Biography Edward Albee was born on March 12, 1928, in Washington, DC.

Adopted by millionaires who were owners o a chain o theaters ,they introd!ced him to the theater at an early age. Albee battled with his stepmother thro!gho!t his childhood. "rom early on, Edward#s mother "rances tried to groom her son to be a respectable member o $ew %or& society. Albee hated school. 'e le t college at the age o twenty and mo(ed to $ew %or& to p!rs!e his writing career. 'e also bro&e with his amily and ne(er saw his ather again, and wo!ld not see his mother or 1) years. *(er the ne+t decade, he occ!pied himsel with a (ariety o odd ,obs-o ice boy, record salesman, and Western .nion messenger/ e(en tho!gh he recei(ed his grandmother#s tr!st !nd. 0n 1918, Albee wrote his irst ma,or play, a one2act entitled 3he 4oo 5tory. 0n the history o drama, Albee has been canoni6ed as the primary American practitioner o what critic Martin Esslin has termed the 73heater o the Abs!rd. the term 7abs!rdism7 re ers to a dramatic mo(ement, that emerged rom E!rope d!ring the mid2twentieth cent!ry. Abs!rdist plays dispense with con(entional notions o character, plot, action, and setting in a(or o deliberately !nrealistic methods. 8lays o the abs!rdist mo(ement e+amine the abs!rdity o the h!man condition and e+pose the e+periences o alienation, insanity, and despair inherent in modernity. Albee#s The American Dream -199:/ mar&s the beginning o American abs!rdist drama. 0n 1992, Albee won international acclaim or his play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. 3he play recei(ed a 3ony Award and 8!lit6er 8ri6e nomination. 0t was partic!larly bold in ret!rning e+plicitly socio2political criticism to the mainstream stage in a moment when the theatrical establishment had been red!ced to silence by the McCarthy witch2 h!nts. Albee went on to win 8!lit6ers in 1999 and 19)1 or A Delicate Balance and Seascape respecti(ely. A ter a l!ll in the 198:s, Albee o!nd more s!ccess in 199; with Three Tall Women, which won him his third 8!lit6er as well as the $ew %or& Drama Critics Circle Award and *!ter Circle <est 8lay Award.

Context Capitalism and consumerism 3here was a large2scale e+pansion o the middle class in the 191:s. .nions were strong, comprising almost hal the American wor& orce. 8olitics tended to be moderate, with e+tremist positions being o!t o a(or. 3he need to always ha(e more and better goods emerged rapidly in the West d!ring the 191:s. Cons!merism became a &ey component o Western society. 8eople bo!ght big ho!ses in the news!b!rbs and bo!ght new time2 sa(ing ho!sehold appliances. 3his b!ying trend was in l!enced by many American c!lt!ral and economic aspects s!ch as ad(ertising= tele(ision= cars= new o erings rom ban&s -loans and credit/= immediately being able to ha(e what one wanted= and achie(ing a percei(ed better li e. The American Dream De inition > 0t is a g!iding belie that characteri6es American nation and de ines their c!lt!re. 0t represents a promise o possibility or all Americans li(ing in the ?and o *pport!nity,regardless o social class or circ!mstances o birth. *riginally 3he American Dream is a promise o a better li e, a better ,ob or happiness achie(ed thro!gh hard wor&@e ort, b!t with Capitalism the part o A'ard wor&@e ortB ha(e been missed. 3his (ision C!ic&ly became a Dream o Ab!ndance and set in motion a c!lt!re o cons!merism o(er the last three2C!arters o a cent!ry. Albee o ers a sinister acco!nt o the American Dream, imagining it as a mas& disemboweled o man and his e+cesses. Albee wrote the play when the meaning o what the American dream was, had been already changed.

The Theater of the Absurd #3he 3heatre o the Abs!rd# is a term coined by the critic Martin Esslin or the wor& o a n!mber o playwrights, mostly written in the 191:s and 199:s. 3he term is deri(ed rom an essay by the "rench philosopher Albert Cam!s, which he de ined the h!man sit!ation as basically meaningless and abs!rd. 3he #abs!rd# plays by 5am!el <ec&ett, Arth!r Adamo(, E!gene 0onesco, Dean Eenet, 'arold 8inter and others all share the (iew that man is inhabiting a !ni(erse with which he is o!t o &ey. 0ts meaning is indecipherable and his place within it is witho!t p!rpose.

3he origins o the 3heatre o the Abs!rd were strongly in l!enced by the tra!matic e+perience o the horrors o the 5econd World War, which showed the total impermanence o any (al!es, shoo& the (alidity o any con(entions and highlighted the precario!sness o h!man li e and its !ndamental meaninglessness and arbitrariness. 3he 3heatre o the Abs!rd openly rebelled against con(entional theatre. 0ndeed, it was anti2theatre. 0t was s!rreal, illogical, con lictless and plotless. 3he dialog!e seemed total gobbledygoo&. *ne o the most important aspects o abs!rd drama was its distr!st o lang!age as a means o comm!nication.Words ailed to e+press the essence o h!man e+perience, not being able to penetrate beyond its s!r ace. Abs!rd drama !ses con(entionalised speech, clichFs, which distorts and parodies . <y ridic!ling con(entionalised and stereotyped speech patterns, the 3heatre o the Abs!rd tries to ma&e people aware o the possibility o going beyond e(eryday speech con(entions and comm!nicating more a!thentically. *b,ects are m!ch more important than lang!age in abs!rd theatre. Abs!rd drama s!b(erts logic. 0t relishes the !ne+pected and the logically impossible. 0n being illogical, the abs!rd theatre is anti2rationalist> it negates rationalism beca!se it eels that rationalist tho!ght, li&e lang!age, only deals with the s!per icial aspects o things. 3here is no dramatic con lict in the abs!rd plays. Dramatic con licts, clashes o personalities and powers belong to a world where a rigid, accepted hierarchy o (al!es orms a permanent establishment. 5!ch con licts, howe(er, lose their meaning in a sit!ation where the establishment and o!tward reality ha(e become meaningless. Abs!rd dramas are lyrical statements> they comm!nicate an atmosphere, an e+perience o archetypal h!man sit!ations. 3he Abs!rd 3heatre is a theatre o sit!ation, as against the more con(entional theatre o seC!ential e(ents. Albees Style .ses repetition and parallelism,sarcasm and irony. Critici6es marriage, gender, and power roles. Ma&es an emphasis on cons!merism and materialism in society. 3he characters represent symbols. Alienation e ect> distance the a!dience rom emotional in(ol(ement in the play thro!gh reminders o the arti iciality o the theatrical per ormance.

$arrator >$one, tho!gh Erandma steps o!t o the action at the close o the play Clima+ >3he American Dream does not adhere to the Aristotelian model o plot and th!s does not in(ol(e a str!ct!re o rising and alling action, clima+, and catharsis. Eenre > Comedy= the 3heater o the Abs!rd Preface 3ho!gh the wor& was generally well2recei(ed, a n!mber o critics attac&ed the play or its immorality, nihilism, and de eatism. 3heir attac&s implicitly s!ggested that a good play m!st be morally !pli ting, inspiring, and redempti(e. Albee responded passionately to his critics in a pre ace to the play, de ending The American Dream as 7an e+amination o the American 5cene, an attac& on the s!bstit!tion o arti icial or real (al!es in o!r society, a condemnation o complacency, cr!elty, emasc!lation, and (ac!ity= it is a stand against the iction that e(erything in this slipping land o o!rs is peachy2&een.7 Setting 8lace> ?i(ing Goom o Mommy, Daddy and Erandma in $%. 0nternal 3ime> 8resent20nde inite -probably one a ternoon/ E+ternal 3ime> 1991 Plot 3he play begins with Mommy and Daddy sitting in their apartment waiting. Mommy is telling abo!t her ad(ent!re while b!ying a hat and e+plains the contro(ersy she had with the head o the womenHs cl!b abo!t the color. Daddy is gi(ing !n2enth!siastic answers and Mommy &eeps insisting he listens to her and occasionally orces him to repeat what she says. 3hey are waiting or someone !n&nown to the reader and &eep saying how AtheyHre late.B 3hen Erandma enters the scene with bo+es. Mommy and Daddy ma&e a big deal abo!t her bo+es. When the doorbell inally rings, Daddy gets !p, a ter Mommy pers!ades him by spea&ing abo!t his Amasc!linity.B A ter the door was Mrs.<ar&er.3he whole con(ersation is (ery con !sing= none o the characters remember why Mrs.<ar&er is there. 3he ollowing

scenes incl!de !ncom ortable, pointless con(ersations and Daddy, Mommy and Mrs.<ar&er ha(e a satiri6ed host@g!est relationship, and Mommy treating Erandma and Daddy li&e her children. When Mommy and Daddy are o loo&ing or water or Mrs.<ar&er and ErandmaHs room, which is apparently lost, Erandma tells Mrs.<ar&er a hypothetical sit!ation that a Mommy and a Daddy m!tilated their adopted child and Mrs.<ar&er is there now to gi(e them another one .$e+t comes the %o!ng Man, who is (ery attracti(e and is loo&ing or wor&. A ter a dialog!e with Erandma,it comes o!t that he has an inability to lo(e anyone. Abo!t this time, only Erandma &nows the tr!th abo!t him. 3hen Mrs.<ar&er enters the scene again, Erandma lea(es the play and ,oins the a!dience... Themes

1)The allusion to the title The American Dream! 0t does not appear as that which one li(es o!t or e(en as ideology, b!t as a person and possession.3he play imagines what is le t o the American Dream in their shared ho!sehold. 3he American Dream is personi ied by the %o!ng Man, 3ho!gh physically per ect, he remains incomplete, ha(ing lost all eeling and desire in the m!rder o an identical twin rom which he was separated as a child. 3he res!lt o these tort!res is the %o!ng Man, a man disembowelled, (oided o interiority b!t per ect in orm, a ig!re who cannot relate to others b!t accepts the 7synta+7 aro!nd him in &nowing that others m!st relate to him. 3h!s he becomes the son who pro(ides Mommy and Daddy the satis action they belie(e that they ha(e long desired. Doing anything or money, he is in some sense their per ect commodity, the merchandise they wanted . *ne possible reading o this allegory in(ol(es the all2important theatrical concept o the mas&. ?in&ed indissol!bly, the twins are in some sense ig!res or the actor and his mas&. 3he %o!ng Man as American Dream is a mas& witho!t a man behind it, a personi ication witho!t a person, there was completely emptiness. 7Emptiness7 o the American dream. D!st as the typical middle class ho!se is empty and the %o!ng man

has no inner emotion, so is the American Dream. 0t lac&s lo(e, eelings and meaning !l s!bstance. 0n the play we can see that the ideal o the American dream is replaced with satis action, that is all Mommy and Daddy wants, b!t they do not do anything to achie(e it.

2) Language and Violence As the abo(e disc!ssion o the mas& might s!ggest, The American Dream concerns itsel intimately with the relationship between lang!age and (iolence. 3his e+ploration in(ol(es both lang!age#s (iolent !ses in social interco!rse as well as (iolence per ormed on lang!age itsel I (iolence that more precisely describes many o what critics celebrate as the play#s most 7abs!rdist7 moments. As or the ormer, Erandma certainly !nderlines the (iolence in social interco!rse staged against old people= emasc!lation is another primary e+ample o this (iolence as well. 8rimary (iolence > Emasc!lation

3) Emasculation De inition> is the remo(al o the penis and the testicles, the e+ternal male se+ organs. 0r was a orm o p!nishment in Medie(al E!rope . 0t means also depri(ing a man rom his masc!linity. Mommy emasc!lates Daddy, with her way o tal&ing to him, ridic!ling him and telling that she is the only one that can get satis action 3he A<!mble o DoyB is also emasc!lated beca!se a ter all the m!tilation that Mommy made to him, he is not a boy any longer.

4) Disfiguration and Deformity

0mages o dis ig!rement occ!r thro!gho!t the play= indeed, Erandma declares the age as one o de ormity. Mommy had a banana2shaped head at birth. Most notably, the 7b!mble o ,oy7IMommy and Daddy#s irst adopted sonIprogressi(ely loses body parts !nder Mommy#s inh!man discipline and is disco(ered to lac& a head, spine, g!ts, and eet o lesh. 3he %o!ng Man was also de ormed. 3he connection that he had with his twin brother made him s! ered the amp!tation o his eelings. 'e also lost his (al!es, he is morally de ormed. Mommy does not only (iolate the b!mble#s body= she dis ig!res lang!age as well, (iolently literali6ing a ig!re o speech and collapsing it onto the body. 0mportantly, the (iolence on the body ollows this irst dis ig!rement. $ote that this (iolence Mommy per orms on the ig!re o speech itsel in(ol(es a (iolent ling!istic mechanismIthat o literali6ation. C"A#ACT$#S Character`s names 3he characters are named a ter their roles in a amily !nit in which they are cast as Mommy, Daddy and Erandma to an imaginary child. 3hese roles are the only identities gi(en to the main characters. 3he American dream has no descriptions o the characters as part o the stage directions. %randma> 5he is a wise, e+tremely ironical old woman,an empathetic,a h!manist -more than materialistic/, a worthy person. 3he main character in the play. Contrasts hea(ily with all o the other characters in that she represents the ideals o the old American dream. 'er role ca!ses the a!dience to ree(al!ate i the system sho!ld be blindly accepted. 0tJs a sort o narrator.5he is within and o!tside the action. Daddy > 'e is a wea& character -easy to manip!late and dominate/,an emasc!lated,a childish man.'e is not the man in the ho!se. &ommy> 5he is dominating,childish,materialistic,cr!el,hipocrite and woman. A bad mother. Emasc!lates Daddy by moc&ing his aspiration,ridic!li6ing his manliness,dismissing his role as Daddy.5he places Daddy below her shoes.5he and Daddy represent Americans.

&rs Bar'er > 5he is the power a!thority -go(ernment ig!re/ . 5he has no idea why she is in the ho!se or her p!rpose, emphasi6ing the cl!eless nat!re o go(ernment. A caricat!re o the socially responsible American ho!sewi e. The (oung &an> A blond, handsome, strong, physically attracti(e -8er ect in orm/,a phychologically damaged -m!tilated/,an incapable o eeling. As he tells Erandma, he is a type. 'e is the American dream2'e represents the new American Dream.3he m!rder o his do!ble is the m!rder o the man behind the mas&, the elimination o the the 7b!mble7I that can only mo!ld itsel into the per ect orm thro!gh its m!tilation. 3he prod!ct o this m!tilation is the %o!ng Man. Doing anything or money, he is in some sense their per ect commodity, the merchandise Mommy and Daddy always wanted.

Symbols ErandmaJs <o+es Gepresent the ideals and the (al!es o the *ld American Dream. Mommy and Daddy contin!ally compliment the bo+es# wrapping b!t do not consider its interior. .ltimately the a!dience learns that the bo+es contain what has acc!m!lated o(er the co!rse o her li e. *n the bo+es# wrapping as indicati(e o their satis action with s!r aces. 3hey represent the emptiness aro!nd which they wrap their ill!sions and they store a sense o reality and acceptance.

3he <!mble o Doy> Meaning 0t is a pac&age, a gro!p o ob,ects held together by wrapping or tying. 0t is !sed to re er to a baby in a positi(e way, as a blessing. 3his word has a positi(e connotation.

<.M<?E 0t is a de ormation o the word A<!ndleB to ma&e re erence to the %o!ng ManHs twin brother as a mista&e, as a mi+t!re o !nrelated things. 0t has a negati(e connotation. 'e s! ers a progressi(e dis ig!rement !nder Mommy#s sadistic tort!res, p!nishments speci ically directed at each o his bodily e+cesses and in antile desires. "ails to pro(ide Mommy and Daddy what they demand abo(e all> 7satis actionB.0t was their e+pectation. Study )ui* 1/ Why do yo! thin& the a!thor chooses to name the characters as Mommy, Daddy and ErandmaK 2/ WhatLs the meaning o ErandmaLs bo+esK M/ Mention and de(elop two o the themes. ;/ Why does the Ayo!ng man Adescribe himsel as the american dreamK 1/ Do yo! thin& the a!thor critici6es the Americans in the playK D!sti y. 9/ Do yo! ind any similit!des with the other playsK De(elop.