한국중앙영어영문학회

This study examines how Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop reconstructs Martin Luther King Jr. not as a fixed heroic monument but as a vulnerable human shaped by fear, doubt, and moral complexity. By situating the play in the Lorraine Motel, the site of King’s assassination, Hall transforms the space into a performative arena where memory, history, and ethical tension intersect. Memory is presented not as a static record of the past but as an act continually performed in the present, reactivating King’s unfinished moral tasks. Hall draws King down from mythic elevation and reveals him as an ordinary, conflicted man, encouraging audiences to engage in active ethical reflection. Camae mediates this transformation and functions as a recurring moral guide whose final litany—“Iraq,” “NBA,” “High-paid slaves,” “Black Presidents”—traces the evolution of American society beyond King’s era. Through this gesture, King’s legacy shifts from individual heroism to a shared ethical responsibility. The recurring metaphor of the baton underscores intergenerational transmission and reframes the “Promised Land” as an ongoing journey. Ultimately, the play revives King as a figure in whom fragility and possibility coexist, urging contemporary audiences to sustain the ethical practice he envisioned.