The American Dream

Author: Edward Albee

Type of Theater: Theater of the Absurd

Time/Setting: 1959-1960, An Apartment

Significant Characters: Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Mrs. Barker, The Young Man

• Mommy: Controlling, rude and became rich by marrying Daddy. She is obsessed with a materialistic world and finds buying and owning things to be of high importance. She doesn't have much depth to her like Grandma, which is somewhat strange since she came from Grandma

• Daddy: A very child-like character. He is very meek and a "follower" of Mommy's in both action and words. He differs from Mommy because he does not care about the material world and would rather not listen to her go on and on about a dis-colored hat or misplacing the water

• Grandma: Very opinionated, cunning and witty. She loves to irritate and outsmart Mommy and Daddy any chance she gets and doesn't understand why Mommy and Daddy are the way they are. She is the only one who can see what Mommy and Daddy truly consider 'The American Dream' and isn't afraid to voice her feelings and opinions about it

• Mrs. Barker: The Social Worker who comes to visit Mommy and Daddy after getting a call about a certain "bumble". While she is quite normal in all other aspects, Mrs. Barker joins  Grandma in helping to outsmart Mommy and Daddy after being drawn in by her story of this "bumble"

• The Young Man: The twin of Mommy/Daddy's first child. Mommy and Daddy's first child was torn apart after failing to be what they expected. The Young Man has qualities that make him their true American Dream, including a love/want of money and is only concerned with his appearance in the outside world.  

Synopsis/Important Plot Points: 

• Mommy tells Daddy her long story of how she bought a new hate and instead of it being Creame, it was realy Beige! 
• Grandma enters the play carrying wrapped boxes and piling them by the door and round the house
• Grandma is completely able to keep both Mommy and Daddy in line
• Grandma has many asides and often breaks the fourth wall with the audience
• Daddy is going to have an operation; Mommy and Daddy cannot have children
• Mommy and Daddy tell Grandma that someone is coming over to their apartment and Grandma believes it is "the van man", who will take her away
• Mrs. Barker, a social worker, comes to the apartment
• While Mommy and Daddy leave to get Mrs. Barker a glass of water, Grandma decides to share a secret with Mrs. Barker  
• Grandma tells Mrs. Barker that Mommy and Daddy were once sold a "bumble" who they tore apart (physically) because he was not what they expected. After letting the "bumble" die off, they called the person who gave them "bumble" and had them come over to their apartment (Mrs. Barker)
• Grandma answers a knock at the door to find a young man standing there looking for work 
• The Young Man enters and Grandma recognizes him, yet she cannot figure how or where she has seen him before
• Mommy and Daddy return to the living room with water and are intrigued by The Young Man. They are somewhat obsessed with him and Mommy also recognizes him but cannot figure out where they have met before 
• As an aside, Grandma proclaims The Young Man to be Mommy and Daddy's American Dream
• Grandma leaves Mommy/Daddy's apartment and ends the play by breaking the fourth wall with the audience

Tone & Symbolism: 

• The plays tone changes with each of the characters; Mommy is very negative while Daddy tends to repeat what Mommy says and is more of a child. Grandma (and possibly The Young Man) are the only characters who are able to hold Mommy and Daddy in check because of her personalities and goals. The overall tone is very upbeat and childlike, fitting many of the plays subjects and character situations.
• The plays biggest piece of symbolism is Mommy's new hat. She goes on for pages about how she was told it was a cream hat and when she walked out of store, it was really beige. She then tells how she went back into the store to ask why she was just sold a beige hat when she was told it was cream. The hat is very similar to Mommy/Daddy's first bumble. When they find out that the bumble is not what they expected and wanted, they discard it and let it die off.

Significant Quotes:

• "It's that I have no talents at all, except what you see ... my person; my body, my face. In every other way I am incomplete, and I must therefore ... compensate" - The Young Man

• This is what Mommy and Daddy consider to be the true American Dream. They see this dream as someone who is only concerned with money and appearance, and not something that has personality or skills.  

• "Mommy comes for extremely bad stock. And, besides, when Mommy was born ... well, it was a difficult delivery, and she had a head shaped like a banana" - Grandma  

• This quote is just one of the examples that Grandma gives us about her feeling of Mommy. She doesn't like her much and sees her marriage to Daddy as one just because of money.

• "There's too much hostility in the world these days, as it is; but I'll not badger you. There's a surfeit of badgers, as well" - Mrs. Barker 

• There are many interpretations of this quote. Mrs. Barker could be talking strictly about Mommy and Daddy or the world as a whole, who may share a similar view to Mommy and Daddy. Mrs. Barker seems to believe that there are to many people out there like Mommy and Daddy and that maybe one day, it may hurt the world in the future. 

Theme: 

• While the American Dream may seem perfect in every way, it has flaws and is only interested in a materialistic and selfish world.