Summary & Analysis: The American Dream

The Basics: Edward Albee wrote this play from 1959-1960, and it draws inspiration from the rising trends of the mid 20th century, especially consumerism and feminism.  The play takes place in a generic, drab apartment from the 1950s, and all of the action seen by  the audience occurs in the living room, which is rather symmetrical.  There are only five characters in this play:
1) Mommy is the alpha-male of the group.  She attempts to manipulate and dominate every situation and considers any sort of response from other characters to be a challenge, especially Grandma.  Along with Daddy, she is rarely able to attach any sort of sentimentality to anything.  Instead, she is worried the most about attaining satisfaction in exchange for whatever she spends on something; she basically loses all emotions and compassion when she cannot achieve satisfaction.
2) Daddy takes on the role of the woman-of-the-house in the play.  He is almost always submissive towards anything that Mommy says to him, and it is heavily implied that he has recently undergone a sex-change operation, which serves as his ultimate emasculation.  Though he is rather empty (in an emotional sense), Daddy does still see reason and understands true morals, as opposed to Mommy, who has really lost her entire ability to care for others.
3) Grandma acts as a foil for Mommy and Daddy, and she often challenges/breaks any tensions or delusions that build up among characters.  In particular, she often easily foils the intense sexual tension that rises between Mommy and Daddy.  Grandma is also rather androgynous in that her gender does not play a major role in her characterization; rather, it is her age and experience that develops her as the rational and moral beacon of light in the midst of the apathetic and emotionless Mommy and Daddy.
 4) Mrs. Barker plays into the generational trend of Mommy and Daddy, especially with regards to her lack of morals.  She appears later in the play and initially acts as another challenge to Mommy's authority due to the fact that she is higher up in the social ladder than Mommy.  However, this conflict fades away, and she becomes significant toward the end because she takes an understanding attitude towards Grandma and actually listens to her.
5)  The Young Man (A.K.A. the American dream) is the other "outsider" (meaning not in the actual family... yet), who shows up towards the end of the play.  He mainly interacts with Grandma, telling her his life story, which reveals that his twin was the original adopted child that Mrs. Barker sold to Mommy and Daddy, who ended up mutilating and killing it in their pursuit of satisfaction.  He is a handsome, emotionless shell that will do anything for money and blends into the surrounding social norms to get by.
Plot:
The story begins with Mommy and Daddy discussing seemingly random topics like their appliances, the sloth of the maintenance workers who have not arrived yet, and the fact that people can't achieve satisfaction.  Mommy eventually takes over the conversation, forcing Daddy to listen to a story of how she went to a store, bought a hat, met a woman who disputed with her on the color (beige or wheat) of the hat, and eventually forced her way into getting a new one.  Grandma shows up with a large stack of boxes, initially denying to explain their contents/significance, but later on she continually tries to do so with the other characters ignoring her.  When Grandma arrives, it leads to a series of minor verbal scuffles between Mommy and Grandma, where each derides the other while Daddy watches.  Then the bell rings, and Daddy is to go open the door, but he hesitates, which leads to intense "sexual" tension between Mommy and Daddy, where Mommy appeals to his masculinity (which ironically isn't there since he has had a sex change).  Ultimately, Daddy does open the door to find Mrs. Barker on the other side, who enters but has completely forgotten her business there.  Grandma hints that she knows the reason, but Mommy, in her continuing ire, does not allow her to speak.  Eventually, Mommy and Daddy exit the room and get lost within the apartment, leaving Grandma and Mrs. Barker alone.  Grandma explains Mrs. Barker's purpose of coming (as the adoption lady, she sold Mommy and Daddy their original child, who ended up being "unsatisfactory"), but she does not really understand and ends up going to see Mommy in the kitchen.  Meanwhile, a Young Man rings at the door bell, and speaks with Grandma, who recognizes him as the twin of the original "bumble" or adopted child.  Mrs. Barker briefly returns and Grandma attempts to explain her purpose again and succeeds this time.  Then, she leaves the Young Man with Mommy and Daddy, setting up the scenario through which Mommy and Daddy get a new child.  Mommy cries when she realizes that Grandma has left, but almost immediately forgets her woe when she sees the Young Man.  With this, the four characters celebrate their "satisfaction."  Unbeknownst to them, Grandma is actually nearby, sitting offstage (only the Young Man notices her) and breaking the fourth wall.  Finally, Grandma ends the play at the celebration scene, implying that though the characters are happy in this moment, the paradigm of no satisfaction (as in the beginning) will return.
Voice/Style:
Though there is not a speaker or narrator in the drama, most of the dialogue takes on a childish tone, since most of the characters speak in a basic manner with a great lack of understanding.  This is especially true of Mommy, Daddy, and Mrs. Barker, who continuously forget things throughout the story, and have little to no understanding of morals.  From Albee's point-of-view, he is trying to comment on the changes that have begun taking place in society, especially the rise of materialism and the rising place of women in society through equality movements, as exaggerated through Mommy and Daddy's role reversal.  He uses some interesting imagery to do this, such as "sticky wet".  The lack of emotions and morals is exemplified by the intense details of the mutilation of the bumble.  In addition, there are many significant symbols in the play.  Grandma's boxes and their contents represent sentimental memories of the past, which people had to earn in the old American ideals.  The young man represents the appeal of the new American dream, but his lack of emotions refers to the lack of actual substance in this dream.  Thus, Albee similarly uses intense symbolism to get his point across, which contributes to the childish, derisive, and immoral tone he takes as he deals with the issues.
Quotes:
"Grandma: (A little sadly) I don't know why I bother to take them with me... you know... the things one accumulates." --p.120
This is significant because it signals the departure of the old American dream, which has tried its best to satisfy the endless, emotionless, materialistic desires of the new generation but must now make way for the new dream, which though lacking in substance can cater to these needs.  To me, it symbolizes the fact that the next generation has lost its sentimentality and ability to experience true human emotion.
"Mrs. Barker: Ambition! That's the ticket..., but he is the Village Idiot." --p. 84
I found this passage significant because it calls back to the idea of the uselessness of language to adequately get ideas across.  In particular, it brings to light the fact that Mrs. Barker has no real understanding of societal norms, even though she has climbed the ladder, or that society has become so perverted that it cannot recognize its own inconsistencies.
Theme Statement:
In The American Dream, Albee warns that the current generation has lost its connection to the traditional ideals of the original American dream, having replaced its sentiments and merit with a baseless, materialistic drive for complete satisfaction, but there is hope for future generations, who may choose to revert back to older values.
The title of the play sets up the piece to be a commentary on the idea of the American dream, which, according to Albee, has changed significantly since the days of pioneer-stock, like Grandma.  In particular the dynamic between Mommy and Daddy is a continuous reminder of the emotional and moral failings of the new American dream, which is solidified with the arrival of the Young Man (or the shell).  The cyclical, repetitive plot and language also act as allusions to the idea that satisfaction can never be completely attained, and that true satisfaction lies with the older American ideal of earning something, rather than acquiring it because this process just leads to unending expectations of more and more.  Thus, the absurdist elements point out the stupidity of that which Albee intends to criticize/warn his audience about.  However, the hope is clearly symbolized through Grandma breaking the fourth wall and allowing the audience to decide which dream they intend to pursue.