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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This 3 page paper discusses David Auburn's prize-winning play "Proof." Bibliography lists 3 sources.
Page Count:
3 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_HVAubPrf.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
among other awards, the Pulitzer Prize and the Tony. This paper answers several questions about the play. Discussion What role does mathematics play in Proof? Mathematics is really the "heart"
of the play, because it is the mathematical proof that the professor discovered on which the action turns. Its also important because the protagonist of the play, Catherine, has been
taking care of her ailing father, a brilliant mathematician who fought a long battle with insanity before he died (Alexanderson, 2007). Auburn wants to explore the connection between insanity and
mathematics and answer the question as to whether or not its true that "a special kind of person is drawn to mathematics" (Alexanderson, 2007). Auburn said in an interview that
he was fascinated by "the romantic quality of mathematical work, the solitary worker in an attic somewhere ... working on a problem and coming up with something entirely original"
(Alexanderson, 2007). Auburn also said he believes that most mathematicians are "edgy personalities" who are able to make intuitive leaps that "most people just cannot make. So he thinks there
may be some kind of causal relationship between being a mathematician and suffering from a mental breakdown" (Alexanderson, 2007). These are the points he explores in the play, which quite
obviously cannot be separated from the field of mathematics. How do the specific techniques and rigors of higher-order mathematics relate to the action and theme of the play? Higher order
mathematics can mean anything from algebra to the most advanced relativity equations. Mathematicians working at this level can work on one problem or proof for years; present it; and then
find that someone else shoots holes in it. It is theoretical work at its most abstract. The action of the play is largely an attempt to figure out who wrote
...