Ironizing Christianity in Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millennium Approaches

Abstract

This research attempts to unmask the century’s long discrimination and domination among the people of different religious faiths and the psychological detachment of people in America at the time of millennium transfusions in Tony Kushner’s Angels in America, Millennium Approaches. It aims to explore the way we perceive the religious norms and the detached concept of characters like Joy, Roy, Hannah, Harper from the norms and values of the religions in American society. With the help of Linda Hutcheon, Wayne C Booth and other ironists’ conception of irony is used. This research analyzes the position and the psychological change and behavioral change of major characters as the victims of religious bias and upcoming time, and tries to overturn the perspective of reading the play to find out the real position of the characters that follow Judaism and Mormonism mainly in Christian dominated society in America, which is its main objective. Besides, the study focuses on the Jewish and Mormon characters’ attempts to get rid of the domination of the Christianization by challenging the rooted oppressive intention in the moral norms and ethics of society and religions. The play can be read in diverse perspective i.e. writing from the psychological point of view, from the ironical point of view which attempts to go against the mainstream.