe iktidarı daha çok
hisseden karakterler, sonunda iktidarın her yerde olduğunu kabul eder. Kesin
bir çözüm olsa da olmasa da özgür olmak için intihar ederler. Sonuç olarak,
Wallace çağdaş oyunuyla Amerikan iktidar sistemini etkili bir şekilde ortaya
koymaktadır. Ayrıca, Wallace’ın karakterleri Foucault’nun iktidar, özgürlük ve
direniş kavramları için etkileyici örnekleridir.
References
- Adler, T., Cummings, ST, Achilles, J., Urban, K., Benesch, K., Vandenbroucke, R., ... Abbotson, S. (2013). The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights . A&C Black. Bigsby, C. (2018). Twenty-First Century American Playwrights. Cambridge University Press. Cummings, ST, & Abbitt, ES (2013). The Theater of Naomi Wallace: Embodied Dialogues . Springer. Foucault, M. (2005). The order of Things: An archeology of the human sicences, Taylor & Francis, New York. Foucault, M. (1980a). Power / knowledge: Selected interviews and other writings, 1972-1977 . Vintage. Foucault, M. (1980b). The History of Sexuality. Volume one: An introduction. Foucault, M. (1982). Subject and Power. Critical Inquiry, The University of Chicago Press , Vol. 8, No. 4, 777-795. Foucault, M. (1987). The interview with Michael Foucault on 20th January 1984. Foucault, M. (1995). Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison. NY Gardner, L. (2011). And I and Silence-review, The Guardian, 22 May 2011. https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/22/and-i-and-silence-review Gornick, V. (1997). An Exile in America, New York Times, March 2, 1997. www.nytimes.com/1997/03/02/magazine/an-american-exile-in-america.html?pagewanted=all Isherwood, C. (2014) Women in Prison: the new black ?. The New York Times. 25. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/26/theater/and-i-and-silence-a-prison-drama-by-naomi-wallace.html
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Creative Arts and Writing |
| Journal Section | Turkish language, culture and literature |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | November 21, 2019 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2019 RumeliDE 2019.Ö6 - Bandırma Onyedi Eylül Üniversitesi Uluslararası Filoloji Çalışmaları Konferansı |
