Prof. Richard F. Johnson
Write a three to four-page essay in which you express your view on the following prompt:
Edward Albee’s play “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” does not exactly fit the operating model we have used for this class. There is no physical “hell,” no geography or topography of “hell,” no landscape of punishment and pain, no descriptions of demons or souls attempting to escape suffering. So, the large question I want you to consider in this essay is “How does the play fit in this course?” What is hellish about it? What are the hellish aspects of the play? Is hell imagined, real, psychological, or mental in the play? Remember the course title is “To Hell and Back.” Is there any “back” in this play? Do any of the characters achieve any marginal “redemption” or “salvation” at the end of this play?