Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream
Sara Goldfarb and her son Harry, two central characters in Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream, are both addicts. The objects of their desire, a television set and a bag of drugs, are of particular significance because they cannot be enjoyed without a transmitter – an antenna and a syringe. The a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Institute of English Studies
2019-09-01
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| Series: | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| Online Access: | http://www.anglica.ia.uw.edu.pl/issues/anglica-as-a-journal/371-anglica-an-international-journal-of-english-studies-28-1-muniowski |
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| _version_ | 1846097136875208704 |
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| author | Łukasz Muniowski |
| author_facet | Łukasz Muniowski |
| author_sort | Łukasz Muniowski |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sara Goldfarb and her son Harry, two central characters in Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream, are both addicts. The objects of their desire, a television set and a bag of drugs, are of particular significance because they cannot be enjoyed without a transmitter – an antenna and a syringe. The article presents these objects as incomplete and the desire attached to them as misplaced. What the characters are really looking for is something beyond, “a pound of pure” happiness. The world in Requiem for a Dream is purely physical, so only what is done to the body can be felt and understood by the characters. In the end, Sara and Harry both become incomplete like the objects they are pursuing. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fa35b315e9b64714a62ac444ff7872e3 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0860-5734 0860-5734 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2019-09-01 |
| publisher | Institute of English Studies |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-fa35b315e9b64714a62ac444ff7872e32025-01-02T04:49:01ZengInstitute of English StudiesAnglica. An International Journal of English Studies0860-57340860-57342019-09-01281113124doi.org/10.7311/0860-5734.28.1.09Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a DreamŁukasz Muniowski0University of WarsawSara Goldfarb and her son Harry, two central characters in Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream, are both addicts. The objects of their desire, a television set and a bag of drugs, are of particular significance because they cannot be enjoyed without a transmitter – an antenna and a syringe. The article presents these objects as incomplete and the desire attached to them as misplaced. What the characters are really looking for is something beyond, “a pound of pure” happiness. The world in Requiem for a Dream is purely physical, so only what is done to the body can be felt and understood by the characters. In the end, Sara and Harry both become incomplete like the objects they are pursuing.http://www.anglica.ia.uw.edu.pl/issues/anglica-as-a-journal/371-anglica-an-international-journal-of-english-studies-28-1-muniowski |
| spellingShingle | Łukasz Muniowski Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream Anglica. An International Journal of English Studies |
| title | Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream |
| title_full | Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream |
| title_fullStr | Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream |
| title_full_unstemmed | Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream |
| title_short | Incomplete Objects and Unfulfilled Desire: Hubert Selby Jr.’s Requiem for a Dream |
| title_sort | incomplete objects and unfulfilled desire hubert selby jr s requiem for a dream |
| url | http://www.anglica.ia.uw.edu.pl/issues/anglica-as-a-journal/371-anglica-an-international-journal-of-english-studies-28-1-muniowski |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT łukaszmuniowski incompleteobjectsandunfulfilleddesirehubertselbyjrsrequiemforadream |