Hello and welcome to the Discourse. The American Dream is an absurdist play by Edward Albee that was premiered in 1961. It is a satirical play that criticizes the cliche idea of the American Dream and the nuclear family system in America during that period. It is a story of a dysfunctional household that satirizes the suburban family life of America and is thoroughly staged in the apartment of a married couple. The play is a scathing commentary on the fragility of the American Dream and the emptiness that can lurk beneath its surface. The play suggests the emptiness of contemporary moral values and conformity in the general populace while highlighting the societal norms and exploring themes of identity, disillusionment, and the elusive pursuit of happiness.
Characters of The American Dream:
Grandma is an old woman who is the commentator of the play. She is Mommy’s mother. She is sardonic and witty in her observations and comments. She isn’t directly involved in the action and often remains isolated from what is happening in the room as she feigns deafness and senility, though she keenly observes everything. Mommy is the main character. She is a dominating matriarchical woman with a sadistic streak and excessive interest in maintaining discipline. She continues to scorn and ridicule her husband and Grandma. Daddy is Mommy’s pitiful and weak husband who succumbs to her sadistic nature and relies on her to validate his masculinity and searches for punishment, becoming masochistic and infantile. Mrs. Barker is the chairman of a local women’s club and a volunteer for the adoption agency from which Mommy and Daddy adopted a kid. She helped Mommy and Daddy to adopt the child. When she arrives at their flat, Mommy and Daddy fail to recognize her. However, Grandma reminds them that she is the one who delivered the ‘bumble of joy’ to Mommy and Daddy. The Young Man is an archetypal American young man whom Grandma sarcastically calls ‘The American Dream.’ She suggests that the Young Man is the twin of Mommy and Daddy's adopted child, and was rendered unfeeling and incapable of desire because of his twin's mutilation. As such, he is beautiful on the outside but empty within. He serves as a representation of the eponymous 'American Dream'. In the end, he takes the place of the mutilated twin.
Summary of The American Dream:
It is an absurdist play as is clear by the absence of proper names for the main characters. The conversations and actions of the character often appear to be absurd. However, the play itself offers a deep satirical critique of the dilapidating condition of American social life during that era.
The play begins in the living room of the apartment of Mommy and Daddy, a middle-aged married couple. They are sitting in armchairs on either side of their living room. It appears that they are waiting for some visitors as they complain that the visitors are late. Daddy says that years ago when they signed the agreement to lease their apartment, ‘they,’ the visitors were very keen and prompt to collect their money. However, now when Mommy and Daddy are their tenant, ‘they’ do not heed their complaints, not help them in mending the icebox or the doorbell, or the toilet. Mommy is angry and says that people can get away with anything these days. Daddy says he doesn’t want the toilet fixed for his sake but for Grandma’s. Mommy sadly says that Grandma cries lately every time she goes to the bathroom because the worsening leak makes her “think she’s getting feeble-headed.” Daddy reiterates that they must have the leak fixed soon. Mommy, exasperated, wonders aloud why “they” are so late.
Mommy tells about how happy she was when she bought her new beige hat. She notices that Daddy is not listening to her carefully and thus she reprimands him him to pay attention to her and listen to her story, and he swears he’s “all ears.” She again tells him that she was very happy after buying the new beige hat until meeting the chairwoman of her women's club, who insisted her hat was wheat. Mommy returned to the store and made a scene until given a new hat. She says that she was satisfied with the replacement hat.
Grandma enters the room with many neatly wrapped boxes and dumps them on the foot of Daddy and complains that the old cannot talk with anyone because they snap at them. They go deaf to avoid people talking to them in that way; ultimately, the way people talk to them causes their death. Mommy recalls that Grandma has always wrapped boxes nicely. When she was a child and poor, Grandma used to wrap her a lunchbox every day for school, and Mommy would never have the heart to rip into it. Grandma always filled it the night before with her own un-eaten dinner. After school, Mommy would bring back her lunch for Grandma to eat. She remembers the old days when she and Grandma were poor but they loved each other. Mommy became rich after marrying Daddy and she believes she is entitled to use Daddy’s money in exchange for letting him have sex with her. Grandma comments that Mommy had been an opportunist tramp since childhood. Even when she was a girl, she schemed to marry a rich man.
It appears that Grandma is planning to go away as she has packed all her previous things. She eagerly waits for the van boy to take her.
The doorbell rings and the couple thinks that ‘they’, the ‘van people’ have arrived to fix their house. However, no one is willing to get up and open the door. Mommy says that they must decide whether to open the door or not. Daddy gets up and opens the door. "WHAT a masculine daddy! Isn't he a masculine Daddy?" Mommy jeers.
Mrs. Barker enters the living room and Daddy invites her to sit.
Grandma tries to speak up and say something, but Mommy urges her to be quiet, and tells Mrs. Barker to ignore Grandma because she is “rural.” Daddy suggests Mommy let Grandma speak up, but Mommy says that “old people have nothing to say,” and even if they did, no one would listen. Grandma retorts that middle-aged people like Mommy and Daddy think they can do anything—but in reality, they can’t do anything as well as they used to.
Mommy offers a cigarette to Mrs. Barker and goes away to fetch a drink for her. Mrs. Barker appears perplexed and asks Grandma to explain why she visited their apartment. Grandma reminds her of the past and says that twenty years ago, a couple like Mommy and Daddy lived in an apartment quite like their apartment with an old woman very similar to Grandma. The only difference was that “they were all somewhat younger." They contacted an adoption agent, akin to Mrs. Barker, at an adoption agency very similar to Mrs. Barker’s Bye-Bye Adoption Service, and were overjoyed to receive their "bumble of joy."
However, things were not easy after the couple adopted the kid. They were worried that the kid did not like either of his parents. He would often cry and Mommy always noticed that he liked Daddy more and this often made her angry. Mrs. Barker says that in such a case, any self-respecting woman would have gouged those eyes right out of its head. Grandma tells them that the mommy actually did so, but then the baby “kept its nose up in the air” and even worse, "began to develop an interest in its you-know-what." Mrs. Barker replies that in such a case the parents should have cut off the baby’s hands; Grandma tells her that they first cut off its you-know-what. The adamant child, however, still put its hand under the covers, looking for its you-know-what, so the parents had to cut off its hands at the wrists as well. Similarly, its tongue had to be cut off as it had called its mommy dirty names one day. Eventually, the resentful bumble died; its parents, looking for satisfaction, called the adoption agent to their apartment to demand a refund. Mrs. Barker is still confused. Mommy fails to find any water for Mrs. Barker and shouts at Grandma for hiding things and being a troublemaker. Mrs. Barker tells Mommy she’s not being very polite to Grandma, but Mommy reminds Mrs. Barker that she’s a guest, and stalks off into the kitchen. After a moment alone with Grandma, Mrs. Barker tells Grandma it’s been nice talking with her and stands up to go into the kitchen. Grandma asks Mrs. Barker not to tell Mommy about the grotesque story she has told her. Mrs. Barker assures that she won’t say a thing.
The doorbell rings again and a Young Man appears in the living room. He appears smart and good looking and Grandma is delighted by seeing him. She says that he appears familiar. The young man says that he is looking for a job, and would do almost anything for money, and the apartment looked like a "likely building" to him. Grandma asks why he is ready to do any work for money, and he replies that he must compensate for his incompleteness. Grandma asks what that means, and the Young Man tells her that his mother died at childbirth, and he never knew his father. At birth, he came to know that he was not alone in the placenta, and had an identical twin, from whom he was separated while still very young. The Young Man recalls the close bond he shared with his twin brother: their hearts beat at the same cadence, and their stomachs ached at the same time as they cried for feeding. After the separation, he has suffered countless unexplainable losses. He feels like his heart has been wrenched from his body, and he has become unable to love; a "specific agony" has made him incapable of physical lovemaking, and he has been unable to feel and touch as if his own hands have been removed.
Grandma feels pity for him and murmurs that she was wrong, she never knew the Young Man. Although she says that he appears like someone she knew. Mrs. Barker comes back and, Grandma announces the Young Man as the van man. Upon her request, the Young Man takes her boxes outside. Grandma tells Mrs. Barker a trick to make things better and suggests that the Young Man is the solution to Mommy and Daddy’s problem. Mrs. Barker goes back to discuss with Mommy and Daddy.
The Young Man returns after shifting all the boxes outside. Grandma feels sad and wonders why is she taking all the things that she collected over the years with her. The Young Man and Grandma get on the elevator. Grandma assures the Young Man that everything will be explained to him.
Mommy, Daddy, and Mrs. Barker return to the living room and it appears as if the solution suggested by Grandma is accepted. Mommy and Daddy say that they have found satisfaction with that solution. Mommy notices that Grandma is missing. Mrs. Barker informs that Grandma went away with the van boy. Mommy is shocked at that and says that it is impossible because the van boy is not a real person but her imaginative invention. While Daddy comforts Mommy, Grandma comes out near the footlights on the stage, visible only to the audience, looking forward to watching the ensuing events. She then blinks at Mrs. Barker who moves and opens the front door. The Young Man is standing there. Mrs. Barker announces that the Young Man is the replacement for the faulty Bumble. Mommy and Daddy are excited about that. Mommy feels the same satisfaction that she felt after getting the replacement hat and declares a celebration. Everything is happy as they get what they are looking for. Grandma says that she should go now as she has solved the problem and the play ends.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of American English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards!
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