The Iceman Cometh Term paper

While the free essays can give you inspiration for writing, they cannot be used 'as is' because they will not meet your assignment's requirements. If you are in a time crunch, then you need a custom written term paper on your subject (the iceman cometh)
Here you can hire an independent writer/researcher to custom write you an authentic essay to your specifications that will pass any plagiarism test (e.g. Turnitin). Waste no more time!

Denial in The Iceman Cometh

Denial is the refusal to admit the truth. It is the refusal to accept or acknowledge the reality or validity of a thing or idea. Many characters in The Iceman Cometh suffer from denial and false hope. O'Neill places these characters in the appropriate setting in which they are able to fantasize about their dreams. Amidst the drunken and misguided characters, O'Neill presents a few that the reader builds hope and sympathy for. Each character uses a pipe dream in order to be able to become blind to their downfalls and to reality. In the bar setting, characters in Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh portray the theme of denial by embracing pipe dreams.

Harry Hope is the elderly owner of a saloon and rooming house. The narrow five-story structure presents the ideal setting for self-destruction. The characters come here in order to "drink away their problems" (O'Neill 597). All of the characters in the novel come to Harry Hope's bar as an escape. They manage somehow to "remain drunk and delude themselves"(Gagey 332), "with a few harmless pipe dreams about their yesterdays and tomorrows" (O'Neill 620). They feel sheltered and protected from the real world while in the bar. They do not have to face reality here. "The dreamers have come to Hope's because, ostensibly, they are failures in the outside world. What lies outside is a world without value, a hostile society to which no man can possibly belong, and from which they must take refuge" (Bogard 54). The characters deny the fact that there is a real world out there, in where they may succeed. They are much more content taking refuge in the bar, where they do not have to strive for or work at anything. They can just wallow in their sorrows and drink them all away.

Each character has a separate pipe dream to face. The pipe dream allows the character to live in a state of denial. It is a false belief or a false hope that the character holds on to. This is

Lessard 2

in order to blind them of reality. By embracing a pipe dream, the characters feel they do not have to face the bitter reality that confronts them. The pipe dreams make life tolerable for the time being (55). Rocky, the bartender at Hope's bar, denies the fact that he is a pimp. Because he is a bartender, he believes he cannot be a pimp. He blatantly disregards the fact that he takes money from two prostitutes and protects them as well. He says to one of the prostitutes, "'What would you do if I wasn't around? Give it all to some pimp'" (O'Neill 603). The sad fact that O'Neill presents is that Rocky truly believes that he is not a pimp. He has fooled nobody but himself, and doesn't even realize it. He also holds a pipe dream of being able to open a bar of his own someday. Margie and Pearl, the two prostitutes, have pipe dreams of one day getting married. They are also living in a state of denial. Margie says, "'Anyway, we wouldn't keep no pimp, like we was reg'lar old whores. We ain't dat bad'" (603). "These characters live their life through blind eyes" (Orr 90). They refuse to see who and what they really are (91). These three characters deny who they are and refuse to accept it. Although they all have good qualities, they do not acknowledge their imperfections and overlook their unhealthy lifestyles.

Ed Mosher, Harry Hope's brother-in-law, was once a circus man. Pat McGloin was once a police officer. Piet Wetjoen was once the leader of a Boer commando. Cecil Lewis was once the Captain of the British infantry. James Cameron was a Boer War correspondent. Willie Oban is a Harvard Law School alumnus. Joe Mott was once the proprietor for a Negro gambling house. Although these characters seem to be permanent fixations at Harry Hope's bar, they refuse to acknowledge that fact. They all retain the pipe dream of shortly returning to their previous jobs. Joe Mott says, "'I'll make my stake and get a new gamblin' house open before you boys leave'" (O'Neill 600). All of these characters see a very bright future up ahead for them. They are all fooling themselves because their pipe dreams will never be realized. Their pipe dreams are just those, pipe dreams. "The key word is 'pipe dream.' It occurs a myriad of times

Lessard 3

during the course of the play from the mouth of almost every figure even when, as is usually the case, its existence is being vehemently denied" (Orr 89).

Larry Slade is just waiting to die. This is his pipe dream, although he may not realize it. He thinks he has everything figured out. He knows he will never amount to anything, and does not want to try. Rocky says, "'S'pose you don't fall for no pipe dream?'" Larry replies, "'I don't, no. Mine are all dead and buried behind me. What's before me is the comforting fact that death is a fine long sleep, and I'm damned tired, and it can't come too soon for me'" (O'Neill 591). Larry has nothing to look forward to. Death is Larry Slade's pipe dream. "The alternative to the alcoholic pipe dream, the residue of the ideal as O'Neill conceives it, is death" (Orr 91).

Larry, along with all the other drunkards, is waiting for Hickey to show up. Hickey rolls around about twice a year and indulges the drunkards by buying them free drinks. "The arrival of Hickey is awaited with great eagerness, not only because he has the money to buy round after round of drinks, but because he has the knack of encouraging a drunken camaraderie that the inmates of the saloon are too demoralised to generate of their own accord" (89). His arrival is highly anticipated by all of the characters, as it brings joy, spontaneity, and free alcohol.

When Hickey finally arrives, he brings with him an unexpected attitude. All of...

Bogard, Travis. "The Door and the Mirror: The Iceman Cometh." Modern Critical Interpretations
Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. Ed Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House,
1987. 49-57.
Day, Cyrus. "The Iceman and the Bridegroom." Modern Critical Interpretations Eugene O'Neill's
The Iceman Cometh. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 9-17.
Gagey, Edmond. "Eugene O'Neill." Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, Vol.6. 332.
O'Neill, Eugene. "The Iceman Cometh." Masters of Modern Drama. Ed. Haskell M. Block et. al.
New York: Random House, 1962. 587-644.
Orr, John. "The Iceman Cometh and Modern Society. "Modern Critical Interpretations Eugene
O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. 87-
93. You should cite this paper as follows:

MLA Style
. EssayMania.com. Retrieved on 25 May, 2012 from
    <http://essaymania.com/86331/the-iceman-cometh>

More College Papers

Animal Farm essay
ANIMAL FARM by George Orwell George Orwell's novel Animal Farm does an excellent job of drawing parallels from the situation leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917. Animal Farm is a satire that uses its characters to symbolize leaders of the Russian Revolution. The animals of "Manor Farm"

The Imp Of The Perverse, The Tell Tale Heart essay
The Imp in us All "The Imp is taken to be a self destructive force present in all of us but with important difference in each person according to the power of will and morality". (Edwards 162) Those important differences both connect and individualize the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawt

The Handmaid's Tale essay
ISP Essay - The Handmaid's Tale Many fictitious novels written today mirror real life; this tactic can provide readers with a sense of formality. Yet in some cases, fictitious novels provide readers with the shocking realization of a society's self destruction. I believe The Handmaid's Tale, writt