George Washington And Nikita Khrushchev And The Soviet Union

Albee uses the characters George and Nick as paradigms of George Washington who represents the United States of America and Nikita Khrushchev who represents the Soviet Union. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? was written by Edward Albee during the cold war, the references to George Washington and Nikita Khrushchev reflect the games played during the cold war and the games played within the play. The relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union was consumed of a complex interaction of political and economic and ideological factors. These factors led to vigilant cooperation and bitter rivalry for power. After the death of Joseph Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev took over and he stated that communist and capitalist governments could co-exist. However, he also conceived the idea to station nuclear missiles in Cuba to counter the emerging lead of the United States developing and deploying missiles. The Soviet Union worked quickly and quietly to build an installation of missil es in Cuba, and when they were asked if and why the Soviet Union had a missile installment in Cuba, they denied the accusations. The United States lost its trust in the Soviet Union after this incident, although they did remain â€Å"allies†. Throughout the play, there are games played which damage the trust between the characters. At the beginning of the play, Martha states: â€Å"And I’ve told you a million times, baby†¦I wouldn’t conceive with anyone but you†¦you know that, baby† (Albee 78). Although she statesShow MoreRelatedThe Game Of Life : Who s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf?1849 Words   |  8 Pagesstrategy, a process, and a goal. Among Albee’s central messages in the play, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is the idea that life is ultimately a game to be played; this is demonstrated by the false pregnancy motif, the paradigms of George and Nick, and the symbolism of George and Martha’s illusory son. From the day of birth till death, life can be considered a game. When playing a game such as golf or chess, an individual feels superior and satisfaction when they win. In the play, the characters hideRead More Cuban Missle Crisis Essay3174 Words   |  13 PagesUnited States and the Soviet Union from October 16 to October 28, 1962. During those thirteen stressful days, the world’s two biggest superpowers stood on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe. The Crisis started as a result of both the Soviet Union’s fear of losing the arms race, and Cuba’s fear of US invasion. The Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev, thought that both problems could easily be solved by placing Soviet medium range missiles in Cuba. This deployment would double the Soviet arsenal and protectRead MoreEdward Franklin Albee IIi : The American Dream, And The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia?1313 Words   |  6 Pagesnuclear tensions between Soviet and U.S. powers during the Cuban Missile Crisis of Octob er 13, 1962. After six hundred sixty runs on broadway (Calta 53), we can appreciate Albee combining realism and absurdism in his real showcase of talent, that some may even see as a realistic examination of the modern condition. In other words, the modernism and surrealism combined in his dramas. Who’s Afraid of The Virginia Woolf? looks at the breakdown of marriage of the couple Martha and George. The middle-aged coupleRead More The Bonds of the Soviet People1862 Words   |  8 Pagesbut they keep lying to us, and we keep pretending to believe them.† The novel, A Mountain of Crumbs, depicts the hopelessness, opression and deception of life behind the Iron Curtain during the 70s and 80s. Many rights of the people within the Soviet Union were violated and unacknowledged. In ages past, there were no human rights but the idea evolved after a while. It was at the end of World War II that the United Nations created the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, with the purpose of savingRead MoreJohn F. Kennedy : A President With A Different Sense Of Confidence1178 Words   |  5 Pagesthe 35th president of the United States, his ideas for the country are still living on. Not only Kennedy was extremely liked by people, he was also rated above the majority of presidents America had, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Basically, what really captured the hearts of people about Kennedy was his glamour, the sense of confidence that he had, and of course his tragic death. Kennedy graduated from Harvard University, and shortly after graduating from there, he joinedRead MoreJohn F. Kennedy : A President With A Different Sense Of Confidence1178 Words   |  5 Pagesthe 35th president of the United States, his ideas for the country are still living on. Not only Kennedy was extremely liked by people, he was also rated above the majority of presidents America had, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. Basically, what really captured the hearts of people about Kennedy was his glamour, the sense of confidence that he had, and of course his tragic death. Kennedy graduated from Harvard University, and shortly after graduating from there, he joinedRead MoreHow Did The Bay Of Pigs Invasion And The Cuban Missile Crisis Affect The Cold War3334 Words   |  14 PagesBloc consisted of the Soviet Union (now Russia) and other communist countries like Cuba. The reason the Cold War got its name as a war that cold is because there were no large battles ever fought, it was a war of technological advances that paved the way for the types and usage of technology that our government and the governments of other countries empower today in their militaries. For this research paper the focus will primarily be on the United States, the Soviet Union, and Cuba. The aim of thisRead MoreThe Cuban Missile Crisis And Its Effects On The World2909 Words   |  12 Pageswandered when they laid down at night to go to sleep, if they would wake up to see another day. They did not know if they would wake to see a country obliterated by an atomic bomb. As the United States was on the brink of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union and Cuba, nobody was certain what laid around the corner, in five minutes the world could be devastated and millions of people could be dead. In October of 1962, a U2-plane spotted and photographed nuclear war missiles on the island of Cuba.Read MoreContainment Of The Cold War Essay2391 Words   |  10 Pagesthat communism was dissipated and secluded to the Soviet Union. This concept was used throughout history by the American diplomat, George F. Kennan which would be credited as the founder of containment. This foreign policy would be used throughout the entirety of the cold war, but one of the most prominent examples of containment was in the 1960’s where both President Eisenhower and President Kennedy tangoed with Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev. Although on two separate grounds both presidentsRead MoreThe Assassination Of John F. Kennedy1626 Words   |  7 Pagesrecent assassination of an American President. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson became President upon Kennedy s death,[3] when he took the constitutionally prescribed[4] oath of office on Air Force One at Dallas Love Field before departing for Wash ington, D.C. In a contradiction to the conclusions of the Warren Commission, the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) concluded in 1979 that Kennedy was probably assassinated as a result of a conspiracy.[5] The HSCA agreed with