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【Abstract】 In True West which takes family as its basis， the image of the desert plays an irreplaceable role in revealing the plot as well as the contradiction among the characters and the ambivalence of their psychological activities. The two opposite concepts that the desert stands for hang together with the two patterns of the family at the author’s time.
【Key words】 desert family ambivalence revelation
【中圖分类号】I207.25 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2015）17-0002-01
1. Introduction
True West was written by the noted American dramatist and actor Sam Shepard. Being his final masterpiece of the family trilogy， it is inspired and created based on the vivid life pictures and American popular cultures at the author’s time. Thus in the meantime， it succeeds in catering for the literary trend at that time， as Arthur Miller remarked in an interview in 1976， “The family is still the central matrix of the entire civilization.” （Martin & Meyer， 1976：397-404） It narrates the conflicts between two estranged brothers， Austin， a decent-dressed Hollywood screenwriter and Lee， a vagrant from the west. All the scenes occur in the same place—the house of their mother’s， which implies that family is the keynote. However， throughout this play， “desert” is a frequently appearing image that literally seems to be in sharp contrast with this keynote. This paper aims to make an analysis on the image of desert so as to reveal its subtle relationship with the theme as well as the contradictions that permeate the whole play. 2. Family Members in Connection with the Desert
In True West， a family which has ceased to exist except in name is presented in front of the readers. In this sense， “desert” is in appropriate accordance with this family， as the former is naturally associated with the concept of “bareness， sterility， desolation and toughness”. By comparison， the family in this play is more or less similar： on the one hand， the four members are directly or indirectly connected with the desert. The father， though is an invisible character off stage， can be on the whole acquainted with through conversations by the characters on the stage. It is towards the end of the play that the father’s whereabouts is distinctly exposed：
In view of the conversation above， their father has left the family for his adventure in the desert long before. The mother， as the author makes clear from the very beginning of the play， has taken off for Alaska， a well-known glacial “desert”. As for the two brothers respectively， Lee， a wanderer， has just returned from the desert in the west; Austin， although seems to have nothing to do with the desert， finally expresses his extreme eagerness to seek freedom and relief in the west. On the other hand， indifference and alienation among family members make the house as desolate as a desert. As mentioned above， the father has cut off from the family for a long time， thus a large gap must have been existing between him and the other three. When the two brothers talk about their father， “the old man” is the only name that come out unfeelingly from their mouths. 3. Implications of the Desert
Nevertheless， apart from the sterility and indifference that the desert originally stands for， it is bestowed more complicated meanings by the author. For the men of this family， as well as a large number of the nation’s residents who seek to find release out of the tough living conditions at that time， the desert is all the more a wonderland of myth， hope and freedom than a barren place. In a way， the desert sends forth irresistible charm and temptation， as Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier theory indicates， “free land is put in overt opposition to the city.
Here， one factor that impels them to make the deeds—the American Dream， can not avoid being mentioned. Since the nation’s independence， American Dream has been regarded as a divine creed that inspires millions of Americans to strive for their fullest development and bright future. While in 1960s and 1970s when social turbulence had brought the whole nation into an abysm of restlessness and aimlessness， people tended to rely on the American Dream to confront the challenges brought about by the reality. As a result， they never gave up the hope to find a more decent place for release and rebirth.
4. Images of Desert and Family
On the whole， the desert in this play is a contradictory combination of sterility and hope， affliction and release， as well as paralysis and rebirth. This seeming paradox yet is worth being turned over in our mind again and again. Further speaking， the ambivalence which exists in the image of the desert is more or less the same as what lies in the family. As the Ameican society is confronted with the profound social transition shifting from the agrarian mode to the capitalist and industrial mode， people’s value of family has to be developed at the same pace so as to resist the potential assault on family integrity. Back to True west， the protagonist Austin is puzzled by the inner conflicts as well. The image of “family” for him， on the one hand， is “the family of security”， under the protection of which he has lived since childhood. Not only is he connected with his parents and brother， but he also has his wife and children. That is to say， apparently， sufficient evidence is provided to prove that by the family attachment， there is no need for him to be got caught up into the ambivalence of “protection” and “freedom”. Everything seems to be in the right order until his brother’s intrusion.
5. Conclusion
Through the image of the desert， Sam Shepard skillfully merge the varied scenes into an organic whole. In the meantime， by the analysis of this seemingly simple image， the contradictions and struggles both among the characters and within each of them are exposed to the readers step by step. The ambivalence that the desert shows is interlinked with that of the family. Apart from this， the social background is reflected and then naturally taken into consideration to explore the conflicts among the characters and more importantly， the psychological ambivalence of the individual.
References：
[1] Carol Rosen， “ ‘Emotional Territory’： An Interview with Sam Shepard，” Modern Drama （1993）
[2] J. Chris Westgate， “Negotiating the American West in Sam Shepard’s Family Plays”， Modern Drama （2005）
[3]李維屏. 英美现代主义文学概观[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社， 1998.
【Key words】 desert family ambivalence revelation
【中圖分类号】I207.25 【文献标识码】A 【文章编号】2095-3089（2015）17-0002-01
1. Introduction
True West was written by the noted American dramatist and actor Sam Shepard. Being his final masterpiece of the family trilogy， it is inspired and created based on the vivid life pictures and American popular cultures at the author’s time. Thus in the meantime， it succeeds in catering for the literary trend at that time， as Arthur Miller remarked in an interview in 1976， “The family is still the central matrix of the entire civilization.” （Martin & Meyer， 1976：397-404） It narrates the conflicts between two estranged brothers， Austin， a decent-dressed Hollywood screenwriter and Lee， a vagrant from the west. All the scenes occur in the same place—the house of their mother’s， which implies that family is the keynote. However， throughout this play， “desert” is a frequently appearing image that literally seems to be in sharp contrast with this keynote. This paper aims to make an analysis on the image of desert so as to reveal its subtle relationship with the theme as well as the contradictions that permeate the whole play. 2. Family Members in Connection with the Desert
In True West， a family which has ceased to exist except in name is presented in front of the readers. In this sense， “desert” is in appropriate accordance with this family， as the former is naturally associated with the concept of “bareness， sterility， desolation and toughness”. By comparison， the family in this play is more or less similar： on the one hand， the four members are directly or indirectly connected with the desert. The father， though is an invisible character off stage， can be on the whole acquainted with through conversations by the characters on the stage. It is towards the end of the play that the father’s whereabouts is distinctly exposed：
In view of the conversation above， their father has left the family for his adventure in the desert long before. The mother， as the author makes clear from the very beginning of the play， has taken off for Alaska， a well-known glacial “desert”. As for the two brothers respectively， Lee， a wanderer， has just returned from the desert in the west; Austin， although seems to have nothing to do with the desert， finally expresses his extreme eagerness to seek freedom and relief in the west. On the other hand， indifference and alienation among family members make the house as desolate as a desert. As mentioned above， the father has cut off from the family for a long time， thus a large gap must have been existing between him and the other three. When the two brothers talk about their father， “the old man” is the only name that come out unfeelingly from their mouths. 3. Implications of the Desert
Nevertheless， apart from the sterility and indifference that the desert originally stands for， it is bestowed more complicated meanings by the author. For the men of this family， as well as a large number of the nation’s residents who seek to find release out of the tough living conditions at that time， the desert is all the more a wonderland of myth， hope and freedom than a barren place. In a way， the desert sends forth irresistible charm and temptation， as Frederick Jackson Turner’s frontier theory indicates， “free land is put in overt opposition to the city.
Here， one factor that impels them to make the deeds—the American Dream， can not avoid being mentioned. Since the nation’s independence， American Dream has been regarded as a divine creed that inspires millions of Americans to strive for their fullest development and bright future. While in 1960s and 1970s when social turbulence had brought the whole nation into an abysm of restlessness and aimlessness， people tended to rely on the American Dream to confront the challenges brought about by the reality. As a result， they never gave up the hope to find a more decent place for release and rebirth.
4. Images of Desert and Family
On the whole， the desert in this play is a contradictory combination of sterility and hope， affliction and release， as well as paralysis and rebirth. This seeming paradox yet is worth being turned over in our mind again and again. Further speaking， the ambivalence which exists in the image of the desert is more or less the same as what lies in the family. As the Ameican society is confronted with the profound social transition shifting from the agrarian mode to the capitalist and industrial mode， people’s value of family has to be developed at the same pace so as to resist the potential assault on family integrity. Back to True west， the protagonist Austin is puzzled by the inner conflicts as well. The image of “family” for him， on the one hand， is “the family of security”， under the protection of which he has lived since childhood. Not only is he connected with his parents and brother， but he also has his wife and children. That is to say， apparently， sufficient evidence is provided to prove that by the family attachment， there is no need for him to be got caught up into the ambivalence of “protection” and “freedom”. Everything seems to be in the right order until his brother’s intrusion.
5. Conclusion
Through the image of the desert， Sam Shepard skillfully merge the varied scenes into an organic whole. In the meantime， by the analysis of this seemingly simple image， the contradictions and struggles both among the characters and within each of them are exposed to the readers step by step. The ambivalence that the desert shows is interlinked with that of the family. Apart from this， the social background is reflected and then naturally taken into consideration to explore the conflicts among the characters and more importantly， the psychological ambivalence of the individual.
References：
[1] Carol Rosen， “ ‘Emotional Territory’： An Interview with Sam Shepard，” Modern Drama （1993）
[2] J. Chris Westgate， “Negotiating the American West in Sam Shepard’s Family Plays”， Modern Drama （2005）
[3]李維屏. 英美现代主义文学概观[M].上海：上海外语教育出版社， 1998.