Summary and Analysis of The American Dream

 Author:
         Edward Albee is most well known for being an author of the theatre of the absurd. He was born in Virginia and soon adopted and moved to New York where he grew up in Westchester County. He was expelled and dismissed from many schools growing up and finally left his adoptive family home, saying he never felt comfortable there. Albee's plays started to be published in 1958 in post-war America. In The American Dream, Albee uses an interesting style that makes the characters in his book seem normal but not quite right. There is always something missing behind the character's words.

Setting:

Though the play does not say what time in American history, we know that play takes place in an apartment building, mainly in Mommy and Daddy's apartment.

Significant Characters:

Mommy: Mommy is definitely the most commanding character in the play. Everything she says is an order or something to degrade another character in the play. Everything she says to Grandma or Daddy is usually negative. She is the most assertive in the play, showing that she wears the pants in the relationship by emasculating Daddy with every chance she gets and manipulating him with sex.

Daddy: Daddy is a pushover. He lets every character walk all over him in the book, especially Mommy. He allows her to emasculate him. He shows how society conforms to a certain group of peoples' ideas and doesn't really have a true identity of his own.

Mrs. Barker: Mrs. Barker is a strange character because she seems to be a powerful woman, always clashing with Mommy but she is not very bright. She does not know why she is at Mommy and Daddy's apartment, but neither do they. She could represent corporations in society being always referred to as "us" or another plural.

Grandma: Grandma is the most relatable character in the play. She is who most people who read it find easy to like and the only character that seems to have a real personality. She is not really understood by any of the characters in the play, but the reader can understand her. She represents the old American dream.

Young Man: Only a part of the story at the very end of the play but a key aspect of it. He is believed to be the twin brother of the baby Mommy and Daddy had adopted, mutilated, and killed, and he represents the new american dream in a consumerism society.

Plot:

       The play begins with Mommy and Daddy in he living room discussing how Mommy bought a beige hat yesterday that turned out to be wheat. Mommy tells him how Mrs. Barker called it a wheat hat, so Mommy had to go back and demand a beige colored hat. She says she knew that they just gave her the same hat again but doesn't do anything about it. Daddy and Mommy say you can satisfaction anymore anywhere. Then they discuss how they need to get the bathroom fixed and how "they" are very late and we expect that a plumber or apartment attendant is coming but they never do.
       Then Grandma enters the story and is carrying many boxes, that are so nicely wrapped that Mommy and Daddy find it necessary to comment on this for a long time. The doorbell rings and we thing that the person or people they were waiting for has come to fix the toilet. Daddy won't open the door because he is too scared for some reason. Mommy uses her manipulative ways to convince how manly it would be if he just opened the door. He finally does and in walks Mrs. Barker.
       Mommy seems to pretend like she and Mrs. Barker have never met even though later on we figure out they've known each other for a while. Mommy tells Mrs. Barker to make herself comfortable and to take off her dress and various other comments, when Mrs. Barker does take her dress off Daddy gets very excited and acts like a giddy child.  Later, while Daddy and Mommy are off looking for water and Grandma's room in the apartment, Grandma tells the story of the child Mommy and Daddy adopted that Mommy wasn't satisfied with. Since Mommy did not like the child, they cut off all of its limbs and body parts until the child finally died.
       During the play, Mommy, Daddy and Grandma keep saying how a nursing home man is going to come and take Grandma away. This seems plausible because of the boxes Grandma has wrapped filled with all of her belongings, but when the doorbell rings and Grandma answers it, it is the Young Man. We learn they he is from the west and come to find work. Grandma and all of the characters find him very attractive. Grandma realizes that he is the American Dream and begins to call him that. She knows that he has to take her place. Grandma plans with Mrs. Barker and the Young Man that she is going to leave and then she does. Mommy is upset at first at the absence of Grandma and we see Grandma watching the scene unfold. Mommy gets over it quickly when she realizes she gained the very attractive Young Man. The audience, the Young Man, and Mrs. Barker can all see Grandma after she has left the play but Mommy and Daddy can't. Mommy is finally satisfied with her replacement bumble the Young Man and the play ends while everyone is somewhat happy.

Important Quotations:

"Yup. Boy, you know what you are, don't you? You're the American Dream, that's what you are. All those other people, they don't know what they're talking about. You..you are the American Dream." -Grandma  (Albee 108)
     Grandma says this to the Young Man after they discuss how beautiful he is and how he is from the west and all of these characteristics he has that make him the American Dream. This quote is important because we finally see what Grandma and Albee think the new American Dream is and how if Grandma can recognize it as important than it must be. Albee uses Grandma to make a point about how the play is about the American Dream.
"Oh, we're still here. My, what an unattractive apartment you have!" -Mrs. Barker (Albee 77)
      This quote shows how Mrs. Barker and everyone in the play refers to her as plural, as "us", "we", or "they". It shows how Mrs. Barker represents corporations or the government and how they are always present in peoples lives. When she says that their apartment is unattractive it shows how rude and judgmental society is.


Theme:

The major theme in the play is the controversial topic of the true American Dream. Albee uses the characters and topics in the play to make fun of society and their values. He uses the Young Man and Grandma to show the differences between the old and new American Dreams. When the Young Man says that he came from the West it is assumed that Grandma is from the east, showing that the two different American Dreams formed not only in two different generations but different geographies as well.   Albee uses his detached tone and symbolism to make the reader understand his views on society. When he talks about Mommy and Daddy and how they killed the baby, we get the image in our head of the act. It is sickening and he uses the imagery to get us to dislike Mommy and Daddy. The plays title, "The American Dream", is obviously used because that is what is being discussed and analyzed through the story the entire time. He uses it as a title to remind the reader or audience to relate things in the play back to the title to relate the two.

Open Prompt

2009. A symbol is an object, action, or event that represents something or that creates a range of associations beyond itself. In literary works a symbol can express an idea, clarify meaning, or enlarge literal meaning. Select a novel or play and, focusing on one symbol, write an essay analyzing how that symbol functions in the work and what it reveals about the characters or themes of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

The Great Gatsby is a great example for a novel that has objects that have deep symbols attached to them. One of many symbols in this novel is the very famous green light. This green light, which is located at the end of Daisy's dock across the bay. This bay separates East Egg from West Egg, which is a symbol all on its own.

The green light can mean many things. For example, in the beginning of the book, we see Gatsby reaching out toward the green light across the water. In this specific scenario the green light could be representing Daisy. Him reaching out for the green light shows his desire for her. The green light could also represent his goal to be with her, we know that Gatsby wants to be with Daisy but seeing Gatsby always looking over to the green light shows that he will never forget about her. The reader knows that Gatsby's end goal is to be with Daisy and win her away from Tom, and the green light is there to remind us of that.  Gatsby and his green light are also often referred to as the American Dream. The American Dream of being with the perfect woman and having the perfect life, therefore the green light is sometimes generalized as the American Dream and Gatsby's quest for it. Throughout the whole book Gatsby is on his mission to get Daisy with the green light always in the background, so that no matter what is going on in the book the reader does not forget Gatsby's main purpose. 

The green light is a symbol that can be easily related to by the reader. Something that you keep wanting and reaching for but can never obtain. Something that you know you can never truly have. The green light connects all of the pieces in The Great Gatsby together.

Response to Course Material #2

Response to Course Material 

We have done a lot more in class since my last post. We learned a lot about literary eras and lenses. Personally I have had difficulties with both of these in the past but reviewing them in class really helped. I always have found literary eras really interesting and on Friday we did that graphing sheet to organize the eras and different things in those eras and I found the patterns very interesting.

Unfortunately, I had to read The American Dream on my own so I did not get the experience of hearing it read aloud by different people but I found it to be a very interesting read. It was unlike anything I had read before and I was quite confused at first. But then in class we read the Theater of the Absurd and that article really helped me understand the book and the reasons for some of the ideas in the book. I am nervous and excited about our close reading assignment with this book! Hopefully it all goes well! 

Close Reading

Close Reading "Twilight"

"...all very attractive, " I added, trying to be more complimentary. "You should see the doctor, " Charlie said, laughing. "It's a good thing he's happily married. A lot of the nurses at the hospital have a hard time concentrating on their work with him around. " We lapsed back into silence as we finished eating. He cleared the table while I startedon the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand --no dishwasher -- I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework. I could feel a tradition in the making. That night it was finally quiet. I fell asleep quickly, exhausted. The rest of the week was uneventful. I got used to the routine of my classes. By Friday Iwas able to recognize, if not name, almost all the students at school. In Gym, the kids on my team learned not to pass me the ball and to step quickly in front of me if the other team tried to take advantage of my weakness. I happily stayed out of their way. Edward Cullen didn't come back to school."

I chose a short passage from the book from the saga, "Twilight".

      This short excerpt from "Twilight", Stephanie Meyer describes a scene we all know very well. A parents and child eating some dinner together. Meyer uses her skills to create that image in the readers mind. She uses descriptive words to get the reader's brain to picture the actions, setting and character without fail. 

      Stephanie Meyer uses great imagery in this excerpt. She uses words that create an easily imaginable picture in my brain. "He cleared the table while I startedon the dishes. He went back to the TV, and after I finished washing the dishes by hand --no dishwasher -- I went upstairs unwillingly to work on my math homework." (Meyer)  In these lines, Stephanie Meyer describes the scene, not explaining, but showing the reader what her characters are doing. I can easily image a girl, finishing cleaning up from dinner and sitting at her desk struggling to do math homework, especially simple to connect to considering that happens to me about every night. Seeing this image makes the story easy to relate to and connect to different parts in the reader's life. This creates a deeper feeling between the reader, and the text.

      This excerpt uses details that add a small piece of information and detail to the story that add more to the story. When Meyer adds how in gym the kids know that she is a bad player and sometimes use her weakness as an advantage to them, it is a small piece of details.  The reader may at first seem unnecessary but later discover that this small addition of material about who Bella Swan is allows the reader to use that detail in the future. For example if later on in the story Meyer says that Bella had no chance for defending herself, after that the reader could think about how she knows that Bella is weak and would not be able to defend herself because she cannot even pass high school gym.

      Stephanie Meyer's writing and use of details and imagery make not only this small passage but allows the reader to connect themselves to the story and put themselves in the characters point of view. These are all reasons that make the writing better and easy to read and understand. 

Open Prompt

1983. From a novel or play of literary merit, select an important character who is a villain. Then, in a well-organized essay, analyze the nature of the character's villainy and show how it enhances meaning in the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

     Many works of literature have villains that add to the plot. Villains can be used in the story to show or teach the protagonist a lesson. For example in Harry Potter the villain is Voldemort. Voldemort is used throughout each book and the novel as a whole to teach Harry lessons and make him face his greatest fears. 

     Voldemort is known as the constant evil throughout the story that Harry Potter had to defeat. His character is used as the focus of the story, that no matter what Harry's task is, Voldemort is behind it. More specifically, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, when Harry is suspicious of Professor Quirrell and his actions and when he meets him to fight at the end of the book, it is actually Voldemort. Before he comes back for real in the fourth book, Voldemort is always lurking to try and kill Harry before Harry can kill him. It shapes the story completely around the fight between the two of them. 

      J. K. Rowling uses Voldemort to make the lessons that Harry and his friends learn through trying to defeat him more meaningful. The lessons they learn about friendship, honor, respect and fighting for what you believe in, while they struggle to end the fight with Voldemort, seem very real as you read the book and hope that they can defeat their villain. Voldemort's tricky way of coming back after the reader and Harry think that he has been defeated makes the books seem like they could go on forever and makes every battle they have with Voldemort that much more significant. 

    Villains can be key aspects in works of literature and make the work as a whole more note worthy. Voldemort truly enhances the meaning of friends and loyalty in Harry Potter. The lessons the characters learn because of Voldemort and villains in general, have much more impact because of the villains. 

     

Responses to Course Material

Response to Course Material

So far everything we have learned so far in this course has really made me think back to my favorite books I have had the opportunity to read in my life. Just being in class reminded me of when I was in second grade and I hated reading, I thought it was the absolute worst, now it is hard to picture not loving literature and that reminded me of what made me fall in love with books. Harry Potter, I have now read the entire series multiple times and each time I read it I discover different connects and meanings that the author uses to connect all the books together. It makes me think in class how we discuss style, motifs, and coming full circle. Now that I think about those concepts and the Harry Potter books I realize how often J.K. Rowling uses these techniques to make the books complicated and exciting. It also amazes me how authors all have different voices and styles that can make two similar books completely different because of the different authors. 

"Me Talk Pretty One Day"

"Me Talk Pretty One Day" Analysis

It is easy to enjoy and appreciate David Sedaris’ “Me Talk Pretty One Day”. Critiquing the  essay by applying the rules in The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing was rewarding. The book made understanding Sedaris wrote his essay and picking out familiar things within the essay quite simple.       

       Many technique used by Sedaris are discussed in Harvey’s, The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing. In “Me Talk Pretty One Day”, Sedaris’s problem and journey from being intimidated and afraid to speak French and of the language gets resolved at the end of the story when we see him speak with a newfound confidence he did not have at the beginning of the essay. This relates to what Harvey discussed in his book about a method known as coming full circle, or “closing the circle” (Harvey 83). This method of finishing an essay or story with coming full circle allows the reader to link aspects of the writing from the beginning with new details discovered at the end.

       David Sedaris’s “Me Talk Pretty One Day” is fun to read because he gets straight to the point and is quick to get rid of what he finds to be extra words. He writes in a style that is not as common in most writing. His description of his anxious feelings towards his professor provides comedic relief for the reader. His very frank style of writing could be considered a “pompous style” (Harvey 4).

 By reading The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing and comparing the style and techniques we learned from that with "Me Talk Pretty One Day" it made critiquing and discovering the writing style of David Sedaris easier to do and appreciate.