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.

                

                In Edward Albee’s The American Dream, the Young Man has to deal with the effects of the mutilation of his twin brother on himself, an event that occurred some twenty years in the past. This results in his inability to feel, his lack of direction and his passivity evident in his behavior and words. Through this struggle, Albee emphasizes the materialism and deterioration of the American Dream that are the focus of the work as a whole.

                When the Young Man was just a child, he had a twin brother who lived at an adoption center with him. Grandma reveals that Mommy and Daddy “bought” this twin brother, but they grew dissatisfied with it and accordingly they got rid of him, but not before punishing him through physical abuse. When he wouldn’t show Mommy the love she wanted, she gouged out his eyes, just one of many body parts that were cut off. Every time a part of the twin was cut off, the Young Man lost feeling in that area, and as a grown up man he cannot feel anything but passively lets others love him and enjoy the perfect image that they see in his appearance. This is how the mutilation causes the Young Man’s present to be different.

                Another aspect of the adopted baby that is very important to mention is that in the story, he is always referred to as an object without gender. He is called a “bumble,” and referred to as “the bumble” or “it.” This has huge significance for the meaning of the play. A baby, usually a symbol of innocence and love, is turned into a commodity and used as a means for Mommy and Daddy to experience pleasure. By doing this, Albee is warning that we shouldn’t treat people like objects that we can use to fulfill our desires and then discard when they no longer serve that purpose. Relationships between parents and a child should not be about the best interests of the child or the adult, but about love between the two, and the materialism of modern society has threatened this.

                The way the Albee chooses to address the American Dream is also through the use of the Young Man and his twin brother. The Young Man is called “the American Dream” by Grandma three times, and he represents the “new” American Dream as people saw it in Albee’s time. The new American Dream values things like money and the ability to earn it, as the Young Man shows when he is very interested in all things related to money. It doesn’t place any value on empathy or any sort of feeling at all, but instead allows people to love it and attribute whatever they want to it. The old American Dream, represented by Grandma, is willingly replaced by the new one before the end of the play. There is a stark contrast between the two: the Young Man’s appearance is flawless, and on the outside he contains all of the qualities that people see as positive. Grandma, on the other hand, is old, wise, and has many positive qualities on the inside that aren’t shown by her appearance. It isn’t even possible to tell if she is a man or a woman, as she implies that she really isn’t either, but possesses qualities of both. The new American Dream certainly seems better, and after everyone meets the Young Man their thoughts about Grandma are completely forgotten and replaced by this new American Dream.

                In his character the Young Man, Albee created a mechanism through which he could convey his thoughts on the old versus new American Dreams, and also how the materialism in society was wrong and could lead to very disconcerting situations.