Summary/Analysis: The American Dream

Author:
           Edward Albee is sometimes known as a Theater of Absurdist. He has written many famous satirical plays like "The American Dream" and "The Sandbox".

Setting:
           The setting is Mommy and Daddy's living room in their apartment. This setting is not described in much detail. There are two armchairs, a sofa, a door exit, and an archway in the back of the room.

Significant Characters:
Grandma-
                Grandma is quite different from the other characters. She represents the old American dream and realizes the immoral things that come with the new American dream. She is very wise, mature, and witty and does not succumb to others. Grandma holds her ground and although she is an old lady, she tries to get her voice and opinion into conversations.
Mommy-
                Mommy is extremely dominant, competitive, disrepectful, and rude. She emasculates Daddy and constantly degrades Grandma. She represents the new American dream in that she is all about consumerism. Mommy married Daddy for money.
Daddy-
                 Daddy is weak and emasculated. Mommy repeatedly gives and takes back Daddy's masculinity. Daddy acts like a child that is sometimes punished.
Mrs. Barker-
                  Mrs. Barker is a professional woman who is the chair of the women's club and also works at the Bye-Bye Adoption Center. She constantly competes with Mommy for dominance. She also is referred to in a plural sense.
Young Man-
                   The Young Man represents the new American dream. He has a Midwestern physical appearance and refers to himself as the "type". Although he is good looking on the outside, on the inside he feels empty and lost without his twin brother (the bumble), who was murdered.

Narrative Voice: None because it is a play.

Plot:
              Mommy and Daddy are waiting for a person who is not specified. Grandma comes in with boxes and then the doorbell rings. Mommy tells her that the van man is here to take her away. Instead, Mrs. Barker enters. Mommy and Daddy then leave the room to get water while Grandma and Mrs. Barker talk about the reason behind Mrs. Barker's visit. After Grandma explains to Mrs. Barker about Mommy and Daddy's bumble incident, the young man rings the doorbell. He says he will do anything for money, so Grandma takes him in. She thinks he will help solve Mommy and Daddy's problem. Mommy and Daddy like the young man and are finally satisfied. Grandma then leaves the stage and narrates the audience, saying she wants to see what will happen next.

Quotes:
"Oh, Daddy, you were so masculine; I shivered and fainted" (Albee 17).
                  Here, Mommy gives Daddy his masculinity back as she wants him to open the door. This quote shows how controlling Mommy is over Daddy in that she knows exactly what to say and do to get him to obey her. Because Daddy likes being masculine but often is not, he obeys Mommy whenever his masculinity is given back to him in return.

"And that's because old people are gnarled and sagged and twisted into the shape of a complaint" (Albee 21).
                  Here is one of Grandma's epigrams she uses to describe herself and other old people. This quote emphasizes Albee's theme of deformity in that old people are disfigured and changed into complaining a lot.

Style:
             Albee uses diction, imagery, detail, syntax, and symbols in this play. He does not use point of view since there is no narrator because it is a play. Diction like, "gnarled" and "whimpered" describes people and objects in detail. Details like how the bumble was murdered add to the meaning of the story and provide extra information. Also, Mommy shopping for a wheat-colored hat is an example of the imagery that Albee uses to connect with the reader. Syntax like alliteration, "She was a tramp and a trollop and a trull to boot, and she's no better now" create good flow to the play (Albee 15). Another example of syntax is repetition, like when the young man describes his life. This is to emphasize events more and is possibly to indicate that the young man is lost and confused. One symbol that Albee uses is Daddy's operation. This symbolizes Daddy's replacement of man parts with lady parts. Daddy's operation shows his emasculation.

Theme:
             The main theme of "The American Dream" is that the old American dream is being replaced by the new American dream.
              Grandma symbolizes the old American dream with her wise intelligence and high moral standards. She is hard working and does not succumb to anyone. The other characters, specifically Mommy and the young man, symbolize the new and upcoming American dream. They are primarily focused on money and satisfication and do not care about morals and values. They are very materialistic and like consumerism.