Albee's play, The American Dream Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Albee's play, The American Dream - Essay Example Simply how life used to be prior to the existence of contemporary society. The sole purpose as to why both dad and mum stayed with Grandma is because she represented the old set of values that have since been eroded by the contemporary values. This character was symbolically used by the author to depict the power of the past to predict the happenings of the future. This is demonstrated by Grandma being able to tell the truth concerning the real intent of the visit by Mrs. Baker. Additionally, this power is demonstrated by her knowledge of the Young Man being an identical twin of the first son of the family. In the social sphere, this character would otherwise be considered obscene. Her role as the oldest person in the play is somewhat unique with regards to theatre plays. It is imperative to reiterate the fact that all the characters of the play are symbolic in a way of the American society. As such, when Grandma becomes an exterior commentator away from the main scene, it symbolizes a shift from the old values that have eminently existed in the American society. The interaction between Grandma and the Young Man represent a collision between the old and the new. As such, in the conversation between Grandma and the Young Man, the Young Man asserts that he has no talents. The metamorphosis of the old to the new seems not to have been complete. Grandma represents a holistic being while the Young Man is a representation of the corrupt and incomplete being of the contemporary society. When Grandma refers to the Young Man as the American dream she asserts that he is the evolution of old into new. She states that he is the embodiment of what the American dream entails and what it would mean for society. The character of Grandma is a rather wise and cunning element in the play. She demonstrates her nature of being wise by knowing what is right for daddy and mommy. She understands that the presence of the Young Man in the family will be good to the family in the end. He r cunning nature is demonstrated by her decision to pretend that she had been taken by the van man. Moreover, when she returns to the scene, she gestures to Mrs. Baker to ignore her presence. The name of this character in context of the contemporary society signifies an aging or phasing out of the old rules. Simply put, a fading and non-relevance of the old values in the modern world. The Young Man When Grandma left the house, she left the Young Man to represent her. Simply put, he was a replacement of the old values of society by the new values. However, unlike Grandma whose personal possessions are represented by boxes, the Young Man is empty inside. The Young Man is the principle focus of the American Dream, he represents the future prospects of society as a whole. As such, when he says that he has no inner emotion, it translates to mean that the American Dream does not have substance to propel its realization. The American Dream, in the wider sense, has no feelings. When the You ng Man knocked on the door and subsequently entered the life of daddy and mommy, his sole motivation was money. This sheds light into the driving force of contemporary society. Their material minded nature is symbolized by this behavior of the Young Man. He is depicted as physically perfect. However, he is devoid of any inner substance. The Young Man is for sale. He states that he would do anything for money. His service and contribution to the family and the society as a whole are for sale. He represents the vanity associated with the contemporary

How ernest hemmingways life is paralleled in his works Essay

How ernest hemmingways life is paralleled in his works - Essay Example His writings remain well known due to his harshness, reductionist technique, and availability to readers. His writings created the way for potboilers and pulp fiction. In the almost sixty-two years of his existence that came after, he created a literary image without exceeding in the twentieth era. In acting as such, he as well formed a mythological champion in himself that encouraged, and some other times confronted not only committed literary critics, but also the intermediary. His life and trademarks remain evident even at current; otherwise, he was a star (Krstovic 20). His life encounters and how they were parallel to his work Born in 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, Ernest Hemingway enjoyed an upper middle group atmosphere, where his dad worked as a physician and his mother had practiced as a singer. The household used to go for summers in Michigan, where Ernest developed his huge admiration of everything that was not indoors. As a teenager, his dad taught him the way to hunt and f ish next to shores and within the bushes encircling Michigan Lake. This admiration of nature lived with him for the whole of his life. Nature could be the touchstone of Hemingway’s life and task. When Ernest finished his secondary education, his uncle assisted him get an employment as a reporter in the Kansas City Star. Therefore, this means that he never went to college after high school. Ernest worked at the Star for around six months (Mark 97). Hemmingway was a great sportsman. He loved portraying hunters, soldiers, and bullfighters. His interest in sports is evident in his high school life. He worked on the school’s newspaper; Tabula and Trapeze, primarily writing on sports. Due to America’s involvement in World War 1, Hemingway attempted to join the US Army. Happy as he was, he did not pass the physical test because of his poor eyesight. The desire to take part in the War did not however end there, and Hemingway enrolled with the Red Cross as an Ambulance d river. Upon coming out of US, Hemingway initially moved to Paris, and then got commands to go to Milan. After a short while after arriving at Milan, he travelled to the city of Schio where he did the job of driving ambulances. While shipping chocolates and cigarettes to war men on the rear, Hemingway got badly wounded on July 8, 1918, by pieces from an Austrian gun shield. Despite being seriously injured by the gun, and knocked by machine mortar fire Hemingway committed himself to safe the protection of his compatriot war men, moving them from the danger zone. The Italian state later gave Hemingway a silver medal of Military Valor for his champion activity (Smith 45). Hemingway stayed for some time nursing injuries at a hospital in Milan, where he met Agnes Von kurowsky, a nurse who came from Washington DC. The nurse had six years in his life older than Hemingway did, but he loved her and organized to go with her home to Oak Park. Despite Hemingway falling in love with Agnes, their love affair did not last his going back to the United States of America. Agnes, after a short while, left Hemingway for another man. This greatly devastated the writer, who was still young in age. This instance contributed to his writing of ‘A Very Short Story’ and ‘A Farewell to Arms’. This is a further instance of instances in the writer’s life that shaped his works. It was later that Hemmingway met his first wife Elizabeth Hadley Richardson whom they got married on 1921. They shifted to Paris, France and towards the end of 1923, as Hadley neared giving her