A play, A dream-The American Dream Summary Analysis

 The American Dream
     Written in 1960 by playwright Edward Albee. In this work and  numerous others, Albee considers  human  ideals,socially and morally.He is well known for his works The Zoo Story, Three Tall Women, A Delicate Balance and The Sandbox, to name a few. 
 
     In this short play the setting remains relatively plain. The focus centers more on the conversation between the family members and their associates. There is a living room containing two chairs. Again, no detail is provided to emphasize the detail on these chairs. Other than the fact that they are facing each other...Beyond these chairs there resides a sofa, a door leading out of the apartment, and an archway allowing access to other rooms in the apartment( Albee 57).
             Characters:
             Mommy
             Daddy
             Grandma
             Mrs. Barker
             Young Man

      The first page starts off with  Mommy going on and on to Daddy about a "beige" hat that she bought. From there Grandma enters the scene with boxes. Mommy insults her to her face, how old she is "pioneer  stock" and later complains about her  to Daddy. Daddy, however, cares more for Grandma. Grandma exits, and Mommy and Daddy talk about how Mommy used to be poor and how she would give leave the food Grandma had packed for  her in her lunch box for Grandma to eat  later. This allowed Mommy to take the food from her classmates. Following this conversation, Mommy and Daddy have a sexual moment that fails terribly. No satisfaction occurs as Grandma interrupts. Mrs.Barker soon enter the scene after this. She doesn't know why she is at the apartment. The adults chatter and Grandma acts mysterious. Mommy threatens to have the Van Man take her away. Later Mommy and Daddy are gone from the living room, trying to find their way around the house. Grandma laughs about this. Grandma and Mrs.Barker are left alone to talk about the issues with the first  bumble and they  form a connection. The doorbell rings after some time and Grandma opens it to find the Young Man. She names him the American Dream. They converse about his life, how he is physically perfect but internally numb to emotion. Grandma plans in her head and with the help of Mrs. Barker, she is able to leave, as Mrs. Barker introduces Mommy and Daddy to their new bumble. Satisfaction achieved but not. They are unsatisfied with the wine. And Grandma ends with us. What will we choose?
   
     Character dynamics- All names are simple. Allows for ambiguity. Mommy is authoritative and married Daddy for his money. Daddy appears meek and confused about his sexuality and allows Mommy to dominate him. She is more masculine while he is more feminine. Also, evident in Daddy's recent operation. Now emasculated. Grandma is wise, being the Old American Dream. Consider her as "pioneer stock". Only character that is able to interact with the audience. She leaves the materialistic environment as she "passes the torch" to the new dream, the Young Man. Fits ideal of perfection.Beauty. Physical god-like quality. He'll do anything. Mrs.Barker is part of many women's clubs and  represents the Bye Bye Adoption Agency. She provided Mommy and Daddy with their first bundle. She has come to give them a new one, turns out Grandma helps Mrs.Barker accomplish this with the Young Man.
 
     Point of view is told through each character by their words. Imagery is minor, thus the reason for why dialogue dominates the play. It is a play. Minimal directions are provided for the characters. Other than the imagery of the mutilation of the  first bumble by the hands of Mommy and Daddy. You can imagine  the cutting off of body parts,but  in no way do the five  senses work hard in this play. Diction is the dominating technique. Somewhere between colloquial and informal. Conversation is common/everyday like, but occasionally slang is used. Concerning the tone, feels foolish, perhaps even light.I get no sense of darkness from the dialogue because the characters interact in such a humorous, mainly ridiculous way. This foolish/childish  tone allows Albee to poke fun of  the American Dream of achieving  satisfaction through materialistic ways and he plays with it well as he allows his characters to interact with one another. Even when  the tone is harsh(instigator=Mommy), the tone doesn't stray far from humorous.

    Symbolism is present in Grandma representing the Old American Dream. She embodies old values that center around the family and hard work. The Young Man symbolizes the new American Dream of perfection. The idea is to buy and to seek satisfaction in the ways of material belongings. Another symbol is the destruction of traditional family values in the death of Mommy and Daddy's first nameless bumble. The twin of the new American Dream. Instead of loving their child and forming a relationship with him, they determine together that he is not enough. They do not love him enough. He is not the perfection that  they were seeking. So, materialistically they got rid of the object that they bought after it lost its appeal, without any remorse..

Quotes
     Mommy says, "Well, I got satisfaction"(Albee 61). Satisfaction is always at work. The characters in this play always seem to be wanting it. Everything must satisfy. If it doesn't, then go out and buy something that does. The American Dream is not about togetherness. There is individualism in this sentence as Mommy considers what she alone got. Nothing else matters, except her satisfaction.

    Grandma says, "My sacks are empty, the fluid in my eyeballs is all caked on the inside edges, my spine is made of sugar candy"(Albee 82).The Old American Dream is dying. What used to be valuable has now ceased to be so. Ideas/ideals have changed and these new conditions dominate the old ones. The Old American Dream has to pass on to make way for the next age of materialistic ideals.

Theme
     Displaying the criticism of American morals, Edward Albee's The American Dream generates a concern for how the current American generation lacks regard for the old American values by  fabricating new values to replace the old ones , thus allowing  for a materialistic individual, who, as a result, is fixated on acquiring unattainable satisfaction, but this does not mean that change is inevitable..

    Through the work's title, The American Dream the basis for the entire play and theme is set. The definition of the American Dream is, in my opinion, the worldly focus everyone establishes as they follow the explicit rules of their time(necessary for satisfaction). By titling his play as so, Albee accentuates the desire of the people and his disfavor toward it.  To follow the American Dream. It is not a dream set by one person, but by a large body. By inferring from the title, I believe that to follow the American Dream, one has to follow the crowd.Buy what everyone else is buying If you don't, where's the satisfaction? It can be exhausting, and materialism does not complete an individual. Grandma indicates materialism  when she says to Mrs. Barker, "You weren't here, exactly, because we've moved around a lot, from one apartment to another, up and down the social ladder like mice..."(Albee 95).

   The plot(along with symbolism) does not merely dabble with old American values vs. the new American values. The play is centered around the theme. Old American values are dying away as Grandma leaves, and the characters, for example, Mommy has no respect for Grandma's views. Mommy always judges her and tears her down for her  views.Daddy does at times too. The characters complain about not getting satisfaction all the time and especially for Mommy, she never stops looking for satisfaction. In her masculine position in the house. In her beige hat. In the type of bumble she has. She buys for satisfaction. "I can always go shopping," she says(Albee 62). She owns objects for satisfaction. With the new American Dream symbolizing society's new set of values, Mommy welcomes him gladly because he is what she wants.They fit perfectly. And therefore, the American Dream fits with Daddy too, because he submissively obeys Mommy.While the old American Dream promotes hard work, the new set of values reject this "ridiculous" ideal. The new values aren't willing to work. They would rather have it all right in front of them for quick satisfaction.And it continues. Buy. Satisfaction. Buy. Satisfaction. They bought their own child for satisfaction. And by destroying the first twin, they removed themselves from the old traditional values of family. Connection. Mommy and Daddy wanted a little bumble of their own. He wasn't good enough. Wait. Buy again. New American Dream.

  Grandma turns to the audience in the end of the play indicating that she isn't leaving. She's on the edges peering in occasionally, but she is not gone. We, the next generation, have the power to choose. Despite the early generation of Mommy and Daddy creating a selfish America, their decisions do not make us.We can work hard. We can decide what comes next.