현대 미국의 바람직한 다문화 사회 건설을 위한 비유담으로서의 『연장전』에 나타난 세 가지 쟁점 고찰

초록

This essay aims at probing into the three issues in A. R. Gurney’s Overtime to dramatize a desirable modern American multicultural society. The play can be viewed as a parable on American multicultural society in that the locale of the play, i.e. Venice, is compared to American metropolis and that each character, except Salerio, is endowed with American racial and ethnic identity. The first issue is on the stereotypes and the prejudices. Gurney reveals that American citizens cannot completely escape from the stereotypes and the prejudices but that they can be overcome by listener’s pointing out or refuting them and speaker’s making ceaseless efforts to correct them. The second issue is on African Americans’ hatred and antipathy against Jewish Americans. Gurney evinces that the conflicts between the two groups can be conquered by respecting the differences of each group and sharing their mutual concerns as American citizens. The third issue is on WASPs’ influence on their multicultural community. Gurney reveals that WASPs can exert their influence as integrators in solidarity with an influential minority group—Jewish Americans. In conclusion, Gurney‘s position on multiculturalism is that of emphasizing unity more while respecting diversity.

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