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영어

This paper aims at probing into three virtues of the Iroquois as an ideal model for America in the early 1950s in James Norris’ Hiawatha. America at that time suffered from McCarthyism, i.e. the ideological confrontation caused by Joseph McCarthy who concentrated his efforts on the hunt for communists in the government and public life. The first connection between the play and McCarthyism is that both Atotarho(an Onondaga chief) and Joseph McCarthy are responsible for the national ideological divisions. The second connection is that the ideological divisions before the Iroquois Confederacy are similar to those of America in the early 1950s. The first virtue of the Iroquois as an ideal model for America is their serious recognition of the necessity and importance of peace and unity. The second virtue is the decision-making system based on consensus in their political system as well as their daily lives. The third virtue is their continual and sincere prayers in their religious lives. These Iroquois virtues in the play are also indispensable to overcome the ideologically split America in the early 1950s. Therefore, James Norris’ Hiawatha can be viewed as a historical play for adults in that it dramatizes the Iroquois as an ideal model for ideologically divided America in the early 1950s.