Angels In America Analysis

It is hard for anyone who is not terminally ill to imagine the day-to-day anxiety of an unclear and unpredictable fate - unless you’re aboard a leaky longboat with too many passengers. In Angels in America, Prior Walter battles AIDS and demonstrates how “implacable, unsmiling men, irresistibly strong” (42) can be the downfall for not only openly gay men in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, but also for hundreds of immigrants yearning for a new life. In the haunting parallel Prior paints, he reveals the true sense of terrifying suspension he experiences while facing the reality of his own mortality, both impending and potentially abrupt. His eventual fate, and similarly the fate of the passengers of the life boat, has been met through a desire

Very literally, each of the immigrants is worth “so many dollars per head” (42) and is assigned a monetary value. Each immigrant then experiences disconnect from their identity - they become disposable and easily expendable in the eyes of those who hold a position of authority, which further juxtaposes the power dynamic aboard the life boat. Prior is dehumanized more abstractly by his lack of agency. As Prior gets sicker, Lewis must take on the role of a caregiver. This creates a dispute of power between the partners, heightening the inequality between the couple. With Prior unable to take care of himself or reciprocate a similar level of support, the decision to leave the relationship (both romantic and caregiving) rests completely on Louis’ shoulders. As Prior is forced into the passive role by his illness, Louis begins to view him as a hinderance rather than a valuable improvement to his life and well-being. He defines him by his illness and the attention he requires rather than his individual and personal characteristics, reducing him to a physical being and erasing his emotional attributes. The comparative dehumanization of both Prior and the immigrants clarifies Prior’s feelings of disassociation and distance from Louis without direct