Liberty, justice and equality between self-formation, governmental orientation and societal superintendence in selected plays by Howard Brenton : A critical analytical study / Kholoud Mansour Khalifa ; Supervised Hala Elborollosy

Thesis (M.A.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Arts - Department of English

The thesis aimes at examining three political plays; Magnificence (1973), The Churchill Play (1974), and 55 Days (2012) written by British playwright Howard Brenton, tracing the political conflict between government, society, and the individual. The three plays portray the conflict between three major powers; governmental power, society, and individual. Governmental authorities that assume the role of the 2alternative3 providing, as depicted in the plays, the solution for different ideologies of society such as Utilitarianism, Communitarianism, or Liberalism. The dominating power of society represents collectivism, made manifest in social solidarity confirms that no social or political development will be achieved unless the community is united. Then, there is the individual who strives for rights and liberty; in each play there is always the distinct individual who does not belong in conviction to any of the groups around him and always attempts to reach a middle ground between authority and society. The study makes use of the theory of "Analytical Philosophy" to explain the concepts, thoughts and conducts adopted by governmental powers, society, and individuals. Thus, the thesis investigates the application of the values of liberty, justice, and equality, and how they are tackled by the different forces in the plays. Focusing on the analytical works of John Rawls A Theory of Justice (1999), The Law of People (1999) and Colin Bird{u2019}s The Myth of Liberal Individualism (1999), the researcher analyzes the manifestation of justice through each group and the counter act to it

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