Summary and Analysis of The American Dream

Author: Edward Albee- he was born in 1928, which would make him in his 30’s when writing this play. He is best known for helping popularizing The Theatre of the Absurd.

Setting: In a vague apartment. The reader is not given much information about the apartment besides the fact that it needs some work. An ambiguous setting is an element in The Theatre of the Absurd so that explains the ambiguous apartment.

Characters:

   -Mommy= The antagonist of the play. She is materialistic, rude, demanding, masculine, fake, controlling, demeaning, only cares about what others think, and does not show respect for anyone. She does not truly love other people and is only concerned about consumerism. She represents the new American Dream.

   -Daddy= Feminine, inferior to Mommy, bullied by his wife, immature. Never has anything important to say. Forgets everything.

   -Mrs.Barker= Head of the Bye-Bye Baby Adoption services. Clueless. Forgets everything. Listens to Grandma. Thinks what Mommy and Daddy to their baby was okay. Stands for government/corporations.

   -Grandma= The only “real” character in the play. The only one who has genuine love for others. Stands for the old American Dream. She is hard working and actually knows what is going on. Raised Mommy by herself

    -Young Man= Very attractive- only has his looks. The twin of the child that Mommy and Daddy mutilated. He stands for the new American Dream. He is the only one that actually communicates and appreciates Grandma. He has no ability to love others and is looking for a job when he goes to Mommy and Daddy’s apartment.

Plot Summary: The play begins with Mommy and Daddy sitting in their apartment waiting. Mommy is rambling on about her adventure while buying a hat and explains the controversy she had with the head of the women’s club about the color. Daddy is giving un-enthusiastic answers and Mommy keeps insisting he listens to her and occasionally forces him to repeat what she says. They are waiting for someone unknown to the reader and keep making remarks about how “they’re late.” Then Grandma enters the scene will boxes. Mommy and Daddy make a big deal about her boxes and then make remarks about Grandma and her “johnny-do’s.” They speak about how they hear her in the john weeping away. When the doorbell finally rings, Daddy gets up to answer it after Mommy persuades him by speaking provocatively about his “masculinity.” When Daddy finally answers the door, Mrs.Barker enters. The whole conversation is very confusing; none of the characters remember why Mrs.Barker is there. The following scenes include many uncomfortable, seemingly pointless conversations including Mrs.Barker taking off her dress and creating an immature reaction out of Daddy, Mommy and Mrs.Barker having an satirized host/guest relationship, Daddy’s surgery that “turned his tubes to tracks,” and Mommy all the while treating Grandma and Daddy like her children. When Mommy and Daddy are off looking for water for Mrs.Barker and Grandma’s room, which is apparently lost, Grandma tells Mrs.Barker a hypothetical situation that really explains why she is there. She makes clear that Mommy and Daddy mutilated their last child and Mrs.Barker is there now to give them another child since they were unsatisfied with the last one that they got from her adoption agency. Next comes the Young Man, who Grandma first believes is the van man that Mommy keeps threatening to bring to take her away. The Young Man is very attractive and is looking for work. After a dialogue about the Young Man’s career in Hollywood it comes out that he has an inability to love anyone. About this time, Grandma realizes he is the twin of the child Mommy and Daddy mutilated. Only Grandma knows the truth about him. When Mrs.Barker enters the scene again, Grandma tells her he is the van man and they take all of her boxes out of the apartment. At this point, Grandma leaves the play and joins the audience. Only the Young Man and Mrs.Barker can see Grandma. Mommy and Daddy believe the van man has taken her away. At first, Mommy is upset by this but quickly gets over it when she meets the devishly handsome Young Man. Mommy, Daddy, Mrs.Barker, and the Young Man congregate in the apartment and the Young Man goes to “work” for Mommy and Daddy. This play ends after Mommy provocatively speaking to the Young Man and Grandma addresses the audience.

Narrative Voice: None- it is a play. But, at the end, when Grandma joins the audience, she speaks as a narrator.

Edward Albee’s Style: Throughout the play, Albee uses many literary devices. He uses both repetition and parallelism a ton. Also, he utilizes tricolon, exaggeration, metonymy, and an abundance of sarcasm and irony. Albee has a cynical perception of society and expresses it through his negative connotations. He makes an emphasis on consumerism and materialism poignant in society. Repeatedly, he criticizes marriage, gender, and power roles. The whole play is set up as Theatre of the Absurd; it consists of a plot that goes nowhere. All of Albee’s connotations and “deeper meanings” are hidden beneath the words on the page. There are many symbols in this play. They range everywhere from Grandmas boxes to Mrs.Barker. Albee uses a unique technique is which he has his characters represent symbols. For example, the Young Man directly represents the American Dream while Grandma is the old American Dream.

Quotes:

1. Mommy- “I have a right to live off of you because I married you, and because I used to let you get on top of me and bump your uglies; and I have a right to all your money when you die (67).”

 -This line from Mommy to Daddy shows Mommy’s poor character traits, the materialism ever-present in the play, and fake love. It shows how Mommy just married Daddy for his money and not for love; Mommy is a gold-digger.

2. Daddy- “Oh dear; oh dear.”

Mommy-“Well, go let them in Daddy. What are you waiting for?”

Daddy-“I think we should talk about it some more. Maybe we’ve been hasty…. A little hasty, perhaps. I’d like to talk about it some more.”

Mommy-“There’s no need. You made up your mind; you were firm; you were masculine and decisive (75).”

-This conversation between Mommy and Daddy shows both the gender roles and the power struggle in their relationship. Mommy gets Daddy to do what she wants by exposing his masculinity, or lack of it. Mommy has the powerful, masculine, almost parental role throughout the entire play. This dialogue is a perfect example of their relationship: Daddy is tentative and weak while Mommy is bossy, controlling, and the masculine figure. 

Theme: The old, honest American Dream is progressively getting misplaced by a new society concerned with consumerism.

Support for Theme: Throughout the play, Albee supports the theme that the old, honest American Dream is progressively getting misplaced by a new society concerned with consumerism. He uses Grandma as a representation of the old American Dream. She is the only honest, genuinely human character in the novel. She understands what is going on and has real love. He foils Grandma with the Young Man who represents the new age American Dream. The Young Man is devishly handsome and will do anything for money. Mommy and Daddy represent the peoples of society; they only care about appearance, material things, and have no real love for others. At the same time, there is Mrs.Baker: a “plural” character who stands for gorvernment/corportations. Her controlling, but yet uncaring ways stand for what society is turning into. The entire play is obnoxiously filled with Mommy, Daddy, and Mrs.Barker forgetting EVERYTHING. Albee repeats things over and over again and meanwhile, the characters can’t remember what happened in the last line. There is even a part when Mommy and Daddy can’t find anything in the apartment. And when I say anything, I mean anything; Daddy even looses Grandma’s room. The water even goes missing, which itself shows the pureness of the old American Dream going astray. These literal images of things being misplaced and forgot symbolize the old American Dream. The ending, where Grandma leaves, and although Mommy pretends to be upset for a few lines, she really could care less since the new handsome Young Man has appeared show the new American Dream replacing the old American Dream and society’s ignorance towards the change. 

Editorial: The War of Abortion RIghts

The war on abortion rights

       It is inevitable that the human race will run into walls. These barriers are built from the stubbornness invading every breath and the struggle for power blurring sight. Heated topics circle the world, with no answer that satisfy everyone; no answer that breaks down the walls. Given that it is election year, these debated topics are infamous and crucial. One of the most battled is abortion. This past July, The LA Times released The war on abortion rights: an editorial that is without a doubt, pro-choice. The author intensifies his or her message by using forceful diction, unique syntax, and crucial details.

            Diction sets the tone of a piece. This author was sure to use intense words with negative connotations to prove their point. For example, he or she says, “the new law pretends that it’s not about Planned Parenthood.” By using the word “pretends” the author makes the new lawmakers’ look like phony, untruthful people. They also say that abortion rights “require vigilant defense [from] continuing attacks.” With words such as “defense” and attacks” they create a real battle. “Vigilant” makes the abortion rights seem like a helpless victim. Throughout the entire editorial, the angry tone caused by the negative connotation of the forceful words helps the writer make the subject look dark and in need of rescue.

            In terms of syntax, the author uses a unique technique in which they state a fact and follow it up with a negative, sarcastic remark. When speaking negatively about the Republican bullies trying to defund parent hood the author states “These efforts come on the heels of similar moves in Arizona, Texas and other states — as well as the Republican-led vote last year in the House of Representatives to defund Planned Parenthood.” The author informs you of a fact, and the sticks you with a negative phrase to intensify their point. Another influential technique used in this editorial was stating both sides to the argument by connecting phrases. The author uses phrases like “but even if it did” and “instead” in the middle of sentences to include the opponents position and then state their rebuttal. These unique techniques give the reader a realistic view of the author’s point by including facts in an interesting, non-interrupting way. 

            The use of details in this editorial is extremely important to the author’s position. The author provides heart-wrenching facts like “there [is] less money for Planned Parenthood to provide such services as breast checkups, contraception and screening for sexually transmitted diseases,” making it near-impossible for the reader to disagree with his or her point. By including details like “[the stated reason for the law was to protect women’s health, but that is transparently a pretext] when speaking about pro-life laws, makes the reader increasingly despise the government and legal bodies. The author did an impeccable job of packing this editorial full of crucial details to give body to his or her point.

            Diction, syntax, and details lead the author to a successful editorial. Abortion is a highly debated issue and this document would help to transform any reader to a pro-choice candidate.

 http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-reproductive-rights-20120718,0,4884243.story

Open Prompt #2

2009, Form B. Many works of literature deal with political or social issues. Choose a novel or play that focuses on a political or social issue. Then write an essay in which you analyze how the author uses literary elements to explore this issue and explain how the issue contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole. Do not merely summarize the plot.

        

        The turn of the century in America did not expunge the turmoil and underlying frustration consuming the vast lands.  Poverty, unpleasant working and living conditions, hopeless commonplace of the working class, and overwhelming corruption of the powerful, invaded the homes of numerous Americans. With his book The Jungle, written in 1906, Upton Sinclair hoped to uncover the dirty secrets running rampant in America, ruining lives and killing families.

         The story is about Jurgis Rudkus, a Lithuanian immigrant, and his struggling family. Sinclair was muckraker on a mission to expose the hardships immigrants were facing as well as revel the dangerous secrets of the meatpacking industry. He takes us into the lives of the Rudkus’, sending the reader on a heart-wrenching journey. His observations on the unfeasible horrid conditions and the cruel treatment of the less fortunate were put out to the public. At a time where social Darwinism influenced Americans’ opinions, something needed to be said. And that is exactly what Sinclair did.

         By using literary elements such as tone, language, and diction, Sinclair imprinted his message into the brains of all readers. His dark tone and vivid language transports the reader into Jurgis’ life, making every blow from the awful political creatures lurking behind the book feel like a blow to them. Using descriptive words that really stand out on the page and emphasize the deeper meaning instead of passive words help prove his point. By strictly using language, tone, and diction that reflect negativity and hardship, the reader has no option but to feel for the Rudkus’.

         Sinclair wrote The Jungle hoping to show how lives immigrants and those living in poverty were. Along with exposes every day life struggles, his exposure of the meat packing industry forced the government to pass The Federal Meat Inspection Act of 1906 and The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906.

         Sinclair was a muckraking journalist on a mission to reveal the deep secrets that laid within the streets of the early 20^th century in America. With the use of his dark tone, diction, and language he proved his point to his readers and successfully influenced the passage of multiple laws for a happier, safer America. 

Response to Course Material #2

         Diction, imagery. details, language, syntax. Diction, imagery. details, language, syntax. Diction, imagery. Details, language, syntax. I do not think I could repeat this enough times. Only a month into AP Lit and I already know for certain these five words are crucial. It seems as if everything we do these five words come into play. When first learning them, all I could think about was how tedious they would be. But now, after putting them into action with numerous activities, I understand how they are actually helpful and worthwhile. I remember last year, we used to touch on basic ideas like why a word was used or why the author chose to include certain themes. This year, we are taking that to a new level in EVERYTHING we do. The fact that we are going to be reading books/plays multiple times to find the deeper meaning says enough. I am excited to try this new learning style.

        When taking notes on the literary eras and critical perspective I was extremely overwhelmed. The quiz on it did not help. I feel as if we were hit with a boatload of information; some familiar and some completely foreign. I think it is difficult that all AP students did not take Brit Lit and American Lit. Since our background information is not the same we are at conflicting places. What we have done so far with the Trends of Western Literature worksheet has helped me a lot. I think once the worksheet is complete, I will be comfortable with the information.

           I still am having trouble deciphering poems. The lesson on The Century Quilt helped but I am nowhere near when I want to be. I just cannot recognize the theme of a poem! I really hope that with more practice it becomes easier.

       So far, I actually like The American Dream by Edward Albee. I am not to excited about the annotating assignment but I do like the play. I love finding hidden meaning in things. After all the tedious annotating we did on comedies, I hope I am able to fully understand this play.

      

Editorial: Common Sense on Nutrition

      No matter what people say, the human race is obsessed with food. We are obsessed with eating it, dieting on it, cooking it, buying it, and working it off. Days that are not revolved around when meals happen are few and far between. Since food is so important to us, shouldn’t we be more concerned with what we are eating? What we put into our bodies to function off of? This editorial in the Dallas News is focused around child nutrition. The author uses imagery, diction, and details to prove his or her point that Congress made an awful decision to not pass new USDA regulations for school lunches.

      Throughout the editorial, the author uses imagery to enhance their point. Instead of just saying, “no one would eat pizza” they say, “no one would eat sauce-drenched pizza” to put an overpowering image in the reader’s head. He or she used the phrase “sugary soft drinks” to put an image in the reader’s head of an opaque liquid engrossed with sugar particles. The author could have instead said “a refreshing, cold soft drink” which would have made the reader crave a refreshing soda instead of cringe at the idea. When describing things they are trying to portray as disgusting, the author uses un-sexy descriptions. For example, they use the phrase “a wedge of dough, cheese, and red sauce” to describe pizza, putting it in a negative light.

         At the same time, the author uses diction to further hook the reader. For one, the author includes many phrases that one would use when talking about weight and body image for other uses throughout the editorial. He or she says things like, “the state is ahead of the curve” and “to shape up students eating habits.” These puns bring the essay full circle and make the overall idea of nutrition ever more prevalent by using negative connotations. When talking about negative things, like childhood obesity and diabetes, the author uses powerful descriptive words to make the awful consequences even more grotesque. “Rampant obesity” and “fatten up little bodies” are just two examples of the common occurrence. Sarcasm is included in this piece as well. The author makes remarks such as “pizza sauce is a vegetable if the regulations call it one” to show how ridiculous the current USDA regulations are.

       

      The author includes many important details to make their point. He or she uses some astonishing facts that leave the reader in awe and most definitely on his side of the argument. The author tells the audience “two tablespoons of tomato paste qualify as a vegetable under current regulations.” A fact that I am sure the majority of the public does not know but one that many would have a problem with. They also use details such as talking about a Congress man/women at their own home feeding their own children. Would a member of congress “in the sanctity of his or her own home [point] to a piece of pizza and [refer to it as vegetables]?” This scenario makes the reader disgusted at Congress’ decision; a feeling they may not have gotten without that important detail.

     This editorial about Congress’ poor choice in not passing the new USDA regulations for nutrition in elementary schools used diction, imagery, and detail to enhance the point. Once one reads through it, they will most likely be convinced that a change needs to be made to help the innocent children. 

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/20111117-editorial-common-sense-on-nutrition1.ece 

Open Prompt #1- 2010 Form B

2010, Form B. “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.” —Sonsyrea Tate

Sonsyrea Tate’s statement suggests that “home” may be conceived of as a dwelling, a place, or a state of mind. It may have positive or negative associations, but in either case, it may have a considerable influence on an individual. Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant. Write a well-developed essay in which you analyze the importance of “home” to this character and the reasons for its continuing influence. Explain how the character’s idea of home illuminates the larger meaning of the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

               Home is where the heart is and one’s heart is where their love it. In Mr. Gatsby’s case, home is with Daisy. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald perfectly illuminates Sonsyrea Tate’s statement that “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.”  Mr. Gatsby’s tale is one of longing for his heart, his home, and his love.

             Gatsby was forced to leave his love behind when he was shipped off to war. As they both go on living their separate lives Gatsby discovers that his happiness lies in Daisy’s hands. Consequently, his life revolves around finding Daisy again. By throwing big parties hoping she will come, attempting to intrude on her marriage, and searching for her with every step he takes, he circulates every moment around returning to his home; his Daisy.  He knows that he will not be happy if he is not with Daisy; he knows that Daisy is his home. That overwhelming want to live his life with her makes it impossible for him to quit. With his desperate search, Gatsby proves that one will do just about anything to return to their home. Although one’s home differs from person to person, the longing one has to find it is overwhelming.

           Fitzgerald is a mastermind at disguising symbols, motifs, and messages throughout his words. Mr. Gatsby’s struggles throughout the story emulate the larger meaning of the novel. They make every scene a new chance, keeping the reader at the edge of their seat. The fact that throughout the whole story the mission is to re-spark the fire between Daisy and Gatsby makes the tone one of suspense, excitement, and curiosity. Being with Gatsby on his journey to win Daisy over forces the reader to feel some level of remorse for the poor soul who just wants his love back; his home back. Therefore, the ending, where Gatsby is found dead in his pool, makes the reader cringe with sadness and disgust, a reaction one may not have if they were not walking along side Gatsby on his mission.

     The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald reflects Sonsyrea Tate’s statement perfectly. His longing for Daisy is what made the story what it was. He knew his home was Daisy. Gatsby would not stop his fight until he made it back home.

         

Response to Course Material (September 9th)

          I will start this post off by saying the terms test was by far one of the most frustrating tests I have taken.  Normally, memorizing terms is one of my strong suits but these words were abnormally difficult. The fact that the worlds were extremely long, impossible to pronounce, and many had very similar definitions made memorizing them difficult.  But I am confident that with practice I will have them down pat by the AP test. I just need to really try to just concentrate on looking for them in literature and using them when I write. I need to not take the easy way out and actually take time to understand them. Maybe seeing them in actual literature will help my brain process them better then just trying to embed flash cards into my memory.

           The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing was my favorite part of the summer assignment. I thought the book was very informative and truly will improve my future writing. I loved the layout of the book: very clear and straightforward. I thought it was ironic how our other assigned reading, How to Read Literature Like A Professor, did not exactly follow the guidelines from The Nuts and Bolts of College Writing.  Although it was pompous, I felt that Foster actually had some very insightful views on literature. I feel as if I can open a book and actually know what’s going on in it. I wish I would have known Foster’s information before reading books like The Great Gatsby, Huckleberry Finn, and How to Kill A Mockingbird in previous literature classes.  I will (hopefully) no longer be naïve while reading books, poems, and other literary works. I now know what I should be looking for to enhance my understanding while reading literature. That newfound knowledge will allow me to fully comprehend the author’s message.

             Last year, I absolutely hated the forum posts we had to do. Now, I thank Ms.Dockus for preparing me for this class. I actually feel confident with forum posts and they no longer seem like tedious work to me. On the other hand, understanding poems is not quite as familiar.  I continue to struggle with poems. Understanding their themes, tone, and meter’s is very difficult for me. I hope it gets easier with practice because right now I feel like a fish out of water when reading a poem.