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. 

Close Reading - Oct. 21

Glossy Garbage

http://www.afa.net/Detail.aspx?id=2147483725 

Glossy Garbage, an article on American Family association, follows the same trend as other articles found on this website. In general, the website expresses the need for "traditional" family values and has only one point of view. This creates a very biased and controversial effect. Glossy Garbage is no exception. Through its use of diction, imagery and detail, this article drives the conservative and limited "traditional" family values home. 

The use of diction in Glossy Garbage is mostly pejorative connotation. When talking about the layout of the checkout isle, the author talks about kids being a"target," which is true. The word "target," however, has a very negative light. It points out that candy and kids are synonymous  but then pushes on to say that kids are targeted to sex when they see magazines in the isle. To back this up, the author also uses words like "bombarded' "cattle" "inappropriate" "lascivious"

The author also uses imagery to paint the picture of kids being cattle. "Kids corralled like cattle and force fed doses of porn" is the opening simile that sets the scene for the rest of the article. This imagery is used to exaggerate the idea that magazines shouldn't be placed in the grocery check-out line. From that point on, kids are shown to be in a "chute" (or isle) that slowly ruins the ideas of the american values. This image gives the reader of a one-way street that cannot be avoided. This is meant to convince the reader that this is what is ruining the home.

The use of detail in the article also adds to the ignorant idea that check-out lines are threatening the ideals of the american values. The author chooses to include information and quotes like "Look, Mr. Manager, we're not ignorant. We know you strategically place dozens of kinds of candy here for a purpose. Kids and candy go together like peanut butter and jelly. What doesn't "register" is the gratuitous display of trashy magazines with lascivious cover photos and salacious headlines," paints a picture that sends a warning signal to parents and tells them what to think about magazines. There is also detail that includes the way we can "save" our children from the oh-so-horrendous check out lane at the grocery store. "Fortunately, parents are beginning to speak out and complain to their local store manager, with exceptional results." That quote is added to indirectly show that it is good that parents are speaking out and that this real problem can be solved with something simple. 

Glossy Garbage uses diction, imagery and detail to show that the values of the traditional american family are in harm. Obviously this is a real problem; kids aren't paying attention to the stacks of delicious candy. Instead, the sex-driven children of our generation look at pictures on vogue and see porn. Those 10 steps to being a healthy human being? No... nude pictures of women that little boys are paying too much attention to. The obvious conclusion? Grocery stores are ruining the traditional values of the American Family. 

*Warning* Extreme use of sarcasm. People are  ridiculous. But, the point is the same, the article has an extreme bias and uses parts of the rhetoric to make its argument. 

Open Prompt - October 14

In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

     In the novel Their Eyes were Watching God, Zora Hurston uses the opening chapter to function as an introduction to the major themes of the work. One of the best opening paragraphs in history, Huston sets the stage for the novel, let alone taking in the chapter as a whole. 

     The opening sentence, "Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board," very carefully sets the stage for the rest of the book. In that sentence alone, Hurston creates the idea that every person has a wish that is far away. In the next couple of sentences, she points out that some of these wishes come true, while others will never be obtained and might even be used against them. This is a repeating theme found in the novel as the protagonist, Janie, realizes that not all of her dreams will come true. It is simply a fact of life, but good things can also come from them as well. 

     The first chapter also introduces a look into the colloquial dialect that is continued throughout the book. As Janie walks through town, rumors are being spread about her and a man named Tea Cake. These rumors are being spread by girls who envy all that Janie is, yet Janie has yet to find out who true voice. The use of language is directly parallel to Janie learning how to control her own voice, which leads to another theme. Janie's control of language shows the empowerment and identity that can be obtained through speech. 

     Lastly, the opening chapter introduces the first glimpse as to Janie's relationship problems. This later develops into a coming of age and a search for her own identity. After suffering from relationship to relationship, she finds  Tea Cake. In the end, Tea Cake dies and Janie suddenly realizes that she can't define herself from another human being, which leads to the idea that everyone is an individual that must find themselves.

     Their Eyes are Watching God  is a prime example of how the opening chapter can be used to set the stage for the themes of the book. Hurston carefully thought out how to begin her piece, which made her story  have that much more impact on the reader. 

Response to Course Material - Sept. 7

In the past couple of weeks, we have been working on how to analyze literature. From using DIDLS, to looking for tone and structure, we have many ways to pick apart a work. Most of the time, what I do in class is separate from how I work at home and in daily life. That is not, however, the case as of now. Today, I spent the morning watching Taken 2. Not a piece of written literature, you say? Sure.. maybe so. But the entire time I was totally geeked out, imagining how the movie would be written out. Weird, I know. But true. Diction is fairly obvious, the words that characters use. It really didn't have an effect on the movie (or if it had been written out...) since it was mainly just easy to follow, simple words. Imagery, obviously, was the scene of the movie. But... would writing it out make it any more powerful? Yes. I believe the answer is yes. We all have our favorite book-turned-movie. Sadly, the movies simply do not compare. One of the reasons, is the use of imagery. In a book, imagery appeals to the senses and has great detail that the reader must pay attention to. With a movie, people are simply shown; which doesn't necessarily appeal to the audience's senses. One part that I would have liked to read - instead of watch- would be when the dad is taken into a tiny, dark room. They showed the setting, but had it been described, it would have been that much more powerful and would have made it seem more intense. There would have been words like "the humid moisture clung to his forehead as he patiently fumbled to reach his phone..." There. Not just shown, but gave more feeling that each person can relate to their own experience. Skipping to syntax, my most embarrassing moment was leaning over to my friend, talking about a fight scene and how it would look written out. His response...? A blank stare. Odd, but I had to explain. See, as it was filmed, there were short and quick movements that made the watcher confused and unsure of who was winning which fight. On the page, I eagerly pushed on, the set up would be very similar. Short, quick sentences. To the point, very choppy. This would interrupt the flow and the structure would parallel with the fights themselves. Again... just a blank stare. Sadly, my geek moment could not be shared, but with that, I realized that how I read literature will be change drastically if I have already tried to analyze my own rendition of a movie.

Close Readings - September 23

Not so Modern Family: Top sitcoms make for sexist, inaccurate television

http://www.csmonitor.com/layout/set/print/Commentary/Opinion/2012/0127/Not-so-Modern-Family-Top-sitcoms-make-for-sexist-inaccurate-television

This commentary uses diction, detail, and syntax to make her point. 

Diction Use: 

- She often uses words like quirky, flawed, unrealistic, struggling, stalkers, manipulative, vindictive, ect. to further explain and exaggerate her point. 

- When talking about the female roles in television, her words are pejorative connotation. 

          * "...all of the characters are stalkers, dimwits, cleaning ladies, vindictive ex-wives, or manipulative 

          mothers." All of the adjectives she uses hold some sort of cultural baggage within our society. Not    

          only that, but together they create an image that makes the reader think about the TV shows in a bad 

          way; which was her goal. 

- When talking about the men in TV shows, she uses connotation in the good sense.

          * "...most of them are wildly successful," not only does she describe them as successful, but adding the 

          wildly in front adds more than just being successful. 

          * "And all of the men on Big Bang Theory are brilliant physicists and engineers." Saying brilliant talks 

          them up more than just saying smart or simply stating their careers; for that alone implies they have to 

          "brilliant". 

- Her use of language is paralleled to the point she is arguing. She describes men in a light fashion (which is what the shows do) and describes the women in a darker fashion. This similarity is supposed to create a emphasis so that not only so the readers see it in the commentary, but they can directly take from that and see it in the shows. 

Detail: 

- All of her details are something to knock-down the false-reality of TV shows. For example: 

          * "...Unemployment rate for women (8.3 percent) is lower than it is for men (9.3 percent)." Adding 

          that contradicts what she points out, and what we can see, about some television shows. She wants 

          to convince the reader that not only is the show hurting the image of women, it's not even close to 

          being right. 

- She uses detail to prove the point that the TV shows are falsely giving bad roles to women and working  men up. She could have included information about TV shows that do the opposite, but that would go against her argument and wouldn't prove the point she is trying to make. Instead, she lists the things that are wrong a just a few shows. 

Syntax: 

- A lot of syntax is used to parallel her issue. 

- There are multiple places where there is an interruption in her thoughts, using a dash to show that. It is a repeated pattern that should be taken into consideration. For example: 

          * "Not only is this portrayal of women sexist -- it's inaccurate. 

          * "...networks could risk losing female viewers -- and the advertisers who target them. 

- There is also interruption of thought repeated through parentheses

          *"... is a struggling journalist (and Lily, the other female character, is a shopaholic nursery school 

          teacher). 

          * "The male characters on these shows are not just employed (and attractive to women), but most of

          them are wildly successful." 

- Both kinds of interruptions add to her trying to make a point. It moves one thought into the next and adds detail and positions them together. 

- In the latter example, she uses juxtaposition. The male characters being unemployed and attractive have nothing to do with one another, but she puts them together to point out the irony in them still being successful. She is showing the flawed values and false reality in the TV show. 

- There is also a repetition of sentences beginning with "and". That repetition can be used to emphasize that there are lots of additional points to be considered. 

All in all, this piece was very firm in it's belief that some TV shows today are creating the wrong picture for women, and it's wrong. The author uses lots of rhetoric to create her picture and form an argument.   

September 16 - Essay Prompt

2003, Form B. Novels and plays often depict characters caught between colliding cultures -- national, regional, ethnic, religious, institutional. Such collisions can call a character's sense of identity into question. Select a novel or play in which a character responds to such a cultural collison. Then write a well-organized essay in which you describe the character's response and explain its relevance to the work as a whole.

     Tris, In the book Divergent, is caught between colliding cultures. She lives in a world that is composed of different factions, each representing a single thing they think the world needs to be perfect. For example, Dauntless is a faction that thinks being Brave is a main personality trait that would prevent chaos in the world. The problem comes in, however, when one faction thinks it is better than the rest. This is when regional cultures begin to collide. Tris is caught in the middle, having to choose between different factions; which is practically unheard of. Her response to the changes taking place sets up the work as a whole. 

     When the faction that recognizes intelligence wants to hide something from the world, they pair up with the Dauntless faction to gain support. Tris, someone who could fit in either category, is left to figure out what the problem is. Innocent people are dying left and right, which is something that should be avoided. Tris' response is to trust no one. She begins a quest in self-identity that leads to a larger question in life. 

     Tris sets out to learn more about everything so that she can fully understand who is in the right, and who is in the wrong. At one point, she begins to question her life's importance. Seemingly in a mission to kill herself, she tries to give herself up at any turn. It is when she actually faces death that she realizes she is wrong. This turn of events helps her find herself and helps her decide what she can do. Tris fights back, choosing to show the world the truth instead of pick sides. All of her decisions and reactions to every event show the point of the novel, that not everything is as it seems. 

     Tris' revelation shows that just because people are raised to believe something, doesn't mean it is right. Everybody should be able to discover the world for themselves and not trust everything they are taught; some things are meant to be fought. 

Response to Course Materials - Number One

     So far in the class, we have mainly done literary terms. Looking at sonnet 20, many of the concepts we have gone through are included. First, there is personification in the second line. When he says "you are as pretty as the wind" he is comparing her to it, but putting human like qualities on the wind. I also noticed that every sentence is end-stopped. Without going through the terms as a class, I would have never seen this as anything important. Now, however, after looking at all different kinds of poetry, it is something that should be taken into consideration. The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing would agree, having stressed punctuation. While there is a difference in between college writing and poetry, when there is punctuation... it is probably important. After reading the poem, I also began over thinking it, too. How would this connect back to Foster's book? What does it mean? After some consideration, I related it to the bible. After all, everything comes from the Bible (... or Shakespeare). The narrator is talking about loving his wife, regardless of all the flaws. While she has a bad side, there are also good qualities. The bible talks about loving people unconditionally, which is something that can be seen in this piece. Also, speaking of How To Read Literature like a Professor, I can now relate that book back to the rhetorical situation. Each chapter is a different argument, using elements of the rhetorical situation to make a point. He also uses the structure of an argument to form a point. Overall, this week has been full of knowledge. Which... looking back at my first sentence now... I see I was wrong. So maybe I'll keep it. Just to prove that I have learned a lot more that I thought.