There are many factors that work together to motivate human beings to act or to stagnate. Tony Kushner, a Jewish and gay playwright, often shows the underlying effects of homosexuality and religion on a character's actions. Kushner's two-part, seven-hour play, Angels in America, places a strong emphasis on the belief systems and ethics that motivate change. Its characters experience major changes in their lives, brought about both by the sociopolitical environment of the Reagan era and their own personal values. Tony Kushner combines politics and oppositional belief systems, as well as inevitable change, in Angels in America, which forces the characters to evolve against the backdrop of queer New York in the 1980s. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In Angels in America, some characters describe politics as the driving force behind everything in America. Louis Ironson, Prior Walter's Jewish ex-lover, whose AIDS is making him increasingly ill, is one of these believers. In one of Louis' argumentative dialogues with his friend Belize, he explains his point of view: "There is only politics, and lures and stratagems to maneuver around the inevitable political battle" (Kushner, Millennium 96). Kushner spends most of the play proving this assertion false by asserting that Americanism includes much more than just politics; it is an identity, and its people and its history must be included in it. The play is set against the backdrop of the 1980s, when two movements defined societal change: the AIDS epidemic and the growing openness of homosexuality. In the 1980s, the Reagan administration ruled over the American people. Ronald Reagan, president from 1981 to 1989, was incredibly conservative, religious, and vehemently anti-gay. Reagan responded to the question of equal rights and adequate representation for homosexuals by stating that it was "an alternative lifestyle that I don't believe society can tolerate, and neither do I." » (quoted in Carpenter). The Reagan administration is known for completely ignoring the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s. It took five years into his presidency before Reagan uttered the word "AIDS" in public. It was nearly seven years before he gave a speech about the disease that, by that time, had killed more than 650,000 Americans (Ganga). In 1982, Press Secretary Larry Speakes held a news conference where a reporter asked about AIDS for the first time. Government officials responded with laughter and jokes such as, “I don’t have it… do you?” (quoted in Lawson). The Reagan administration's beliefs caused a lack of motivation to act. Some characters in Angels in America are imbued with this same feeling of complacency. Roy Cohn is a character in the play, but he was also a real person in the '80s who also worked in the Reagan administration. Despite being extremely homophobic and consciously working under a homophobic administration, Cohn was a closeted homosexual and ultimately died of AIDS, as he does in the play. Cohn shares the idea that one motivating force has influenced everything, in one way or another: politics. While explaining his plans for Joe, a Mormon and closeted homosexual, to move to Washington and work under Reagan, Cohn says, "It stinks, it's politics, Joe, the game of being alive" ( Kushner, Millennium 71). Cohn believes thatevery aspect of Americanism can be traced to political influence; he even equates politics with life itself. Later, Louis would unconsciously agree with Cohn, declaring: “There is only politics, and lures and stratagems, to maneuver around the inevitable political battle” (Kushner, Millennium 96). Although political liberalism is a value explored by Kushner, it does not prove that he calls the characters to arms. For example, Louis knows and understands that the Reagan administration is unjust and that modern politics persecutes gay men like him. Yet both he and Joe work at a courthouse where Cohn is their boss and take no action against him. This “complacent political attitude” perpetuates a lack of public action, critics say (Norden 92). Kushner demonstrates how politics can motivate action, but can also cause its absence. Nonetheless, politics clearly plays a large role in the events that unfold in the characters' respective lives, thus representing their importance in real change in modern life. The characters' insistence on the importance of politics even exceeds that of religion; Louis is one of these characters. He demonstrates his opinion by saying: "There are no gods here, no ghosts and spirits in America, there are no angels in America, no spiritual past" (Kushner, Millennium 96 ). Kushner also attempts to invalidate this claim; he consistently demonstrates that there are angels in America, both literally and figuratively, and that religion is an invisible force that determines much of the world's action. According to him, faith is a motivating force just as powerful as politics. Two religions, Mormonism and Judaism, both strongly influence the characters' attitudes toward change; Joe and Harper are Mormons, and Prior and Louis are Jewish. Both religions offer a system of ethics to their believers. Even if the characters are not pious, they share these value systems and, knowingly or unconsciously, draw on them when necessary. The very first scene of the play takes place at a Jewish funeral conducted by a former rabbi, Isador Chemelwit. Immediately there is a discussion about Jewish values. After discovering that Prior has AIDS, Louis asks the rabbi if it would be unfair to leave Prior, hypothetically. The rabbi responds by rejecting his seemingly Catholic confession: “Catholics believe in forgiveness. Jews believe in guilt” (Kushner, Millennium 25). There is also a recurring allusion to the biblical story of Jacob. At one point, Joe returns to a childhood memory while reading this story: “Jacob wrestles with the angel...Jacob is young and very strong. The angel is...a handsome man, with golden hair and wings, of course” (Kushner, Millennium 51-52). For Joe, this parable represents his years of struggling with his homosexual identity. Growing up Mormon, Joe was always taught that homosexuality is a sin. Due to his religion, Joe hides this part of himself from the outside world. Reflecting on his youth, Joe realizes that he read this parable so often because it was his own way of admiring male beauty in an accepted way. Thus, these images finally raised awareness of his homosexuality. The allusion to Jacob foreshadows a later scene where Prior literally wrestles with the Angel. Prior must fight this enormous winged angel in his hospital room. At one point, the Angel actually calls the Prior “Jonas” (Kushner, Perestroika 173). Jonah, according to the Bible, was a prophet who rejected his religious role and duties. Prior does the same once he is in council with the Angels; he refuses to use the text they gave himgiven and defiantly said, “I want more life.” I can't help it. Yes... I will take my illness with me and. And I will also take my death with me. The earth is my home and I want to return home” (Kushner, Perestroika 278-279). Thus, Prior is condemned by the title the Angels give him to make the choice to live his life as a weak and sick mortal rather than acting through the Angels and God as their messenger. He turns his back on the offer of immortality and greatness, just like Jonah. He may then be condemned to the fate of Jonah, to be punished until he repents to God, but he still chooses to take his destiny into his own hands. Unknowingly, Prior follows the path his religion has laid out for him, the path that ironically inspires him to choose himself over his religious duty. Although religion is depicted as an important motivator in this play, change often occurs without a clear reason. Kushner's belief that change comes like a storm that cannot be fought can be inferred from his works; this view was inspired by the writings of Walter Benjamin. His essay describes the angel in the painting Angelus Novus carried by the wind of progress that "propels him irresistibly towards a future to which he turns his back, while the pile of debris before him grows towards the sky" (McNulty 135-136). Kushner uses Benjamin's description of Angelus Novus as inspiration for his Angel and reinterprets it in Angels in America; Kushner demonstrates that although people constantly look to the past, they are projected into the future simply because of the inevitable passage of time. The title of the third act of Millennium Approaches is “The dawn ahead, not yet conscious”. This is a direct quote from Ernst Bloch's "Principle of Hope." Bloch says that humanity is endowed with “a being not yet conscious, which has never been conscious and which never existed in the past, therefore itself a dawn towards the new” (quoted in Chambers- Letson and Takano 267). . Like Benjamin, Bloch believed that change is an unstoppable force and that the realization of this consciousness depends on change. Although much of the changes experienced by Kushner's characters appear to be caused by politics or religion, some of their experiences are not motivated by any specific cause; they just change, like everyone else, over time. Kushner argues that although changes may be unexpected or painful, they continue to happen. At one point, he comments on this during an interaction between Harper and one of his delusions. The apparition explains that change can sometimes literally feel like being drained and ripped apart. Yet it also says, “It’s up to you to stitch the seams.” And then get up. And take a walk” (Kushner, Perestroika 200). Although the pain that change inflicts often cannot be stopped, the storm of progress continues to push on, compelling people to move forward. Tony Kushner integrates politics and religion as forces driving change and action within Angels in America. Yet it also explores the idea that change often happens on its own, without any clear motivation. Its appearance is one of the few constants of modern life. Although most of the characters' actions are motivated by such forces, many of them are also subtly motivated by self-interest. For example, Louis abandons Prior because he refuses to face his fears of illness and death. He then leaves Joe because he knows he must choose love for Prior over desire for his replacement. Harper leaves Joe because she needs to stop waiting,.