Setting: Ambiguous, small apartment building (most likely in the city)
Main Characters: Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, The Young Man (The American Dream)
Analysis:
- Old v. New America - The struggle with dominance between Grandma, Mommy, and Mrs. Barker. This reflects how time has affected the values of American society and contrasts these values between each character. Grandma being old pioneer stock, Mommy being modern changes in society (emasculation and consumerism), Mrs. Barker being society in general, molding the beliefs of Mommy.
- Consumerism - The emphasis on consumerism and the effects that it has on Mommy and Daddy can be seen throughout the play. Consumer items play a big role on these two, revealing the dependency that modern society has on materialistic objects in order to find "satisfaction" which ultimately is never found between the two.
Author's Style:
- Point of View:None - no narrative voice
- Tone: Comical, Satirical?
- Imagery: The abuse/torture Mommy and Daddy inflicted on the Young Man
- Symbolism: The character's names reflect their immaturity and that there was a child present at sometime.
Important Quotes:
1.) "I no longer have the capacity to feel anything. I have no emotions. I have been drained, torn asunder disemboweled. I have, now, only my person, my body, my face. I use what I have I let people love me I accept the syntax around me, for while I know I cannot relate; I know I must be related to." - The American Dream
This speech represents what modern society has done to the concept of the American Dream. The focus that people who first come to America tend to have is to create a successful, or satisfactory lifestyle for themselves which originally consisted of the old values that Grandma holds but through time, has been "drained,torn, and disemboweled" by changing values. Mommy and Daddy, being modern society, have manipulated the dream, ultimately making it an empty, emotionless objective that no longer has any meaning to it.
2.) "WHAT a masculine Daddy! Isn't he a masculine Daddy?" - Mommy
This just a typical example of the amount of emasculation Mommy places on Daddy. The quote is clearly patronizing Daddy and undermining his ability to actually be a man. Mommy also blames her lack of satisfaction on Daddy due to the fact that they no longer are romantically involved which shows the same lack of satisfaction that modern society has on consumerist goods. To Mommy, Daddy is just an object that has been bought, used, and is now ready to be tossed away.
Theme:
The American Dream has a beautiful appearance but in reality, is negatively effected by factors such as consumerism and emasculation which ultimately flaws and hollows out the concept.
This just a typical example of the amount of emasculation Mommy places on Daddy. The quote is clearly patronizing Daddy and undermining his ability to actually be a man. Mommy also blames her lack of satisfaction on Daddy due to the fact that they no longer are romantically involved which shows the same lack of satisfaction that modern society has on consumerist goods. To Mommy, Daddy is just an object that has been bought, used, and is now ready to be tossed away.
Theme:
The American Dream has a beautiful appearance but in reality, is negatively effected by factors such as consumerism and emasculation which ultimately flaws and hollows out the concept.
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