Ionesco, Eugène--Criticism and interpretation

Since 1959, Cuban refugees have transformed the economic
and political structure of the Miami metropolitan area.
Refugees have been successful in their employment and
housing pursuits, although they have often been in competition
with Miami's Blacks. However, by strengthening the
local economy, Cuban refugees have ultimately benefited
the entire metropolitan area. This infrastructure of the
Cuban community has promoted economic success, but it has
also altered refugee economic assimilation into the American
mainstream. Cuban refugees also dramatically altered
metropolitan Miami's political structure. Participation
in exile politics at first slowed political assimilation,
but by the seventies naturalized Cubans began to participate
in American electoral politics. The growth of Cuban-
American voting has Cubanized local politics, particularly
in Miami and Hialeah.

Four plays, La Cantatrice cuavre, La Lecon, Jacques ou la soumission and Les Chaises, are analyzed from a psycho-linguistic point of view. The emphasis is on problems related to the discrepancy between the "name" (word) and the "referent" (that which is referred to) behind the name. This discrepancy occurs in a variety of forms, including contradictory statements, cliches, socially inappropriate words or phrases, and non sequiturs, as well as the use of words as instruments of power rather than tools of communication of thought. This communications gap, while exaggerated in the theater of Ionesco, is shown to be similar to that encountered recently in our everyday lives.