Mister Roberts (Masterplots II: Drama, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Thomas Heggen, Joshua Logan
- First Published: 1948
- Type of Plot: War; tragicomedy
- Time of Work: Mid-1945
- Setting: A navy cargo ship on the Pacific Ocean
- Principal Characters: Lieutenant Roberts, Doc, The Captain, Ensign Pulver
- Genres: Drama, War drama, Tragicomedy
- Subjects: Power, personal or social, Leadership, 1940’s, World War II, War, Good and evil, Loyalty, Ships, Sailing or sailors, Ambition, Sea or seafaring life, Military life or service, Heroes or heroism, Patriotism, Sacrifice, Pacific Ocean, Honor, Navies, Obedience
- Locales: Pacific Ocean
The Play
A two-act play, Mister Roberts is set aboard a navy cargo ship on the Pacific Ocean during World War II. As the play begins, the setting reveals a typical cargo ship in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, shortly after dawn. The ship’s crew is sleeping; in fact, there is no sign of life, a condition the play explores. As the drama unfolds, each member of the crew struggles with, and overcomes, the figurative absence of life: the tediousness, dissatisfaction, and monotony of life aboard the ship. The central action of the play evolves from the interplay between...
[The entire page is 1618 words long]
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