Mormonism in Tony Kushner's play Angels in America - Research Paper Example

The relationships between Louis and Joe are in focus while talking on the contradiction between Judaism referring to Louis and Mormonism relevant to Joe. There is something more interesting in the play which designates the place of Mormon religion. Tony Kushner was accurate in choosing these two religions reflected on the reactions by two characters in the play. The question is that the religion of Jews is among the oldest on earth whereas Mormonism was created and established by Joseph Smith at the early ages of the American sovereignty.

This is why it is a so-called controversy between the tradition and an isolated devotion toward something new. That is to say, homosexuality is opposed to the mainstream ideas. It is well illustrated on how Louis reacts on Joe’s confession in that he is a Mormon: “I cannot believe I have spent a month in bed with a Mormon” (Kushner 201). This is where the conflict starts and where it has all chances to progress in the future. A great contribution by Kushner is that he once had realized the potential of the contemporary social issues and concerns.

Then he incorporated them into the realistic and unique talk on the problem through the art of drama, as the “lines between gay and straight become very blurred” as of today (Meyer 1249). Thus, the way in which the play signifies the lives of two couples and how they interact is all about the realistic picture of people’s anxiety in their search for real identity. It is well supported by the idea of being gay among cruel individuals around. Back to Mormonism, it is necessary to note that it has less popularity among the privileged Catholic and Protestant churches in America.

This is why there is a straight-forward connection to how the society perceives the idea of close relationships between two men especially when one of them abandons his wife for a new male-partner who, in turn, abandons his boyfriend for the sake of such union. Thus, in its separation from the larger society, Mormon religion is symbolically set by Tony Kushner so as to lay emphasis on its American decent notwithstanding less popularity. It is the same for homosexuals. Along with their sexual prerogatives, homosexuals are not void of the rights and freedoms once proclaimed by the Founding Fathers which follow the genuine standards of a democratic society.

Furthermore, Kushner masterly embodies the “national themes” with the idea of status, race, gender, sexuality, and political affiliation of the characters. Once again, Mormon religion is set to demonstrate why people become closeted or latent in their likes and priorities in life. Joe tried to find out a good moment to confess before Louis, but it was in vain, as the national stereotypes seem bigger in minds of individuals, even though they are of minor sexuality. The liberated gay movement got through the tremendous change due to the advent of AIDS and them to be automatically listed in the risk group (Longolius 3).

It is another motive to speculate on why gay relationships suffer. Louis would never abandon Prior, if everything went great. Judging from Louis’s impulsive state of mind, religious preferences of Joe, as a