The First Man

O‘Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.3

Word count: 122K words
Chapters: 13

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The First Man by Eugene O'NeillAuthor: O'Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: May 1, 2003

Editor's review

The First Man is a play by Eugene O'Neill that explores family affection, responsibility, and human vulnerability through the emotional upheaval a family experiences after losing its eldest son. With nuanced dialogue and restrained dramatic conflict, O'Neill shows how different characters respond to grief, offering readers a playwright's profound insight into family relationships. As a public-domain ebook, it suits enthusiasts of dramatic literature, O'Neill researchers, and English literature students. Readers may wish to attend to the subtext beneath the characters' lines and to how stage directions heighten emotional tension. This edition is the original English text, whose language carries features of early twentieth-century American English—a challenge for non-native readers, but one that also gives language learners access to authentic dramatic writing. Overall, it is an interior drama worth reading closely, best savored slowly in a quiet setting.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English literature students who need to study O'Neill's plays
Theater enthusiasts who want to read American modern drama texts
Readers with some English proficiency who wish to take on an original play

Not a good fit for

English beginners, for whom the original dialogue is difficult to read
Readers who prefer light entertainment, as the play's themes are heavy
Readers seeking plot-driven fiction, as the format is dramatic rather than novelistic

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then use the character list to map the family relationships and emotional threads.
Read key dialogues aloud to feel how O'Neill's pauses and subtext shape character.
Read alongside O'Neill's other family-themed plays to understand his recurring creative motifs.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a play?

The First Man is a dramatic work by Eugene O'Neill, presented as a script with a character list, dialogue, and stage directions rather than traditional novelistic narration. Readers need to adapt to the conventions of dramatic text and pay attention to dialogue and scene directions.

Can I read this book if my English is average?

This edition is the original English text, with language characteristic of early twentieth-century American English. Readers with reading ability at or above college English Test Band 4 can finish it with a dictionary, but patience is required. If your English foundation is weak, it is advisable to read a Chinese translation or learn the plot summary before attempting the original.

What are the features of this edition?

This edition is released by Project Gutenberg as a free public-domain ebook containing the original English text, convenient for reading and searching on electronic devices. It suits readers who need the original text for research, but it does not include modern editorial notes or an introduction.

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About the author

O‘Neill, Eugene, 1888-1953 Author

Eugene O’Neill (1888–1953) was a landmark playwright in the history of American drama. The library holds five of his works: Beyond the Horizon, The Hairy Ape, Anna Christie, The Straw, and The First Man. These plays mostly draw on the struggles and spiritual predicaments of ordinary people, focusing on the conflicts among fate, desire, and human weakness. Stylistically, they combine a stark depiction of real life with strong symbolism and a tragic tone. O’Neill excels at revealing the disillusionment and loss of modern people caught between ideals and reality through his characters’ inner conflicts and the pressures of their surroundings. His dramatic language is plain yet tense, his structures are tight, and his dialogue often carries deep compassion. Although public information about his life is limited, the works in the library alone show that he treated drama as a serious vehicle for exploring the human soul. His writing has had a profound influence on the development of modern drama in the United States and beyond.