Open Prompts, Part Two

2004. Critic Roland Barthes has said, “Literature is the question minus the answer.” Choose a novel, or play, and, considering Barthes’ observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers answers. Explain how the author’s treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

In The American Dream by Edward Albee, the plot revolves around the question of whether or not materialism is a good influence on society. Throughout the play, Albee answers this question using his characters as instruments of a metaphor to depict the answer to this question.

Throughout the play, Mommy and Daddy are depicted as two extremes on a spectrum of masculinity/femininity. Mommy has taken on the role of the alpha male in the family, dominating all discussions and attempting to control every other character's thoughts and actions. Daddy, on the other hand simply stands back and allows her to have her way. This role reversal serves to point out that the rising trend of materialism has completely shifted the gender dynamic towards women, who have power through the money they are willing and determined to spend on aesthetics. Through this continually restated motif, Albee sheds light on an answer to the question, that being yes. Alongside the reversed and often disturbing dynamic dynamic between Mommy and Daddy, Albee uses the family in the play to depict the perversion of the American family unit, which is something that he equates with the rise of materialism and the loss of older American values. The relationship between Mommy, Daddy, and Grandma is continually minimized, and almost means nothing, since none but Grandma actually value these ties. This cold and distant relationship is furthered with Mommy's anecdote about the cap because she continually places emphasis on her own pleasure and her own importance in the story as opposed to the fact that she is sharing something with her husband. By depicting his characters as mindless and heartless, Albee raises the question of the effects of the modern trend of materialism, and whether or not it is truly a progressive development in society. His answer to this question is that it is a horrible development that is destroying the heart and soul of American values as well as the American people.

Another instrument through which Albee answers this question with the new American Dream. The boy, who is linked with materialism through his extreme good looks is disembowled both physically and mentally, wherein he no longer feels anything. His tie to the "bumble" shows how Mommy and Daddy's pursuit of a family that satisfies societal expectations instead of the basic love and compassion that are essential to a normal family has destroyed any sense of the basic human ideals. Grandma's voice of reason acts to contrast with this and emphasize the destruction wrought by the pursuit of idealistic perfection, which is shown in the depressing nature of the young man. He has everything he needs to succeed, but still cannot due to his emptiness.

Materialism is the central issue of this play, and as Albee portrays its threat on traditional values, he questions whether or not it is a beneficial form of progress. His answer to this question is a strong, if not vehement no, which he portrays using his characters to demonstrate the evils of materialistic trends.