Literally, thirst means a state or feeling of one when one wants to or needs to drink water. Extending the meaning we can say thirst is a strong desire or yearning for something. In Eugene O' Neill's play different kinds of thirst become prominent from different angles which can broadly be categorised into three heads: Thirst of human beings on-stage, Thirst of nonhuman beings in sea and Thirst of human beings off-stage.
Thirst of human beings on-stage : On the stage we find no other than the three woebegone passengers who are under tremendous pressure of thirst for water and thirst for rescue,in a word thirst for life. How can the thirst for survival belittle the thirst for wealth and that of carnal need is conspicuous in the behaviour of the Negro Sailor. With the idea that the Sailor has some water hidden with him the Gentleman incites the Dancer to offer her diamond necklace worth five thousand dollars to the Sailor for a sip of water.The Sailor who is strangely silent and continuously crooning turns down the offer though the Gentleman confirms : " I have heard his people are very fond of such things." Now the Dancer , at the cost of her honour and dignity , offers the Sailor her beautiful body . The Negro's response to the Dancer's amorous gesture is like this: " For a second his nostrils dilate - he draws in his breath with a hissing sound - his body grows tense and it seems as if he is about to sweep her into his arms. Then his expression grows apathetic again. He turns to the sharks." So, thirst for life gets the first place and it overpowers the thirst for wealth and sex . Actually, non-availability of water and the least chance for rescue ship excruciate them most, beyond measure.
Thirst of nonhuman beings in sea : The nonhuman beings in sea, the voracious sharks, are led by their thirst for food and are moving round the life raft, projecting their sharp fins.These animals somehow understand that something on the raft, may quench their appetite. Led by instinct, not by the order of preference and importance, the sharks move round the raft and ultimately, getting the dead body of the Dancer and later that of the Gentleman and the Sailor quench their thirst and leave the place.
Thirst of human beings off-stage : The thirst of human beings off-stage is not directly attached with the action of the play but definitely affined to the catastrophe of the three passengers on the raft . They are no other than the readers or the audience having an acute thirst in their minds yearning for the rescue of the three passengers .They seem to visualise a God-sent rescue ship or a suddenly discovered island full of sustenance. Undeniably, every reader is empathetic enough to pray God for the survival of these three helpless. This type of thirst is quite common in human beings.
Only the thirst of the sharks, the nonhuman beings in sea, is fulfilled because of its very nature. There is no impropriety in this type of thirst as food is the basic need of living beings. Impropriety and improbability are there in the expectation of these shipwrecked passengers as well as the readers for the very catastrophic situation of the life raft on the vast sea beyond the human territory which is, as if, beyond the notice of God.
