Summaries and Analyses of Literature - The American Dream

The American Dream, by Edward Albee, is a short play that serves as a commentary on society’s obsession with consumerism and materialism that leads in a superficiality in the family setting, resulting in the comic output of an American scenario. The setting throughout the play centers around an upper-middle class American home that consists of three basic characters, Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma, in addition to the entry of two other characters, Mrs. Barker as the prostitute and the Young Man as a representation of what the new American Dream is all about.

The narrative voice is distinctive for each character in the play. For Daddy, he is majorly represented as the one being pressured by Mommy and conveying a suppressed tone that yearns for attention. Rather than being the head of the household as the only male in the family, he is to the pressures of feminism. Mommy, on the other hand, serves to be the matriarchal head of the family and a slave to American materialism, illuminating the new American Dream that is valued for crass consumerism. Grandma is a classic representation of the old American Dream that values the unity of the family and serves to directly contrast with the new American Dream’s superficiality as laid out by Mommy and Daddy’s characters. Throughout the progression of the play, starting with Mommy’s story of buying a baige hat, illuminates Mommy’s obsession with belonging to the upper-class. The introduction of Mrs. Barker in a manner that was representative of her promiscuity shows her classic representation as a prostitute who fulfills her role in the new materialistic society that rests on personal fulfillment of pleasures. Near the end of the play, the entry of the Young Man as a shining light in the new American society shows even Grandma’s fascination.

Theme: In The American Dream, the various interactions between the characters show how the old American Dream that values the unity of the family and deeper insight has been metamorphosed into the new and glossy American Dream that rests on a materialistic hunger and superficial conduct, degenerating society to a mere showcase for the world.

   At the beginning of the play, the distance between the two chairs in which Mommy and Daddy are seated is symbolic of the distance between them and the rift in family unity. The discussion of the hat by Mommy shows how the hat is representative of the crass consumerism in American society and Mommy’s strong desire to be a part of the higher class, developing the presence of an evident societal hierarchy in society. Grandma’s boxes further shed light on the distinction between the new and old American dream, where Mommy and Daddy solely focus on the nice outer wrappings and ignore what is on the inside, things that are attached to the old American Dream. The Young Man himself is symbolic of how the outer superficial attractiveness of the new American Dream has allowed modern society to revel in materialistic association. The disfiguration of the little "bumble of joy" that Mommy and Daddy bought from Mrs. Barker further sheds light on how the metamorphosis of the old to the new American Dream has scarred the old values and given rise to a deformed future for the coming generations. The interaction between Mommy and Daddy is symbolic of the feminism illuminated by Albee in his play. Moreover, the oppression of Daddy by Mommy and her general motivation to marry Daddy for his Mommy shows her ability to manipulate her way into the higher class. 

There are many quotes that have deeper meanings throughout the play. Grandma says, “When you’re old you gotta do something. When you get old, you can’t talk to people because people snap at you.” (65). This quote directly supports the notion of how the metamorphosis of the old American Dream into the new American Dream has decimated the values of the past in favor for materialistic notions of the present. In another statement, Daddy says that the boxes are “… wrapped so nicely.”, showing the inclination of proponents of the new American Dream in favor of revering the superficiality of society (68). Lastly, Grandma sees the Young Man and quotes, “You’re the American Dream, that’s what you are.” (108) Grandma recognizes the shiny and glossy new American Dream and is admiring him, showing how the attractive nature of the new American Dream suppressed the old American Dream.