An analysis of Suzan Lori Parks' Father Comes Home From The Wars and Charles Fuller's A Soldier's play in The Context of Veterans' Literature

This study aims to examine Suzan Lori Parks' plays Father Comes Home from the Wars (Parts 1, 2 & 3) (2015) on the American Civil War (1861–1865) and Charles Fuller's plays A Soldier's Play [Bir Askerin Oyunu] (1981) on World War II (1939-1945) A Soldier's Play (1981) in the context of Veterans' Literature. Wars are not merely military events of the past; they are dynamics that continue to shape America's identity, policies, and individual lives today, providing literature with profound psychological and social material. For this reason, they remain a constant theme in the works of American writers. These two important works of American literature focusing on the post-war period of American Civil War (1861-1865) and 2nd World War (1939-1945) address not only the effects of the war on the front line, but also the psychological, social and identity-based problems that soldiers experience after the war. By using historical context, the lasting effects of war on the individual are examined. In particular, themes such as post war identity crisis, trauma, the problematic of belonging and social alienation come to the fore. Within this framework, veteran literature is evaluated not only as a literary genre, but also as a carrier of social memory and a kind of psychological witnessing. Throughout the thesis, the effects of the war on the American people and the state are examined historically, and the transformation of veterans' literature from the 19th century to the present is discussed. The works of Parks and Fuller are positioned as contemporary representatives of this literary tradition. Wars are not merely military events of the past; they are dynamics that continue to shape America's identity, policies, and individual lives today, providing literature with profound psychological and social material. For this reason, they remain a constant theme in the works of American writers. The main findings reveal that war leaves not only physical but also deep and lasting psychological scars on soldiers; soldiers returning from war have difficulty in readjusting to society and often become isolated. The authors also convey the message that more effort must be made on social and political grounds for veterans and that veterans must be reintegrated into society. In this context, literature serves as a clear window through which the individual and social consequences of war become visible. By approaching veteran literature through theater texts, this thesis combines both literary analysis and historical-social evaluation and aims to make an original contribution to understanding the post-war soldier experience.