NOTES: WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF
1) Truth vs. Illusion is one of the main themes in all dramatic literature, and the theme is ironic in that the theater creates illusions to get at the truth. What we think is true at the beginning of a play ---especially a realistic play -- often turns out to be false. Hidden secrets are revealed. Characters are not what they at first seemed to be. While this theme is found in many kinds of literature, drama is the perfect genre for its presentation since drama is an art form that in itself is an illusion. Let's look at the four characters in the play to see in what wyas they are self-deceived. What illusions must George exorcise?
2) What illusions must Martha exorcise?
3) What illusions must Nick exorcise?
4) What illusions must Honey exorcise?
5) Although structurally realistic, where does the artifice show? Where are the seams, the coincidences, the symbolism?
6) Despite the constant fighting in what ways are George and Martha well suited for one another? Cite specific places in the play where they reveal their love for one another.
7) Why is a college campus the perfect setting for this play? What classical and literary references in the script add to the "intellectual" setting? What theme do these references underscore? How do the names of the characters fit into this motif?
8) Despite the "let-it-all-hang-out" nature of George and Martha's relationship, show how the play is in reality a plea for "family values."
9) How do George and Nick differ politically and philosophically?
10) Examine the theme of sterility in this play.
11) Defend the language of the play as being appropriate for the themes Albee wishes to explore.
Criticize the language as being exploitative and sensationalist.
13) What is the significance of George's story about the boy whose parents were killed in the car crash trying to avoid a porcupine? (Note: This is the content of George's "book" although we never know for certain if the book is real or imaginary. There is a similarity here between the book and the baby in that both are aborted or exorcised. Part of Albee's deliberate ambiguity here is to underscore the theme of truth/illusion in that in real life often the truth is ambiguous and the truth elusive.)
14) Show how George and Martha reverse roles as the play progresses.
15) Show how George and Nick reverse roles as the play progresses.
16) How can Nick be described as a "man of the future" and George as a "man of the past." Are these labels flattering or not?
17) Discuss the parent/child relationships in the play.
18) Discuss the teacher/student relationships in the play?
19) How do all the Games fit into the theme of truth/illusion? And what about the nature of the games themselves.. their offensiveness and violence?
20) How are Martha's father (the president of the college) and Honey's father similar? What is the significance of the similarity?
21) During the exorcism at the end of the play, both George and Martha describe their imaginary child to Nick and Honey, but their accounts differ. What does Martha's description reveal about her character?
22) What does George's description of the imaginary child reveal about his character?
23) Why does Albee have George and Martha disagree so completely on an imaginary child they've both agreed to bring into the world?
24) Who in the play is the most self-deceived? Why?
25) Albee successfully extends the parameters of the play well beyond George and Martha's living room. What do we learn about life at the university? Is this portrait flattering? What do we learn about history in general -- mostly from George since he is a professor of history. What is Albee's point here?
26) While the characters seem very "pagan" in language and action (George even refers to the college as New Carthage, Rome's pagan rival in the Punic Wars), the play can be seen as very religious as well with the descent into Hell (drunken orgy) and the Exorcism. Comment on the play as a redemptive ritual with George and Martha seeking salvation.
27) What have Nick and Honey learned at the end of the play? Will they apply what they have learned? What will chnage in their lives in the future both personally and, for Nick, academically.
28) Describe the conflict in the play between Science (represented by Nick) and the Humanities (represented by George).
29) At the end, after George and Martha have stripped themselves of their illusion, what truths must they now accept in the clear light of day?
30) In what ways is the landscape of this play so much larger (more metaphysical) than Raisin?