"The American Dream": Summary and Analysis

Author: Edward Albee was born on March 12^th, 1928. He was adopted by the son of a famous producer and was introduced to theater at a very young age. He and his stepmother struggled over her wanting him to become a member of high society.

Setting: An apartment in the late 1950s-early 1960s (modern day at the time).

Plot: The play begins with Mommy and Daddy in the living room of the apartment waiting for someone to come. They begin complaining about how they are always waiting and how they cannot get satisfaction in modern times. While they wait, Mommy gets distracted and tells a story to Daddy about her purchase of a hat yesterday. She says she went to the store but could not find a hat that she liked until they showed her a beige one. When she left the store wearing the hat and ran into the chairman of her woman’s club who told her the hat was beige. She was distraught by this and took it back to the store to get a beige one. They gave her the same hat back and she accepted it as beige. They begin talking about how the toilet is not functioning correctly and how Grandma has trouble in the bathroom, at which point Grandma walks in with a bunch of well-wrapped boxes. Daddy mentions the toilet again and Grandma gets offended and starts talking about the neglect and ways of older people. Daddy tries to change the subject back to the boxes so Mommy tells how Grandma used to wrap her a lunch box full of her own dinner from the night before. Mommy did not eat it (she ate her classmates’ food) so Grandma ate it after she got home. This sparks a conversation about wealth and how Mommy has it now but Grandma works for it even though she would not have to. Grandma goes on another rant about what happens with age after this. Mommy tries to send Grandma to bed, but ultimately allows her to stay and watch. Finally, someone is at the door and Daddy becomes anxious about answering it, but Mommy gets him to. It is Mrs. Barker (chairman of the woman’s club who has a husband in a wheelchair) and she comes in, sits down, takes off her dress, and insults the appearance of the apartment. Mrs. Barker also reveals that she was listening outside and she wears a “cream” version of the hat from the story. After a while, Mommy asks Mrs. Barker to tell them why she is there and Grandma interrupts with, “the boxes…the boxes…”, but Mrs. Barker is not there for the boxes. Here, the focus shifts from Mrs. Barker and the boxes to Daddy’s operation. Soon Grandma goes on another rant and Mommy threatens that the van man could come and tells Daddy to break Grandma’s TV. At this point, Mommy wants to chat with Mrs. Barker, but she says she is not feeling well so she needs some water. Mommy tells Grandma to get it but she refuses and Mommy has to get it herself. After Mommy has left the room Grandma tells Mrs. Barker a story of a family “very much like” her own family who adopted a baby boy. This baby had flaws so they removed pieces of him until he died. Daddy cannot find Grandma’s room and Mommy cannot find the water, and Mommy brings up the van man again. The doorbell rings again and Grandma answers it to find a young attractive man whom she calls “the American Dream”. He will do anything for money so she tells him about how she won money from a baking contest with her “day old cake”. The young man tells her about how he had a twin but they were separated, and for a long time he has been unable to feel. Grandma recognizes him to be the twin of the adopted boy from the story she told Mrs. Barker about Mommy and Daddy. Grandma tells the young man to take her boxes outside and then he walks her to the elevator and she exits. Mrs. Barker tells Mommy and Daddy that she has gone with the van man and that the young man is the replacement boy from the adoption agency. They believe they have finally gotten satisfaction and drink meager wine.

Characters: Mommy (powerful, represents a very materialistic society, naïve), Daddy (feminized, makes a lot of money, seems to actually care about people but that takes away from his masculinity), Grandma (strong willed, representative of the old American Dream), Young Man (young, attractive, emotionless, represents the new American Dream), and Mrs. Barker (works for the Bye-Bye Adoption Service and is a professional woman, she has a power struggle with Mommy).

Style: There is no narrator in this story so there is no point of view, except for at the end of the play when Grandma speaks out to the audience. She reveals that conflict is to come but that the story must end before then because it is a comedy. There is also little imagery because it is a play; all imagery comes from the dialogue (such as “a banana shaped head”, “beautifully wrapped boxes”, etc.). Symbolism can be seen in many aspects of this play. Examples include Daddy’s operation (feminizing him), Grandma’s boxes (her values), Grandma (the old American Dream), and Young Man (the new American Dream).

Significant Quotes:

1. “That’s the way things are today; you just can’t get satisfaction; you just try” (Mommy, pg 61). This quote is significant because it shows how modern society is so focused on consumerism and getting everything that they want, while also describing how companies will fool their customers to make a profit.
2. “When you get so old, all that happens is that people talk to you that way” (Grandma, pg 64). This is important because it shows how people think about the old American Dream—not just Grandma. Because the values of the past are seemingly outdated, the new ways are overcoming it and causing people to talk about the old American Dream as if it is dead, even though it is still around (just weaker in prominence).
3. “…the doctors took out something that was there and put in something that wasn’t there” (Daddy, 83). This is important as well because it shows Daddy being emasculated permanently, having further implications on the organization of the gender role structure in society.

Theme: The overall theme of this piece is that the old American Dream is fading, while a new superficial American dream takes hold.

à This theme is set by having the play set in a common modern day home to represent the general population. Also, by having Grandma being representative of the old American Dream—which we can tell by her need to work for a living, her independence, and her strength despite her age—and Young Man representative of the new American Dream—which we see in his emotionless being and need for money—the contrast between the decline of one and the growth of the other is clearly apparent. As Grandma fades away, the Young Man is reaching his prime. The title, "The American Dream", foreshadows this.