Quenchless Propensity for Masculinity: A Textual Analysis of David Rabe’s The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel

Abstract

David Rabe (1940- ) is one of the most prominent American playwrights who frequently tackles the socially serious issues. Consequently,this study will focus on analyzing the protagonist’s eagerness for attaining the sense of masculinity. Rabe has confirmed the impossibility of achieving an ideal masculinity via enthusiastic delusion. In The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Rabe has investigated what threatens and spoils the ethical texture of the American Army specially in wartime. His portrayal of war carries a satisfactory interpretation since it mirrors his own military life during Vietnam War. This play Looks great not purely because of Rabe’s employment of a realist technique, but in urging the spectators to be familiar with the quenchless propensity of his protagonist. The significance of this study lies in its textual analysis of the title’s character, who fails to understand the warnings and orders of his commander during the period of the basic training.