Summary and Analysis of The American Dream

 Author: Edward Albee- most commonly known for using techniques from The Theatre of the Absurd.

Setting- In Mommy, Daddy and Grandma’s apartment. Not much more information is given to the reader about the setting of the play.

Major Characters:

·      Mommy- She would be the antagonist of the play. She comes off as very mean and materialistic. She doesn’t see to care about anyone else but herself. She is very rude towards Grandma in the play, and is very controlling towards Daddy. I would have to say that she represents the “new American Dream”.

·      Daddy- seems like Mommy controls every aspect of his life. He is also very feminine and can’t state his own opinions or say anything without Mommy interfering or controlling what he is saying.

·      Grandma- seems to be the only character in the play that knows what is going on and has a good head on her shoulders. Stands for the “old American Dream”. Doesn’t get along too well with Mommy, but she doesn’t get too caught up in it.

·      Mrs. Barker- she runs the Bye-Bye Adoption Service. Gave Mommy and Daddy their first child twenty years ago, and does not think that the fact that they killed this child is wrong. She is clueless throughout most of the play, as well.

·      The Young Man- stands for the new American Dream. People only see his good looks and do not realize that there is nothing on the inside. He is the twin of Mommy and Daddy’s first child. Only grandma really understands him.

Plot- The play starts out with Mommy and Daddy sitting in the living room of their apartment, waiting for some visitors to arrive, and Mommy starts complaining about the color of a hat she had bought. She repeatedly stops to make sure that Daddy is giving her his full attention. They repeatedly talk about never being able to get satisfaction. Grandma enters soon enough with a lot of nicely wrapped boxes that she dumps at Daddy’s feet. Mommy only notices that the boxes are nicely wrapped and never gives a though to what might be inside. At this point, Mommy and Daddy seem to feel bad for grandma and talk about how she is getting old and that she should just leave with the “van man”. There continues to be more conversation about wanting to get satisfaction from Mommy and Daddy, with occasionally interjection from Grandma when Mrs. Barker arrives. Daddy gets up to answer the door, but hesitates. Mommy tries to encourage him by telling him how masculine he is, so he opens it. They meet Mrs. Barker and Mommy and Daddy don’t know why Mrs. Barker is there, but Grandma apparently does, so she gives Mrs. Barker a hint as to why she is there and figures out the fact that they had adopted a child twenty years back, but mutilated the child after getting no satisfaction from it. At this point, Mommy and Daddy go looking for water and grandma’s television in the apartment because grandma was being “bad”. Another person comes to the door and it is the Young Man. Grandma, at first, believes it is the van man coming to take her away just like Mommy and Daddy had threatened, but realizes that he is not. He is the twin of the mutilated first child. All he has is looks, and is unable to feel, or love. Grandma pretends that he is the van man to Mrs. Barker and has him take all of her boxes outside. She says good-bye to Mrs. Barker and leaves. When grandma has left, Mommy and Daddy think the van man has actually taken her away and Mommy is very sad, but then meets the Young Man and immediately forgets that Grandma had left. The play ends by grandma speaking to the audience.

Albee’s Style- Throughout the play, Albee used many literary techniques to emphasize meaning. For tone, there was a lot of shifting between characters, especially with Mommy and other characters. Mommy would be rude to Daddy one minute and then be telling him how masculine he is the next. There was a lot of symbolism in the play as well. Grandma’s boxes were a symbol, as well as grandma herself. Mrs. Barker and the Young Man are also considered symbols in the play. There was no point of view in the play.

Important Quotes-

1.     Daddy: “Don’t mention tubes to me.”

Mommy: Oh! Mommy forgot! (To Mrs. Barker) Daddy has tubes now, where he used to have tracts” (p. 90).

This quote from the play ties directly with the theme of emasculation of Daddy. Mommy is the one who is constantly emasculating him and he does not do anything about it. This shows reversed roles in a typical American family; Daddy is the more feminine one.

2.     Mommy: “WHAT a masculine Daddy! Isn’t he a masculine Daddy?

(Grandma and Mommy say something irrelevant in between)

Daddy: “Maybe we can send them away…”

Mommy: “Oh look at you! You’re turning into jelly; you’re indecisive; you’re a woman” (pg. 75).

This quote shows a different side of Mommy. The real side. She tries to bring Daddy up, telling him he is masculine, but then tears him down, demeaning him like she always does. This shows her bad qualities.

Theme: A new American Dream that is only cares about consumerism and getting satisfaction is replacing the old American Dream, which Grandma represents.

Support: In the play, Albee presents many examples of how the old American Dream, Grandma’s American dream, is getting replaced by Mommy and Daddy’s generation, who are obsessed with consumerism. Albee shows this with symbolism with Grandma's boxes. In those boxes is Grandma's discarded life, or in other words, the Old American Dream. This shows that the old American Dream is fading away. Also, Mommy talks about how she gets the rights to all of Daddy’s money since she married him. This ties into consumerism because all she wants to do is have money and buy things. That is all she cares about and Daddy doesn’t have a problem with it. He doesn't care that she only loves his money. But Grandma does. She is a genuine, hardworking person and she remembers how the American Dream is really supposed to be. I thought that Grandma leaving at the end of the play really showed that the old dream was gone. Overall, Albee effectively got the point across that the New American Dream was taking over.