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Daniel Walton

Prof. Batty

English 102

24 October 2019

Progressive Thinking Progressive Results

The story of Angels in America is complex and conglomerate building on personal

drama, political realism and high universe shaking fantasy. Tony Kushner conveys all of

these general ideas and more for his audience that ultimately brings his characters into a

unified coexistence. Angels in America delves into issues pertaining to gender roles and

sexuality in the 1980s, challenging the inevitability of change. For most during the 1980s,

contraction of AIDs indicated same-sex relations and the patients became the recipients

of heavy scrutiny and ridicule by society. People frequently attribute their contempt for

homosexual behavior as an indication of their religious beliefs; that strict limitations on

human behavior such as sexuality are ordained by god and must be abided by. Religion

plays a pivotal role influencing the direction of story but mainly used as a precursor to

guide the central plot. Although like many aspects of life, religious beliefs can be altered

by an individual's surroundings and impulses.

Tony Kushner incorporates sexuality and religion as the controversial spearhead

of the play. He also explores the idea that change often happens, without any clear reason

and that its occurrence is simply a byproduct of life. Kushner’s play can also be analyzed
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from a queer theory lens perspective. Though most of the character’s assertions manifest

the chaotic and ambiguous mark of queer theory and sexual studies. Most of their

intentions are driven by their own internal struggle. Many of them are also strictly

motivated by self-interest. Louis abandons Prior but Prior refuses to become a victim of

his illness. Prior lives on his own terms, which not only redefines queer lives in America

but also serves as a catalyst to redirect historical representations of queer characters in

American drama. Prior ultimately distances himself from victimhood. Kushner offers a

voice that engages with the future foreshadowing further developments within the LGBT

movement and queer visibility. Roy Cohn an attorney and a colleague of Joe who’s

occupation coincides his hyper-masculinity. Most telling of Roy’s inner turmoil is that he

lives with the expectation of what strong men are supposed to be “What I am is defined

by who I am,” (Kushner 52) discrediting himself and homosexuals as nothing more than

people with no “clout” albeit being a homosexual himself. His character is the antithesis

of how people viewed homosexuals as outcasts. Though much of the change experienced

by Kushner’s characters seems to be instigated by politics or religion, some of their

experiences are the byproduct of the society they live in.

In part one scene seven Prior and Harper a Valium addict interact in a

dream/hallucination they discuss the inability of the mind to chart the unknown, to think

beyond finiteness of the world. As Harper elaborates, “So when we think we've escaped

the unbearable ordinariness and well, untruthfulness of our lives, it's really only the same

old falseness rearranged into the appearance of novelty and truth. Nothing unknown is
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knowable.” (132) It paints a seemingly bleak outlook on the world at large and the

concept of the “threshold of revelations” is metaphoric of the fundamental difficulty of

the AIDS epidemic.

The notion that “real love isn’t ambivalent” (100) is toyed with throughout the

text, and as unwavering love leaves little room for the vastness of self-interest, the

passage percolates with ambivalence. This passage implies that love-based relationships

built on unstable foundations. Louis’ ambiguous love for Prior solely based upon health,

Joe’s conflicting love for his faith wavering upon carnal pleasure. Coetaneous American

thought enforces the pursuit of self-worth, removing the idea that one has accountability

for anyone but ones self. This attitude creates delicate relationships and an oxymoronic

hesitant devotion. Louis disregards his commitment to Prior in search of an easier climate

to happiness, Joe forsakes his religion for a chance at self-acceptance and heterogeneous

thought.

As Millennium Approaches concludes, the male characters collectively

demonstrate the distinct nature of gender expression within the gay community. Joe, Roy,

and Louis show how stigmas in society can lead to gender being an indefinable label.

Kushner’s depiction of establishing a connection between one’s social circumstances and

gender rather than one’s sex and gender paints a process that profoundly humanizes the

idea of gender performativity. The audience is left is left with the uncertainty regarding

the fates of the characters.

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Works Cited

Knabe, Susan. "History and AIDS in Was and Angels in America." Extrapolation, vol.
49, no. 2, 2008, p. 214+. Literature Resource Center,
https://library.lavc.edu:2480/apps/doc/A190976200/LitRC?u=lavc_main&sid=LitRC&xi
d=f6193230. Accessed 26 Oct. 2019.

Omer-Sherman, Ranen. “Jewish/Queer: Thresholds Vulnerable Indentities in Tony

Kushner's Angels in America.” IIS Windows Server, 22 June 2017,
http://library.lavc.edu:2062/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=4&sid=d9fb41e2-5c46-4361-
a88c-43b0fc4abe50@pdc-v-sessmgr02.

“Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Histories, Futures, and Queer Lives.” The Journal
of American Drama and Theatre (JADT), 6 Mar. 2015,
https://jadtjournal.org/2014/11/17/tony-kushners-angels-in-america-histories-futures-and-
queer-lives/.