Blog #10: Summary of "The American Dream"

The American Dream: Summary

Author: Edward Albee, absurdist author, however not completely

Setting: The living room of Mommy and Daddy's apartment, no specified time

Plot: Mommy and Daddy are expecting a visitor, however it is not clear who this is or why they are coming to the apartment. While waiting for this person to come, Grandma comes home with several wrapped boxes. But, once again, we are not sure of what is in these boxes or how they relate to the story. Finally, the visitor gets to the apartment, Mrs. Barker. She herself is not even sure why she is there. Throughout the exchanges between the characters it is still unclear as to why Mrs. Barker is here. Mommy and Grandma have several heated exchanges and this provides for majority of the context of the play. Once when Mommy and Daddy were both out of the living room we were given a glimpse of a possible reason as to why Mrs. Barker had come to the house. Grandma says that once Mommy and Daddy had adopted a baby from a woman that was like (or was) Mrs. Barker. Putting the pieces together, this is why Mrs. Barker was called to the apartment. There was a problem with the child, Mommy and Daddy tortured the child until it died and they now want satisfaction from another child (why M.B.) is here. Right as this is occurring, the door bell is rung and there is a young man at the door. Grandma invites him in and talks to him. We find out that this man had a twin but does not know where he is. There are striking resemblances between the young man and the child that Mommy and Daddy had. Grandma then devises a plan and tells Mrs. Barker. Mrs. Barker pretends that she brought the young man just for the purpose of having Mommy and Daddy adopting him. Once this decision is made, Grandma leaves and Mommy and Daddy find out about their new child.

Significant Characters:

--Mommy: demanding, materialistic, abrasive, commanding, fake, masculine, never wants to be the bad guy, only shows anger (no other emotions), takes her life for granted. Mommy is the antagonist of the play. Doesn't show respect for Grandma, threatens to ship her away with the van man. Only married Daddy for money. Mutilates her first child because it liked Daddy more. Competitive with Mrs. Barker (hats, sex appeal, overall life). Has a tendency to speak before she thinks about what she is saying. 

--Daddy: womanly, little backbone, few lines, inferior to Mommy, shows no emotion, does not share many of his own opinions. Typically only repeats what Mommy says, but occasionally sticks up for Grandma. Gets giggle-y when Mrs. Barker takes of dress, almost girl like.

--Grandma: voice of reason, mature, provides clarification, is the old American Dream, only character with real emotions. Has the longest lines that provide the only real emotion of the play. Tells Mrs. Barker why she could be here. Ends up leaving at the end of the play. 

--Mrs. Barker: overachiever, too much going on, does anything to please someone, bonds with Grandma but does not care we she leaves. Has no clue why she comes to Mommy and Daddy's but once she figures it out relies on Grandma to solve the problem.  

--Young Man: represents the new American Dream, "kicks" Grandma out of her place at home, has no feelings, depends on his looks. Most likely the twin of the baby that Mommy and Daddy had. Becomes the new child of Mommy and Daddy. Never is given a name. Will do anything for money. 

Narrative Voice: None, this is a play

Author's Style: Some techniques include very strong diction, some figurative language (similes), extensive use of details, parallelism, exaggeration, anaphora, malapropism, use of words three times in a row, repeated information. There is no point of view, as a play there is not narrator and therefore no point of view. Overall, the tone of this play is very fake and emotionless. An exception to this is Grandma, the only character that shows real emotion and has real "heartfelt" lines. Imagery is used to provide the reader with some background knowledge. And is especially prominent when Mommy is talking about her childhood lunches that Grandma packed and when describing what happened to the first child that Mommy and Daddy had. Symbolism is hard to distinguish in this play. But a few examples can be seen as in the boxes and Daddy's operation. Boxes represent the American Dream and how it is being packed away and soon gone from the lives of Mommy and Daddy. Daddy's operation represents Daddy's masculinity and how it is no longer there.

Quotes: 

--Quote 1: "I no longer have the capacity to feel anything. I have no emotions." When the Young Man says this he is essentially describing everyone in this play. Majority of the characters in the play have no emotion, except for Grandma. This idea is very important to the play because it explains how easily Grandma is replaced and how Mommy can treat the other characters the way in which she does.

--Quote 2: "WHAT a masculine Daddy! Isn't he a masculine Daddy?" This quote explores the issues of the relationship between Mommy and Daddy. Though Mommy is saying that Daddy is masculine, they way in which she says it is mocking and shows how she doesn't believe that Daddy is actually manly. In this line, you can also see how manly Mommy is, which is very important to the rest of the play. This describes the dynamic between Mommy and Daddy.

Theme: One theme used is the change in the American Dream throughout the growth of the United States.

Support of Theme: This theme is most commonly present in Grandma. Grandma and her boxes are the most prominent showing of the American Dream in this play. Grandma represents the old American Dream and all of its values and the boxes show how that idea is being packaged away and sent off. The New American Dream can be seen as the Young Man. He comes to the house and essentially boots out the old American Dream (Grandma). The setting has a very important role in the theme development. The living room is the set of the play and shows the old American Dream. And then at the end of the play the gang shifts into the kitchen and represents the new American Dream. The title itself The American Dream, represents the theme since they are the same. The narrative voice and tone don't seem to have a big effect on the theme. Though the tone of the play represents the feelings of the characters toward the old American Dream which is fake and undesirable.

Blog #9: Close Reading 2

"Your Assignment for Today: Chew Gum"  http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/20/your-assignment-for-today-chew-gum/?ref=opinion

    With the use of figurative language, diction, and imagery Ezekiel J. Emanuel persuades the reader that chewing gum has health benefits for everybody. 

      

     Using figurative language, the author helps convince the reader that chewing gum is not a bad thing. With the extensive use of personification, Emanuel immerses the reader in the essay and proves that gum is not all bad. In paragraph 2, Emanuel says, "Like chocolate and coffee, gum is now being rehabilitated"(para 2). Since gum itself cannot be rehabilitated, it is being personified. This example is used to show the opposers of gum that changes have been made to make gum healthy and to convince the reader that gum could be good. Another example of figurative language is, "The human mouth is host to many bacteria" (para. 3). This makes the reader feel a sense of urgency in determining better oral hygiene. The author has a solution for this problem: chewing gum. 

     Emanuel also uses diction to prove his point to the reader. Emanuel says, "Replacing sugar in gum with xylitol, a naturally occurring sweetener found in fruits and vegetables that has fewer calories than regular sugar, fixes this problem" (para. 4). The word calories, is especially important to readers. In a time of overwhelming amounts of obese people, people are very health conscious and find the idea of fewer calories intriguing. This helps prove Emanuel's point about chewing gum as being a healthy alternative to oral hygiene issues. 

     Finally, the author uses imagery to provide appealing for the readers of the article. "W[hen] I was growing up, you would be sent down to the principal’s office for chewing gum in school" this sentence helps the reader relate to the topic of this article (para. 1). Seemingly everyone has gotten in trouble at least once and school and can all imagine themselves in this position. This makes the reader connect to the topic at hand and feel as if they have been in the same place.
     With the use of figurative language, diction, and imagery, Emanuel persuades the reader that the benefits to chewing gum outweigh the piles of gum underneath desks.

Blog #8: Open Prompt 2

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

     

     First impressions are always very important, even in a piece of literature. Often, an event in the past can shape the whole future of the book. This is the case in Pride and Prejudice. In the first few chapters of Pride and Prejudice there is a huge party held at Mr. Bingley's mansion. At this gathering, lasting impressions are made and shape the story as it progresses. 

    Being the first introduction to most of the characters in the play, this party goes into detail about the personality of the main characters in this novel. Here, the reader can see just how different all of the Bennet sisters are. Lydia is young and slightly wild, Elizabeth is has bit of a temper and is stubborn, and finally, Jane who is kind and overall very compassionate toward others. Their personalities shape the way in which the interact at this party and with the others there. In the case of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth, this is one event that shapes their relationship for the duration of the book.

     After overhearing Mr. Darcy talking about her, Elizabeth is quick to pass judgement on him. Because of this, Elizabeth sees Mr. Darcy as full of himself and not worth her time. This affects the dynamic of their relationship throughout the whole book. Mr. Darcy begins to fall for Elizabeth, however she is reluctant to let him into her life. Elizabeth associates Darcy, with the first time she met him for the majority of the book. She has trouble putting the past behind her with Darcy and denies each one of his romantic advances. After much effort is put in on Mr. Darcy's part, the painful past slowly leaves Elizabeth's mind and eventually leads to them being together.

Blog #7: Response to Course Material 2

     Diving further into AP Lit, it has become clear that there are many important things that I need to learn and perfect for the test coming in May. It seems that to do well on the test we must master the basics first. First off was learning all about DIDLS. DIDLS seems to be one of the most important things that we have done in this class. Diction, imagery, details, figurative language, and syntax are the elements to look for when answering the AP Lit magic question. In the past few weeks we have been using DIDLS to annotate many different pieces of work. Looking for these techniques has made me look even further to what I am reading. I must now be more attentive to  what the meaning of the piece is and how that meaning is achieved. Now what exactly is important for annotating on the AP Lit test? That would be the closed readings and essay. After spending a whole class period learning about how to read the directions for the close reading, it became apparent to me just how important it is to read the directions carefully. In that same period, we looked at the passage that would be analyzed with the question, The Century Quilt. Using DIDLS it was easy for me to pick out what the prompt was looking for in the essay. I used diction heavily in my annotations, this helped me pick up on the repetition of colors throughout the poem. This colors were not only what the quilt was made of, but the colors of the family itself. This idea ties into the symbolism of the quilt representing the family.

      To further my ability to annotate, we learned about the several different types of critical lenses that you can use when looking at a piece of working. Looking at this presentation helped me realize that certain pieces of literature require the use of different criticism and that by choosing the right type it can help me more fully answer the prompt. After looking at this presentation, we studied several different Biblical and mythological stories and how they can be represented in an allusion. I found this piece very helpful. I have noticed when I read a piece of work that I can tell that it is an allusion to something but  I was never sure exactly what. But now after learning about the allusions in class, I believe that they will be easier to pick out in pieces of work that we reading.