Darlene McCoy
Marco Martinez-Galarce
Porter 80A
12 November 2009
Je m’appelle Prior. Je parle la vérité.
Friends - those of the amazing sort, those who are genuine and true, those who watch meteors dart across the night sky together - are hard to come by in this day and age. These angelic friends, who are cherished above all others, could have just become even more difficult to come by - they could have just died. They could have just died slow, painful deaths from some unknown disease. They could have died in the tens of thousands, and their government could not have put nearly enough effort into stopping the deaths. Society could have shunned those wonderful friends. These things could have happened, however, the melancholy reality is that they did happen. In 1985, friends, family, and other loved people of America died from the disease known as AIDS. In 1985, the Reagan Administration deregulated the healthcare system - tax breaks and conservative views were more necessary and proper to America than the preservation of human life.
AIDS: the culprit of this mass human destruction, is formally known to the world as the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. It is an illness that develops from HIV - a virus transmitted through bodily fluids such as blood or semen. HIV attacks the very backbone of the human immune system: Helper T Cells. A patient is said to have AIDS when their Helper T Cell count reaches dangerously low, or nonexistent, numbers. Without Helper T Cells, the immune system is not able to perform its reason for existence. It cannot ward off potentially fatal diseases. Those who are inflicted with AIDS usually die of a rare disease that was thought to be previously eradicated from the common spectrum of human life. This illness is most common among the populations of homosexuals, heroin addicts, hemophiliacs and Haitians (The Age of AIDS: Part One).
Tony Kushner's play, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, address the illness of America during the beginning times of the AIDS epidemic. Kushner makes use of the central theme of a sick body to reveal his more significant pieces of advice to humanity. He employs two different manners to convey his messages: a metaphorical approach, and within the text, a physical approach.
Kushner's first piece of advice begins with the statement that America is sick. The presidential era of Ronald Reagan was littered with concerns about federal spending and government expansion. Reagan promised the people of America that taxes would be lowered and that the economy was going to expand. Ronald Reagan was quite the conservative president, and his policies reflected his way of thinking. He cut funds to the health care system because he thought that private enterprise would progress the health care system’s economic market more efficiently than the federal funding would. This only caused the health care system to become deregulated, and that caused a reduction in the training and planning of medical personnel. He implemented the DRG system, which was a new approach to paying for medical services. The bill received by the patient would be for the whole cost of treatment for a certain diagnosis, instead of the cost of procedures and services actually given to the patient. This bill allowed physicians to be more comfortable in their practice. Reagan’s system controlled health care costs, but it did not do much for the people in terms of access to health care (Cost Concerns and Policy Changes from 1969-1992). Considering there was massive AIDS epidemic wrecking America during Reagan’s era, his policies were not the best idea for the times. A focus on access to health care might have been a better idea.
Ronald Reagan was a considerably conservative president, and the common population attributed his political ideas to that of conservative religions. The most common religion associated with conservative ideals is the Mormon religion. Mormons believe that homosexuals can choose between their lifestyle and being heterosexual much like they can choose to worship God or the devil. They believe simply that God is not “that way,” and that since man is made in the image of God, man should not be “that way.” Those who contracted AIDS were seen as people who had received “God’s judgment” for going against the idea of heterosexuality set in holy scriptures. Only "evil" people contracted HIV. Even less conservative religions, like the general American brand of Christianity, believe that sex is only justified by the creation of life. Since homosexual sex does not bring about life, it is not justified in the eyes of God (The Alyson Almanac). These conservative views were wide-spread throughout America during Reagan’s era and because of them homosexuals were discriminated against. They did not receive sufficient health care most of the time because of that discrimination. Some doctors would not see a homosexual patient, and some doctors may have performed sub-par procedures and services on a gay patient. Drugs to ease the pain of the disease were more difficult to come by because of the bias. Research for AIDS was not funded well because the conservative way of life did not care enough for other people to fund it sufficiently. On top of that, the health care system was rather inadequate at the time, so many people suffering from AIDS suffered much more than they should have. They suffered not only the physical pain of AIDS, but they suffered emotional pain through being abandoned by their loved ones and shunned by society. People died horrible, lonely, deaths in massive numbers, and President Reagan was only concerned with conserving funds and promoting economical growth. The immorality of the times was a force to be reckoned with. America during the Reagan era was a sick, sick body.
Roy Cohn, as portrayed in Angels in America, was a man of legends. He was the epitome of all negative ideas in the world. Roy Cohn bribed, flattered, and lied to near anybody or anything without any sense of guilt. He aided in the conviction of an innocent woman, Ethel Rosenburg, of treason by seducing a judge over the phone (Roy Cohn). Ethel Rosenburg was later executed for her “actions.” Roy Cohn was a man with no soul. He denied his own sexuality until the day he died, because admitting his sexual desires to the world would severely dampen his uncanny ability to blackmail others. He refused to accept the world for what it is; he believed he could change it using his power, so he was obsessed with maintaining that power. Roy Cohn was the purest form of an immoral being. He was, as Ton Kushner described him, "the polestar of human evil, he's like the worst human being who ever lived, he isn't humaneven, he's..." (Kushner 227) Roy Cohn was also a man with AIDS. The negatives of Roy’s past and personality come back to haunt him in the form of AIDS and the ghost of Ethel Rosenburg, who appears to torment Roy in his last days of life. Roy Cohn detests the hospital scene because in his eyes, it represents weakness. The hospital is a place where all physical power in the world is taken from a man. Relying on others for care and comfort is not an idea Roy Cohn takes easily to. He believes true strength can only come from being independent and relying on one’s self. He does not realize that all humans need to collaborate to better themselves. Roy Cohn’s body is too sick - too immoral - for the world, so it gives in and becomes part of another. Tony Kushner bestows Roy with this disease as a warning to humanity: immorality, if left unchecked, will be the end of all things. If all hell continued to progress in America, America would be the next body to collapse from sickness.
Tony Kushner delivers an ironically unforeseen message along with the creation of the character Norman Arriaga - or to his friends, Belize. Belize is Roy Cohn's primary caregiver when he is admitted with “liver cancer.” Belize is an angel in America. He is discriminated against in society, but that does not stop him from living his life with dignity and pride. He cares for every being that crosses his path, even the unpleasant beings, even Roy Cohn. Belize may abhor a person he is treating, but he will still treat them, and treat them well, because they are human, and all humans are interconnected. Belize's work goes mostly unnoticed throughout the play. He has three main relationships in the play: he is Roy Cohn's nurse, Louis Ironson's acquaintance, and Prior Walter's friend. Belize's relationship with Roy can be described as two immense and opposing forces of the world colliding. "Roy: Find the vein, you moron, don't start jabbing that goddamned spigot in my arm till you find the fucking vein or I'll sue you so bad they'll reposses your teeth you dim black motherf . . . Belize: Watch. Yourself. You don't talk that way to me when I'm holding something this sharp. Or I might slip and stick it in your heart. If you have a heart." (Kushner 157). The two more or less can only stand to be in the same room because Roy Cohn cannot physically stand, and Belize has so much self-control that he can still treat quite possibly the most offensive person on the planet. Belize and Louis' relationship can be seen as that of a teacher and a student who does not understand the concepts being taught. Time and time again throughout the play Belize and Louis collide, but Belize always goes back to try and help Louis, no matter how many times he offends him. Belize cares enough, even about the sad miserable spectacle that is Louis Ironson, to try and make him understand the concept of love. Neither Louis nor Roy ever thanks Belize once for his angelic deeds or character. The two are far too caught up in their own miserable lives to ponder, even for the slightest moment of time, the amazing character that Belize is. Not once in the play does another person deliberately acknowledge Belize’s angelic tendencies. Tony's message is now clear: the good of the world goes much unnoticed.
The key word is much- for there is one character in Angelsin Americawho understands how wonderful Belize is. Prior's relationship with Belize is that of a supreme friendship. Belize speaks to Prior in French, "the language of love," and Prior responds to him in French as well. The two only ever speak French when they address one another. No other character has the privilege of hearing "je t'aime" come from Prior Walter's lips. Though Prior never acknowledges Belize’s incredible caring for him directly in the text, he does so indirectly in his speech. Prior Walter is a prophet. He speaks the word of Tony Kushner. He is an honest man who stays true to himself, and who accepts the world for what it is. He is a homosexual and he is proud. Early in the play he informs his lover, Louis, of his disease. AIDS horrifies Louis, and he abandons Prior, which causes him great emotional pain and suffering. When Louis tries to return to Prior, he rejects the offer. Prior Walter believes in a true form of love – a mere disease cannot frighten one who is truly cares for another person away. While Prior is resting peacefully in bed, an angel comes to visit Prior, and she informs him, “I am here to make you a Prophet to the world. God has abandoned us in heaven so we need to stop life on Earth to find him once more. You are to tell the world that it is ending.” Prior rejects this task, and goes to heaven personally to correct the ways of the angels. He reveals to them, “We can’t just stop. We’re not rocks – progress, migration, motion is… modernity. It’s animate, it’s what living things do. We desire. Even if all we desire is stillness, it’s still desire for. Even if we go faster than we should. We can’t wait. And wait for what? God…” (Kushner 264). The world may be a dreadful place at times, but it always moves forward. Prior realizes that he wants to move forward with the world, because he is a part of it. He is addicted to life. The angels grant him his wish, and he returns to Earth. Though Prior denies his role of prophesy, he is still a prophet to the world. His new, and Tony Kushner's true, message is: accept the world for what it is, for it keeps spinning, and it only spins forward. Prior despises the hospital because it is the physical representation of the immorality of the world. People are sick and dying of an unknown disease and most doctors can only think of the sexual preference of the person who is sick, their paycheck, or some other trivial idea that should not matter in the least.
Emily is Prior’s nurse. She is an Italian-American woman who is generally so busy caring for people in the hospital that she hardly has time for many lines in the play. Emily’s character is played by the actor who additionally plays the role of the angel in Angels in America, so the angel can be inferred as Prior’s nurse. The angel takes care of Prior in the form of care he entirely needs - she tends to his broken heart. After Louis’ betrayal, Prior believes that life is over. Because Prior is such a pure man, the angel attempts to make him a prophet, and by doing so Prior realizes that the world only moves forward. He can move on without Louis, the world is not over. He can live with AIDS, the world is not over. This realization makes Prior want to continue living, and it makes him accept the world for what it is. The acceptance of the world is what convinces the angels to allow Prior to continue living life and deny the prophesy. Prior’s body may be sick, but his mind is not, so he can continue living in this world.
Though Prior Walter and Roy Cohn are complete opposites, they are bound by one thing: they both have AIDS. If two polarly opposite people can be connected, even in the slightest fashion, all humans must be intertwined somehow. If a single member of the human species falls ill to a disease, the others should come to his or her aid, even if for the mere sake of logic, if not for the sake of morality. A disease affects many more than those who physically have it. A disease affects every person, and ignoring those who are in need of aid because they are different in any superficial way is absolutely immoral and ignorant. Humans will deteriorate over time, like Roy Cohn’s body, if they do not take care of one another morally, physically, or spiritually.
Emily and Belize are the physical representations of angels on the Earth. These two act as a guiding light for Prior and Roy, yet Roy is far too ignorant to follow his guide, and his ignorance becomes the end of him. Prior follows the light, and he is rewarded with a satisfying life. Emily and Belize are both are powerless characters in society. The powerless of the world bear the burden of nurturing humanity’s sins.
Only those who are strong and true may survive in this world, because the world only moves forward. It does not wait for those who are faint of heart, and those who are faint will deteriorate over time, until the body that binds them together no longer exists.
Works Cited
The Age of AIDS: Part One. By William Cran and Renata Simone. FRONTLINE, 2006. DVD.
Alyson, Sasha, ed. The Alyson Almanac. Boston, Massachussetts: Alyson Publications, Inc, 1993. Print.
Ciment, James, ed. "Healthcare: Cost Concerns and Policy Changes From 1969-1991." Social Issues In America, An Enclycopedia. Vol. 4. Armonk, New York: M.E Sharpe Inc, 2006. 849-51. Print.
Ciment, James, ed. "HIV/AIDS: 1980s: Overcoming Fear and Denial." Social Issues In America, An Encyclopedia. Vol. 1. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe Inc, 2006. 67. Print.
Kushner, Tony. Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. New York, New York: Theatre Communications Group, Ice, 1995. Print.
"Roy Cohn." Porter Core Reader(2009). Print.
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