He preaches that there is no great reward in life, that even after years, perhaps even a lifetime of suffering, there is no pay off – the only thing you get is the relief that is death.O’Neill’s The Ice Man Cometh, a play brought to Broadway which went on to celebrated success, is the story of, more or less, drunken slobs. Jimmy mentions his own former flame Marjorie and Hickey laughs that they all know the story of her romping with another man. O’Neill provides a physical description and the fact of his spending ten years in prison for his role in the anarchist Movement, but other than that we don’t know much about him. O’Neill’s The Ice Man Cometh. In his Critical Companion to Eugene O’Neill, Robert Dowling references the work of another scholar, Stephen A. The play’s epicenter is a bar/boarding house where a group of drunken derelicts seem to live. For a moment he looks confused, and Larry seizes on this and asks if the iceman gag came home to roost. Some, such as Willie Oban, a Harvard Law School graduate, and Jimmy Tomorrow, a former war correspondent, have come close to success—though it ultimately eluded their grasp. This research report examines various characters in each of these works. He knows that they all think he’s a faker and has his pipe dream but he will show them. Are you sure you would like to remove this post? Nevertheless, excitement begins to pervade the room again. Read a Plot Overview of the entire play or a scene by scene Summary and Analysis. Cora uneasily says Hickey has even gotten to Hugo. Read the Study Guide for The Iceman Cometh…, View the lesson plan for The Iceman Cometh…, View Wikipedia Entries for The Iceman Cometh…. Not affiliated with Harvard College. A salesman with a sudden passion for reform has an idea to sell to his barfly buddies: throw away your pipe dreams. He explains that he’s seen the light and now has pity; he wants to rid people of the lies that make poor slobs worse off because they feel guilty. Chuck and Cora begin to argue about Hickey’s insinuations about their pipe dream of marrying. Hickey is thrilled, though, and tells Jimmy to lay off the booze. Osborne-Bartucca, Kristen. You are a proven winner and will bounce back BIG time! By the end of Act III, though, he is frightened and murmuring, “Always there is blood beneath the villow trees! What also seems to be bugging them is that Hickey has taken Hope's birthday on like it was his own. All except Hugo seem drunk, and an air of nervousness and irritation pervades the gathering. He goes to Larry and tensely tells him Hickey knocked on his door and he wants the man to leave him alone. Are you sure you would like to remove this thread? Play for $500 in UFC Store gift cards & Covers prizes with our FREE UFC 249 contest. Hickey tries to get Hugo to be honest with himself, but Larry chides that the man spent ten years in prison for his faith and should be left to his dream. Chuck moves toward him angrily but Joe relents and says he likes them all but Hickey has messed with his head. They're coming face to face with truths that their pipe dreams and their alcoholism has prevented them from... eNotes.com will help you with any book or any question. And, interestingly, Hickey is actually quite insightful as to what plagues them. Hickey simply cannot do this, of course.