Tripmaster Monkey

858 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: William Faulkner's major works

Tripmaster Monkey

Wittman uses theatre throughout the book 'Tripmaster Monkey'; to get back to his cultural roots and Asian culture. He is trying to find himself through theatre and to open up a new avenue for his people. There are numerous examples of this throughout the book as he is writing his play and incorporating the old (legends and myths) with the new (contemporary times).
The first significant reference to legend occurs when Wittman is putting his entire night's worth of writing into the incinerator (42). As he does so, he reflects on the arrival of Monkey, Tripitaka and friends at the Western Paradise. They secure the sacred scriptures, and are on their way home to china when curious Monkey takes a peek at the books, only to find that the pages are blank. They return to Paradise to complain, and because their spiritual incapacity makes hem unable to absorb the truths of a blank text, are given pages with writing on them. But it turns out that the Heart Sutra's wisdom concerns the emptiness of inherent existence, and the blank text was the right way to express that truth after all. Kingston is illustrating the frustration Wittman feels at having to put into words the truths that are obvious to him.
At another point in the book, Wittman recalls when the Monkey learns his position in Heaven (61). Monkey is ecstatic to have a place in Heaven, an important role to play, but once...

Show More
Related

  • Who Is Responsible For The Monkey's Paw

    194 Words  | 1 Pages

    Additionally, Sergeant Major Morris knew the consequences of wishing upon the monkey's paw, saying on page 377, "I don't know what the first two [wishes] were, but the third was for death." This implied that the previous owner of the paw had suffered such severe consequences that he wished away his own life. Although Sergeant Major Morris refrained from giving the

    Read More

  • History of the Drive-In Movie Theater

    1804 Words  | 4 Pages

    Theatres and How We Had Fun." Little, Brown, and Company. (Boston, Toronto, London); 1991. P. 139, 144.

    Read More

  • Harold Clurman's Theatre of Life

    2232 Words  | 5 Pages

    In Dialogue: Theatre of America, Harold Clurman said, “we make theatre out of life” (27), and it was precisely this view that motivated him to help create a uniquely American theatre. Clurman, considered one of the most influential directors of the modern American theatre, had a unique vision of what the American theatre could become. One of the founders of the quintessentially American troupe, the Group Theatre, Clurman was a contemporary of Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, and even married to Stella Adler for twenty years. At a ceremony honoring Clurman, Elia Kazan stated that Clurman’s “greatest achievement [was] himself” (Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre). An important figure in our theatrical past, Clurman’s theories on theatre and directing require close attention. In this paper, I will first provide a brief biography of Clurman, second, examine his theories of theatre and directing, and lastly, I will explore his criticisms of the then-contemporary theatre, and draw conclusions to the current state of the Broadway theatre.

    Read More

  • Comparing 'The Epic Of Gilgamesh And Monkey: A Journey To The West'

    1379 Words  | 3 Pages

    Nonetheless, Monkey’s intellectual journey shows him how to become humble about this knowledge and effectively use it. On page 75, Buddha presents Monkey a chance to have the Jade Emperor’s position under one task: to jump off the palm of Buddha’s right hand. Although Monkey thinks that the task is absurd and easily doable he fails and even suffers from embarrassment. As Monkey jumped off Buddha’s palm and what he thought was the ground, he only managed to jump to the base of Buddha’s middle finger. Monkey failed to realize that jumping off Buddha’s hand would result in leaving the face of Earth. However, he stated, “This is the end of the World”, when looking at the hands of Buddha. With his knowledge yet not being used effectively, he failed to understand his words that resulted in his embarrassment and shock demonstrated on page 76. He effectively uses his knowledge in the beginning in Chapter XXIV when he comes up with a clever plan to overthrow the Tiger Strength Immortal, Deer Strength Immortal, and Ram Strength Immortal. The three immortals initiate a series of games of replicating various skills that they each possess. In order for Tripikita and his disciples to regain their passports and move on their journey to gather the Scriptures, Tripikita must successfully win every game. Given an open opportunity to use his knowledge and

    Read More

  • Analysis Of The Visit By Friedrich Dürrenmatt

    1283 Words  | 3 Pages

    A book or a theatrical play can become the means through which writers can express their thoughts and convey their messages to society. In ancient times, Greek tragedies were a clever way for writers to judge the political world of the time, and make society reflect back on its own behavior and way of acting. Throughout the years, the form of a theatrical play underwent many changes that allowed the writers to express themselves more freely, without being limited to the strict rules of form and structure of a Greek tragedy. Friedrich Dürrenmatt’s play The Visit is a story that is set in the modern era of post-war Europe. A woman, whose life, through an ugly series of events, is ruined, returns to her hometown to get revenge for the misery

    Read More

  • Brecht's infulence on Dürrenmatt: The effect of Epic Theatre in The Visit

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    In The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt you feel unattached and are constantly reminded that you are in fact watching a play, nothing else. Dürrenmatt constructs this play using Bertolt Brecht’s epic theatre, a twentieth-century theatrical movement that was a reaction against popular forms of theatre, Dürrenmatt uses epic theatre in his work, The Visit, because he wants his audience to analysis what is being said and done instead of what they see and hear. An intellectual audience member will make connections when watching an epic play.

    Read More

  • The Effects of Advancements in Lighting on The Theatre Experience

    1532 Words  | 4 Pages

    Russell Brown, J. 1995. The Oxford Illustrated History of the Theatre. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Read More

  • Jungle Monkeys

    1264 Words  | 3 Pages

    The monkeys of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book are a very unique group of characters. They are viewed by the other animals of the jungle, or the Jungle People as they call themselves, as outcasts and outlaws. The most prominent chapter they occur in, “Kaa’s Hunting”, shows their lawless, shiftless, and uncivilized way of life. This image in itself does not give off any racist undertone. However, Disney’s adaption of The Jungle Book carries this view of the monkeys, while also giving them strong attributes that are commonly associated with African-Americans.

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka's The Trial

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...ass levels, interactions between characters and stronger meaning behind the plot. His subtle use of references to the performing arts allows the reader to leave interpretation to those scenes and what each character could possibly represent in that situation.

    Read More

  • O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape: Most Representative Play of Early 1900s

    1137 Words  | 3 Pages

    American theatre in the early 1900s highlighted the changes that were occurring in society. Throughout this era, playwrights were making drama new by challenging traditions. Broadway’s establishment caused a rise in theatre that led to new plays and playwrights emerging. Among those emergent playwrights was Eugene O’Neill. O’Neill’s The Hairy Ape encompassed Modern characteristics such as alienation and industrialization, as well as characteristics of Naturalism.

    Read More

  • Yank’s Absurd Inheritance in The Hairy Ape

    3197 Words  | 7 Pages

    Willett, John, trans. and ed. Brecht on Theatre: The Development of an Aesthetic. New York: Hill and Wang, 1986.

    Read More

  • Comparing and Contrasting Brecht and Stanislavski

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bertolt Brecht and Constantin Stanislavski are regarded as two of the most influential practitioners of the twentieth century, both with strong opinions and ideas about the function of the theatre and the actors within it. Both theories are considered useful and are used throughout the world as a means to achieve a good piece of theatre. The fact that both are so well respected is probably the only obvious similarity as their work is almost of complete opposites.

    Read More

  • Theatre In Changing Society

    373 Words  | 1 Pages

    For as long as humankind exists, theatre will always take on an important function within its cultures. Through theatre, a culture expresses itself, reflects its society, and displays its individuality. It invites people to experience other cultures.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Athol Fugard's The Island

    848 Words  | 2 Pages

    Of the latter concept, poor theatre, Fugard’s use of the form transcends simple aesthetics, as is the original concern of Grotowski’s “poor theatre”. That is, whilst Grotowski conceived the term “poor theatre” to conceptualize theatre that rid itself of its excesses (e.g. unnecessary props, set pieces, etc.) and centers more on the skill of the actor and employs only a handful of props. This poor theatre is “poor”, lacking in peripheral elements of theatre, because it chooses to be. The Island, however, employs poor theatre in its own production and in the production of the play within itself, Antigone, because it serves as a reinforcement in the portrayal of the environment and reality John and Winston must live through. John and Winston do not have access to “rich theatre” (be it as prisoners or as free black people in South Africa – there were no theatres in the townships) and, as such, their production of Antigone is not an aesthetic choice but is the child of necessity. Their insistence to put on a production of Antigone despite the fact that the “appropriate” (or, desirable) means had been denied to them, and their reliance on poor theatre as a form in doing so, as Worthen

    Read More

  • Theatre In South African Theatre

    1205 Words  | 3 Pages

    Traditional South African theatre is derived from the original version of “theatre” in South Africa which refers to the performances of our ancestors (mostly black people). For example the Zulus had dancing, singing and stories they would tell around the fire. The villagers would watch and it was their form of entertainment and culture. The elements of this type of theatre, such as the style of dance and music are still used in modern South African theatre. The facets of traditional theatre still play a large role in the evolution of South African theatre.

    Read More

More about Tripmaster Monkey

Open Document