The Portrayal of ‘Frustration’
and ‘Faith’ in Clifford Odets’ Awake and Sing!
Dr. V. Sri Rama Murthy
ABSTRACT
Awake and Sing!, Clifford Odets’ first full-length
major three-act play, portrays the struggles, rebellion,
relationships, ambitions, and frustrations of a financially
destitute working-class Jewish American family, the Bergers, living
in the Bronx during the 1930s. This play examines the aspirations,
the fortunes, and the misfortunes of a Jewish lower-middle-class
family that becomes disillusioned by an oppressive economic system.
This is a social drama set in New York City during the economic
depression of the early 1930s. In this play, the members of the
Berger family and their daughter's boyfriend are the main
characters, who are working-class and their lower-middle-class
aspirations have been frustrated by the economic depression. Odets
originally named his play Awake and Sing! as I Got the Blues, which
suggests the two dominant moods of the play (and of the Depression
era) – frustration and faith. The 'frustration' is dramatized in the
first two acts of the play, whereas ‘faith’ is depicted in the short
third act. This play also dramatizes the agony, argument, and
disintegration of the Berger family lives in a tiny Bronx apartment,
which is volcanic. This family is caught in the grips of the
Depression. This is the story of a family influenced by communist
and capitalistic ideals. Odets mentions the external causes as the
main antihero in the drama, and financial insecurity is a prominent
one.
Keywords: Clifford Odets, depression, frustration, faith, rebellion,
agony
