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Theme of Youth in Sweet Bird of Youth

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Kayla Carpenzano

1) The play explores how time destroys the illusions of the characters. Chance Wayne believes his good looks and youth will bring him success but realizes his chances are fading as he grows old. 2) Alexandra del Lago is haunted by her lost youth and fading beauty, spiraling into depression and excess. 3) Heavenly Finley has her youth destroyed when Chance gives her an STD, feeling like an "old woman" after losing her ability to have children. 4) Boss Finley clings to outdated ideas, refusing to acknowledge that time is passing him by, showing how illusions of youth can be dangerous when not accepted.

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Present the theme and consider the question providedprovide and analyze quotes. Make links to other works studied on your OIB syllabus. YOUTH How does time ultimately destroy the illusions of the characters in the play? Maryam SADE Bernardo VILLASENOR URREA Lana BEZOMBES
Projects summary Introduction : Youth and time, their impact in the novel Chance Wayne Alexandra del Lago Heavenly Other Characters: Miss Lucy and Boss Finley Conclusion Links
Youth and Time, their impact in the novel: In Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams various themes are explored by the author. Among them are Youth and Time. Both are connected to one another as youth is ephemeral; it fades as time passes. In the end, time is recognized as an universal enemy. I ask just for your recognition of me in you, and the enemy, time, in us all. The play satirizes the importance people grant youthful beauty in order to prove that its a mistake to invest oneself in something so fleeting. These two themes are explored differently through the cast of characters, each one having a different personal connection with them I guess there's a clock in every room people live in. : The Princess asserts that aging and time are constantly present in all people's lives.
Chance Wayne Chance Wayne is the protagonist of the play. From the earliest age Chance was always the golden boy, his illusions of success and grandeur are what drove him in life. He believed he deserved nothing but the best. The minor successes he achieved in his younger years by virtue of his good looks are the only ones he has experienced. But, as time passes, so does his beauty as he is slowly growing old, this hits Chance with the realization that his chances of achieving fame are fading away. Chance returns to St Cloud hoping he can become the Chance of his youth again, who could have been anything and who could have the love of Heavenly. Chance fixates on Heavenly as a piece of his lost youth. Of course, you were crowned with laurel in the beginning, your gold hair was wreathed with laurel, but the gold is thinning and the laurel has withered. Chance, you've gone past something you couldn't afford to go past; your time, your youth, you've passed it. It's all you had and you've had it.
Alexandra Del Lago (aka Princess Kosmonopolis) Alexandra Del Lago is a faded actress whos lost her youth. Her worry of how the public sees her and her aging, her fading beauty causes her to spiral down in an endless pit of depression, alcohol, drugs and sex. (If I had just been old but you see, I wasnt old... I just wasnt young, not young, young, I just wasnt young anymore) How her audience sees her is just an illusion; under the facade she puts up, there is a broken and lost monster. They perceive her in a certain way, and as time passed, her shallowness keeps increasing. (For years they told me that it was ridiculous of me to feel that I couldnt go back to the screen or the stage as a middle-aged woman. They told me I was an artist, not just a star whose career depended on youth. But I knew in my heart that the legend of Alexandra del Lago couldnt be separated from an appearance of youth) Throughout the play she is very vocal about her lost youth, as if grieving it, for example; she gets rid of all her clocks to try and escape from time even if at the bottom she knows it be escaped.
Heavenly Finley Heavenly Finley: Chances youth sweetheart Heavenly Finley, daughter of Boss Finley, is portrayed by the latter as the epitome of purity Lookin at you, all white like a virgin [...]: he dresses her up in order to scotch these rumors about your corruption By giving her an STD on a previous visit Chance caused her destruction, she would never again be the Heavenly of his youth. The resulting hysterectomy causes her to view herself as, Dry, cold, empty, like an old woman and means that she no longer feels young: he stripped her of her youth. It is noticeable to everyone, that she is not young now, shes faded and even being with Chance again wont change it. The facade of purity her father has put up for her is see through and the feeling of youth her lover Chance gave to middle-aged people ironically took away hers.
Other Characters Boss Finley : the main antagonist of the book Boss Finleys career (and life in general) is constantly threatened by the passing of time. His political ideas are getting outdated and simply dont seem to work in todays world. This leads him to secretly use violence to justify his white supremacist points of view: by brutally punishing a black man who supposedly put a white woman in danger: they picked out a nigger at random and castrated the bastard. The antagonist also seems to try to persevere his youth by having sexual intercourses with a younger woman (Miss Lucy). However, this doesnt seem to workout as he learns from his own son that his mistress describes him as a person too old to cut the mustard. Despite the numerous clues the antagonist refuses to acknowledge that time is gaining on him. William also uses this moment to add in a memorable moment between Boss and his son, having them both face each other during an argument to symbolize the fact that the antagonist is at constant war with everything new, and youthful : Pause: the two stags , the old and the young one, face each other panting.
Miss Lucy: Boss Finleys mistress Miss Lucy is at all times referred to as Miss Lucy to emphasize how young she is.
Conclusion To conclude, the author shows through the characters how time can destroy ones dream and put anyone who denies it in danger. Furthermore he shows the different damages aging and time can have on someone by having a wide variety characters with distinct backgrounds and perspectives to show how these two themes intertwine. May it be losing youth and losing career opportunities or losing connection with oneself due to aging.
Links to others works The work could be linked to Love in the time of Cholera as Youth also plays a large role in the story. Just like Chance Wayne, Florentino remains stuck to his childhood lover, Fermina, and refuses to let this part of his past go until he completely obtains it. The play could also be linked to some of the short stories on Jhumpa lahiris, especially to Interpreter of Maladies were the character of Ms.Das feels as she has lost her time and youth because of her arranged marriage, a feeling similar to that experienced by Chance Wayne on his dialogue. The book could be linked to the Handmaids Tale, as Youth is something really important to the new republic of Gilead as newborns represent the future of the Regime since radiation has rendered most infertile. The Handmaid's are expected to be fertile, healthy and thus have an allure of youngness and purity this could be linked to the expectation placed on Heavenly by her father. Finally, just like Sweet bird of Youth, the narrator in the essay A stranger in the village, repeatedly talks about time and how some people are still stuck in the past keeping old mentalities fresh in their minds this could easily be linked to Boss Finley and his political connection to white supremacy and his ideas of purity and virginity.

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Theme of Youth in Sweet Bird of Youth

  • 1. Present the theme and consider the question providedprovide and analyze quotes. Make links to other works studied on your OIB syllabus. YOUTH How does time ultimately destroy the illusions of the characters in the play? Maryam SADE Bernardo VILLASENOR URREA Lana BEZOMBES
  • 2. Projects summary Introduction : Youth and time, their impact in the novel Chance Wayne Alexandra del Lago Heavenly Other Characters: Miss Lucy and Boss Finley Conclusion Links
  • 3. Youth and Time, their impact in the novel: In Sweet Bird of Youth by Tennessee Williams various themes are explored by the author. Among them are Youth and Time. Both are connected to one another as youth is ephemeral; it fades as time passes. In the end, time is recognized as an universal enemy. I ask just for your recognition of me in you, and the enemy, time, in us all. The play satirizes the importance people grant youthful beauty in order to prove that its a mistake to invest oneself in something so fleeting. These two themes are explored differently through the cast of characters, each one having a different personal connection with them I guess there's a clock in every room people live in. : The Princess asserts that aging and time are constantly present in all people's lives.
  • 4. Chance Wayne Chance Wayne is the protagonist of the play. From the earliest age Chance was always the golden boy, his illusions of success and grandeur are what drove him in life. He believed he deserved nothing but the best. The minor successes he achieved in his younger years by virtue of his good looks are the only ones he has experienced. But, as time passes, so does his beauty as he is slowly growing old, this hits Chance with the realization that his chances of achieving fame are fading away. Chance returns to St Cloud hoping he can become the Chance of his youth again, who could have been anything and who could have the love of Heavenly. Chance fixates on Heavenly as a piece of his lost youth. Of course, you were crowned with laurel in the beginning, your gold hair was wreathed with laurel, but the gold is thinning and the laurel has withered. Chance, you've gone past something you couldn't afford to go past; your time, your youth, you've passed it. It's all you had and you've had it.
  • 5. Alexandra Del Lago (aka Princess Kosmonopolis) Alexandra Del Lago is a faded actress whos lost her youth. Her worry of how the public sees her and her aging, her fading beauty causes her to spiral down in an endless pit of depression, alcohol, drugs and sex. (If I had just been old but you see, I wasnt old... I just wasnt young, not young, young, I just wasnt young anymore) How her audience sees her is just an illusion; under the facade she puts up, there is a broken and lost monster. They perceive her in a certain way, and as time passed, her shallowness keeps increasing. (For years they told me that it was ridiculous of me to feel that I couldnt go back to the screen or the stage as a middle-aged woman. They told me I was an artist, not just a star whose career depended on youth. But I knew in my heart that the legend of Alexandra del Lago couldnt be separated from an appearance of youth) Throughout the play she is very vocal about her lost youth, as if grieving it, for example; she gets rid of all her clocks to try and escape from time even if at the bottom she knows it be escaped.
  • 6. Heavenly Finley Heavenly Finley: Chances youth sweetheart Heavenly Finley, daughter of Boss Finley, is portrayed by the latter as the epitome of purity Lookin at you, all white like a virgin [...]: he dresses her up in order to scotch these rumors about your corruption By giving her an STD on a previous visit Chance caused her destruction, she would never again be the Heavenly of his youth. The resulting hysterectomy causes her to view herself as, Dry, cold, empty, like an old woman and means that she no longer feels young: he stripped her of her youth. It is noticeable to everyone, that she is not young now, shes faded and even being with Chance again wont change it. The facade of purity her father has put up for her is see through and the feeling of youth her lover Chance gave to middle-aged people ironically took away hers.
  • 7. Other Characters Boss Finley : the main antagonist of the book Boss Finleys career (and life in general) is constantly threatened by the passing of time. His political ideas are getting outdated and simply dont seem to work in todays world. This leads him to secretly use violence to justify his white supremacist points of view: by brutally punishing a black man who supposedly put a white woman in danger: they picked out a nigger at random and castrated the bastard. The antagonist also seems to try to persevere his youth by having sexual intercourses with a younger woman (Miss Lucy). However, this doesnt seem to workout as he learns from his own son that his mistress describes him as a person too old to cut the mustard. Despite the numerous clues the antagonist refuses to acknowledge that time is gaining on him. William also uses this moment to add in a memorable moment between Boss and his son, having them both face each other during an argument to symbolize the fact that the antagonist is at constant war with everything new, and youthful : Pause: the two stags , the old and the young one, face each other panting.
  • 8. Miss Lucy: Boss Finleys mistress Miss Lucy is at all times referred to as Miss Lucy to emphasize how young she is.
  • 9. Conclusion To conclude, the author shows through the characters how time can destroy ones dream and put anyone who denies it in danger. Furthermore he shows the different damages aging and time can have on someone by having a wide variety characters with distinct backgrounds and perspectives to show how these two themes intertwine. May it be losing youth and losing career opportunities or losing connection with oneself due to aging.
  • 10. Links to others works The work could be linked to Love in the time of Cholera as Youth also plays a large role in the story. Just like Chance Wayne, Florentino remains stuck to his childhood lover, Fermina, and refuses to let this part of his past go until he completely obtains it. The play could also be linked to some of the short stories on Jhumpa lahiris, especially to Interpreter of Maladies were the character of Ms.Das feels as she has lost her time and youth because of her arranged marriage, a feeling similar to that experienced by Chance Wayne on his dialogue. The book could be linked to the Handmaids Tale, as Youth is something really important to the new republic of Gilead as newborns represent the future of the Regime since radiation has rendered most infertile. The Handmaid's are expected to be fertile, healthy and thus have an allure of youngness and purity this could be linked to the expectation placed on Heavenly by her father. Finally, just like Sweet bird of Youth, the narrator in the essay A stranger in the village, repeatedly talks about time and how some people are still stuck in the past keeping old mentalities fresh in their minds this could easily be linked to Boss Finley and his political connection to white supremacy and his ideas of purity and virginity.