Albee had a dream, too.

Author:
Edward Albee; semi-absurdist, but the play actually goes somewhere. One of his first popular plays.

Setting:
Minimal, which undermines the stability of the comfortable American family. Mommy and Daddy's living room, two arm chairs and a sofa. No time is given in the setting, but the play was written in the late 1950s, early 1960s.

Plot:
Mommy and Daddy are waiting in their living room a mysterious visitor, who is apparently late. Mommy recaps her hat-buying adventures from the previous, explaining how she had finally gotten satisfaction out of the experience. While they're waiting, Grandma comes into the room carrying as many boxes as she can. Mommy and Daddy notice how nicely the boxes are wrapped, but Grandma won't tell them what's in any of the boxes. Grandma accuses Mommy of being a tramp, always planning on marrying for money. At this point, the visitor, Mrs.Barker, arrives. No one knows why she is there, other than the fact that Mommy and Daddy called her. There are multiple power struggles between Grandma, Mommy, and Mrs.Barker, comprising most of the play. Mommy sends Daddy to break Mommy's TV and then goes to get Mrs.Barker a drink, leaving Mrs.Barker and Grandma alone. Grandma gives Mrs.Barker a hint as to why she's there, telling her a story about a couple "very much like" Mommy and Daddy adopting a child, but being dissatisfied with it. They torture and end up killing the child, and have now called Mrs.Barker because they want satisfaction in the form of a new child. The doorbell then rings and in waltzes the Young Man. He talks to Grandma about his twin who he was separated from and doesn't know what happened to him. Grandma mentions he looks remarkably like Mommy and Daddy's other child. Grandma gets an idea and tells Mrs.Barker to pretend she brought the Young Man for Mommy and Daddy. Grandma then leaves with her boxes, and the rest of the family (plus Mrs.Barker) drink some bad wine in celebration of the "satisfaction" of adopting the Young Man.

Characters (because they're all significant):
Mommy- Mommy is very controlling, but childish. She does just about anything, including throwing a fit and killing a child, to get satisfaction. Mommy is also portrayed as the masculine one in her relationship with Daddy. She is constantly in a power struggle, whether it's with Grandma or Mrs.Barker. Mommy is very materialistic and commodifies satisfaction, and pretty much everything else in life.
Daddy- Daddy is essentially a woman. He Mommy's inferior, contradicting the societal norms of the time. Daddy doesn't seem to be able to think for himself, mostly just repeating what Mommy says. The few times he does differ from Mommy is when he's sticking up for Grandma. He also agrees with Mommy in that it's nearly impossible to get satisfaction these days.
Grandma- Grandma represents the "old" American dream. She's the least materialistic character in the play and usually provides the logical side of things. Grandma has more morals and a better sense of reality than the other characters of the play.
Mrs.Barker- Mrs.Barker is constantly referred to in the plural, which lead me to see her as a representation of the media promoting the American dream.
Young Man- The Young Man is the most materialistic of the characters, saying he'll do anything for money. He's handsome, strong, and incapable of feeling. He represents the new American dream, coming in as Grandma goes out.

Style:
As mentioned earlier, Albee uses an absurdist point of view in writing The American Dream. Although the play is not completely absurdist because it does progress (thought quite confusingly...), it has absurdist elements such as repetition, civilized people acting in uncivilized ways, lack of cause and effect, and the breakdown of communication. Albee's tone contributes greatly to the humor of the play. By using a light, fun tone while talking about murdering a child or sexual acts, Albee essentially forces the audience to laugh. The uncomfortable, private, and serious are made public and reduced to having little to no importance, and this contradiction causes laughter. The most prominent example of imagery is when Grandma tells Mrs.Barker about Mommy and Daddy killing their first child, though even then, there aren't too many gory details that really put a good picture in the reader's head. The major element of symbolism in The American Dream comes in the forms of Grandma and the Young Man. Grandma symbolizes the old American dream, with traditional values. The Young Man symbolizes the new American dream, materialistic and emotionless.

Quotes:
"WHAT a masculine Daddy! Isn't he a masculine Daddy?" (74)
   ~This quote shows Mommy's control over Daddy. She gave him his masculinity and a few lines later, she takes it away when she calls him a woman. It also makes me think of someone talking to a dog, which further proves her control.

"A bumble; a bumble of joy" (97).
  ~ This is just the beginning of dehumanizing of the baby Mommy and Daddy killed.  The baby didn't give them the satisfaction they wanted, so Mommy and Daddy mutilated him. By calling him an "it" and "bumble", the child is dehumanized and makes the act seem a tiny bit less repulsive.

"I'll do almost anything for money" (109).
   ~The Young Man says this when Grandma asks him what kind of work he's looking for. This really captures the new American dream and its materialism and lack of emotion.

Theme: The American dream is corrupt.
   ~ Albee's title, The American Dream, is a clear indication that the play will represent his ideas on the American dream. With Grandma (the old American dream) leaving as the Young Man (the new American dream) comes in, Albee is showing a replacement of artificial values for real values. The Young Man values money and only money, whereas Grandma valued hard work and family. As stated earlier, the minimal setting undermines the stability of a comfortable American family. The imagery of the mutilation of the first child also shows the intense mutilation of real values in order to get "satisfaction". The light tone Albee uses also supports this theme by making it fairly obvious he was trying to satirize the artificial values people had adopted, such as the color of a hat.