Summary and Analysis - The American Dream

The American Dream

Summary:

- Author: Edward Albee
- Setting: Living room of Mommy and Daddy
- Plot: Mommy and Daddy begin in the living room talking about dissatisfaction. Mommy, who bought a hat, wasn't satisfied with the color. Both are also talking about how "they" are late. They repeat the phrase "we just can't get satisfaction''. This is symbolic of the New American Dream and the discontent with old ways. Meanwhile, Grandma represents the Old American Dream and is the only character that seems to know what is going on and acts as a mediator between the characters and the audience. Grandma is being taken by the "van man", or young man (aka New American Dream) after Mrs.Barker comes to visit from the Bye-Bye Adoption Service. All of this leads to the ending, in which the audience is left to think about what happened and is left with some important themes (which will be discussed later...)

Significant Characters:
- Mommy: Materialistic, needy, bossy, un-woman-like-she-man-devil who manipulates Daddy whenever she can. She is dissatisfied with pretty much everything and quickly replaces Grandma with Young Man
- Daddy: a wimpy, non-authoritative, man-woman who generally gives in to mommy's wishes
- Grandma: "Old American Dream" who doesn't take Mommy's crap, or anybodies for that matter.
- Mrs.Barker: plural, from bye-bye adoption, only person with a name
- Young Man: "New American Dream" that replaces Grandma

Narrative Voice and Author's Style:
-View: There is no point of view, no narrative figure. However, Grandma seems to be the person that knows most everything going on in the play, but does not reveal it to us until the end (or rather... leaves it up to us to figure out... )
- Tone: Comic
     *Albee uses comedy techniques to lessen the blow of the harsh message
     * Ex. Role Reversals, Discussion of something not usually public, ect.
- Imagery: All created to lead the reader toward different themes or topics
     * Beige v wheat - colors that lead to materialism
     * Grandma continuously talks about "old people" and describes them using imagery (wrinkled, sneezing,     ect.) to relate to the "wrinkling" of the Old American Dream
- Symbolism: A lot of the characters are used to symbolize something
     * Grandma = Old American Dream
     * Mommy = Materialism
     * Young Man = New American Dream

Quotes:

-"WHAT a masculine Daddy! Isn't he a masculine Daddy?"
This Quote has a lot packed into one simple idea. Mommy is talking to Daddy when he decides to open the door. She is being very cruel and dangling his manhood in front of him, daunting him like a child. This shows her dominance over him and includes a part of humor that Albee uses: role reversal.

- "When you get old, you can't talk to people because people snap at you. That's why you become deaf, so you won't be able to hear people talking to you that way. That's why old people die, eventually. People talk to them that way."
Here, Grandma is expressing her frustration with the way people treat the Old American Dream. She says that while the dream is still alive and waiting to be heard, nobody is willing to listen. Not listening is what will cause the inevitable death of the Old American Dream. It serves as a warning, but ironically, nobody is listening. 

THEME: 

- The American Dream is shifting to something more dangerous and materialistic if we don't start paying attention
     * This can be supported in a variety of ways. For one, Grandma leaves the fate of the dream in the hands of the audience and tells them that it is up to them. Mommy, who was shown being materialistic in her not being satisfied with a wheat hat, is then shown to be dissatisfied with everything. If she (or people) aren't satisfied, they will move on to something else; in this case, the new american dream. Young Man symbolizes the New American Dream and is shown to value materials, good looks, and seems to have no sense of individual, hardworking happiness. Since that is what people will move toward due to dissatisfaction, the world will end up materialist and only aiming for money, leaving happiness behind. Mommy and Daddy are materialistic to the point that they killed their own child because he was imperfect, which serves as a warning to the audience. Through this hyperbole, we get a glimpse as to what our world might become if we fully shift to this materialist, self-satisfying new world.