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The American Dream Quotes
MOMMY: I don’t know what can be keeping them.
DADDY: They’re late, naturally.
MOMMY: Of course, they’re late; it never fails.
DADDY: That’s the way things are today, and there’s nothing you can do about it.
MOMMY: You’re quite right.
DADDY: When we took this apartment, they were quick enough to have me sign the lease; they were quick enough to take my check for two months’ rent in advance… […] But now! But now, try to get the icebox fixed, try to get the doorbell fixed, try to get the leak in the johnny fixed! […]
MOMMY: Of course not; it never fails. People think they can get away with anything these days…
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In the opening lines of the play, Mommy and Daddy sit in the living room of their apartment and complain about how late “they” are—the audience, hearing Daddy’s speech about the untrustworthiness of the building management, assume that Mommy and Daddy are waiting on repairmen to come by. The absurdist drama has a simple-enough beginning—a beginning which covers up the strange, confusing, and bizarre events about to unfold. Mommy and Daddy are dissatisfied with their apartment, with the people who maintain it, and with the way people behave “these days.” Mommy and Daddy judge everyone around them—but as the play Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam
GRANDMA: I didn’t really like wrapping them; it hurt my fingers, and it frightened me. But it had to be done.
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When Grandma comes into the living room with her arms piled high with finely-wrapped gift boxes, the play’s otherworldly strangeness begins to reveal itself. Mommy and Daddy alternate between keen interest and profound ambivalence as to what’s in the boxes—but every time they ask Grandma what they contain, she deflects their questions, insisting it’s none of their business. Within the play, the elderly Grandma is the arbiter of history and the past—she’s the sole character who seems to have a cultural memory and remembrances of her family’s past. At the end of the play, she will reveal that the boxes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut ali
DADDY: I think we should talk about it some more. Maybe we’ve been hasty… a little hasty, perhaps. (Doorbell rings again) I’d like to talk about it some more.
MOMMY: There’s no need. You made up your mind; you were firm; you were masculine and decisive. […]
DADDY: Was I firm about it?
MOMMY: Oh, so firm; so firm.
DADDY: And I was decisive?
MOMMY: SO decisive! Oh, I shivered.
DADDY: And masculine? Was I really masculine?
MOMMY: Oh, Daddy, you were so masculine; I shivered and fainted. […]
DADDY: (Backing off from the door) Maybe we can send them away.
MOMMY: Oh, look at you! You’re turning into jelly; you’re indecisive; you’re a woman.
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One of the play’s major themes is the breakdown of the idyllic American nuclear family unit. Albee skewers gender roles and relations, and the toxic ways in which men and women insult and destabilize one another—and the entire bedrock of the American family as society knows it. In this exchange, Daddy harbors reservations about opening the apartment door to his and Mommy’s mysterious guests—Mommy first attempts to motivate him by calling him firm, decisive, and masculine. When he falters, even after all her praise, she calls him a “woman” as the most hateful insult she can summon. Mommy and Daddy Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas.
MRS. BARKER: Can we assume that the boxes are for us? I mean, can we assume that you had us come here for the boxes?
MOMMY: Are you in the habit of receiving boxes?
DADDY: A very good question.
MRS. BARKER: Well, that would depend on the reason we’re here. I’ve got my fingers in so many little pies, you know.
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When Mommy and Daddy’s guest Mrs. Barker arrives, the play takes a giant leap into the absurd. Mrs. Barker refers to herself not as “I” but as “we;” she is a friend and neighbor and the chairman of the local woman’s club, but at the same time, it becomes evident that she is indeed the person Mommy and Daddy have hired to come to their apartment (though they seem to have amnesia as to when, how, and why they hired her the moment she walks through the door.) Mrs. Barker herself is unaware of why she’s come, and the absurdity Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipi
MOMMY: All his life, Daddy has wanted to be a United States Senator; but now…why now he’s changed his mind, and for the rest of his life he’s going to want to be Governor…it would be nearer the apartment, you know.
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In this brief passage, Mommy describes—for the first time in the play—Daddy’s ambition to be in the United States government. This goal of Daddy’s is never mentioned again after this brief exchange with Mrs. Barker—it would seem that Daddy’s desires to be a senator or a governor are completely arbitrary, interchangeable, and empty. Albee is using this moment to point out that often the people in charge in America are people like Daddy—weak, directionless, amnesiac, and morally bankrupt. They want power for its own sake and set goals accordingly, but the goals themselves are meaningless. Albee is using the play Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur
MOMMY: Oh, I’m so fortunate to have such a husband. Just think; I could have a husband who was poor, or argumentative, or a husband who sat in a wheel chair all day… OOOOHHHH! What have I said? What have I said?
GRANDMA: You said you could have a husband who sat in a wheel…
MOMMY: I’m mortified! I could die! I could cut my tongue out! I could…
MRS. BARKER (forcing a smile): Oh, now… now… don’t think about it…
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Edward Albee uses the brief exchange above—in which Mommy cruelly makes a mean statement about Mrs. Barker’s wheelchair-bound husband—to show the profound differences between the two characters, and the invisible rules of engagement which seem to bind them. Mommy is self-obsessed, unruly, and irreverent; even in the company of a guest, she can’t seem to force herself to shove away her horrible personality and be polite. Mrs. Barker, however, has the opposite problem: when her hostess says something cruel and horrible, she can’t seem to switch off her ingrained politeness and speak up for herself or her husband. Albee is Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Expl
MRS. BARKER: Please tell me why they called and asked us to come. I implore you!
GRANDMA: Oh my; that feels good. It’s been so long since anybody implored me. Do it again. Implore me some more.
MRS. BARKER: You’re your daughter’s mother, all right!
GRANDMA: Oh, I don’t mean to be hard. If you won’t implore me, then beg me, or ask me, or entreat me… just anything like that.
MRS. BARKER: You’re a dreadful old woman!
GRANDMA: You’ll understand some day. Please!
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When Mrs. Barker and Grandma are left alone onstage together for the first time, Mrs. Barker seeks advice from Grandma—she is the only person in the play thus far to genuinely ask Grandma’s advice. Grandma, who is used to being ignored, taunted, and shamed by Mommy and Daddy nearly constantly is so grateful to have someone actually pay attention to her that she tries to milk the moment for all it’s worth. She tells Mrs. Barker that one day, she’ll “understand” why Grandma needs this validation, and urges the woman to implore, beg, and entreat her. Grandma is the arbiter Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum
GRANDMA: Weeeeellll . . . in the first place, it turned out the bumble didn’t look like either one of its parents. That was enough of a blow, but things got worse. One night, it cried its heart out, if you can imagine such a thing.
MRS. BARKER: Cried its heart out! Well!
GRANDMA: But that was only the beginning. Then it turned out it only had eyes for its Daddy.
MRS. BARKER: For its Daddy! Why, any self-respecting woman would have gouged those eyes right out of its head.
GRANDMA: Well, she did. That’s exactly what she did. But then, it kept its nose up in the air.
MRS. BARKER: Ufggh! How disgusting!
GRANDMA: That’s what they thought. But then, it began to develop an interest in its you-know-what.
MRS. BARKER: In its you-know-what! Well! I hope they cut its hands off at the wrists!
GRANDMA: Well, yes, they did that eventually. But first, they cut off its you-know-what.
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After Mrs. Barker begs Grandma for a “hint” as to why she’s come to Mommy and Daddy’s apartment, Grandma begins telling her a story about a couple “very much like” Mommy and Daddy who adopted a “bumble of joy” from an adoption agency run by a woman “very much like” Mrs. Barker, many years ago. As Grandma gets into the story, she describes the horrible ways in which Mommy and Daddy punished their bumble for growing up differently than they wanted it to. The macabre mutilations and vindictive attempts to physically control the child by depriving it of its own Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus vol
GRANDMA: My, my, aren’t you something!
YOUNG MAN: Hm?
GRANDMA: I said, my, my, aren’t you something.
YOUNG MAN: Oh. Thank you.
GRANDMA: You don’t sound very enthusiastic.
YOUNG MAN: Oh, I’m… I’m used to it.
GRANDMA: Yup . . . yup. You know, if I were about a hundred and fifty years younger I could go for you.
YOUNG MAN: Yes, I imagine so.
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When The Young Man arrives at Mommy and Daddy’s apartment, he is, like Mrs. Barker was, confused about why he’s there or how he’s gotten there. As she introduces herself to The Young Man, Grandma voraciously takes in his attractive physical features. Given that Grandma will, in just a moment, dub the good-looking, blonde, healthy-seeming, classically “Midwestern” Young Man “the American Dream,” her statement about being “a hundred and fifty years younger” takes on new meeting. The play was written in or around 1960—which means that a hundred and fifty years before then would have been the year 1810. The Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitat
GRANDMA: Boy, you know what you are, don’t you? You’re the American Dream, that’s what you are. All those other people, they don’t know what they’re talking about. You . . . you are the American Dream.
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When Grandma dubs The Young Man “the American Dream,” it’s seemingly a compliment. She’s commenting upon his good looks—his clean-cut exterior, his “Midwestern” carriage, his muscled frame. His exterior is exquisitely American—but as The Young Man will soon reveal, he is a wreck on the inside, transformed by the many indescribable and strange traumas he’s suffered. As Albee develops the parallels between The Young Man and the concept of the American dream, Grandma’s comment seems less like a compliment and more like a curse. Like the concept of the American dream, Albee suggests, The Young Man has been hollowed out Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectet
YOUNG MAN: I have suffered losses . . . that I can’t explain. A fall from grace . . . a departure of innocence . . . […] Once ... it was as if all at once my heart. . . became numb . . . almost as though I . . . almost as though . . . just like that . . . it had been wrenched from my body . . . and from that time I have been unable to love. Once […] I awoke, and my eyes were burning. And since that time I have been unable to see anything, anything, with pity, with affection . . . with anything but . . . cool disinterest.
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As The Young Man tells Grandma the sad story of his life, he describes being “torn” at birth from an identical twin brother. Though the two never met again, The Young Man has always been profoundly aware of this loss—and has suffered further personal “losses” of his own. In light of Grandma’s story about the adopted “bumble” that Mommy and Daddy tortured, mutilated, and eventually killed, the “losses” (both physical and emotional) The Young Man has suffered make a lot more sense—but to him, he is unable to understand what has slowly been chipping away at his body and soul Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui a
YOUNG MAN: I have no emotions. I have been drained, torn asunder… disemboweled. I have, now, only my person… my body, my face. I use what I have... I let people love me…I accept the syntax around me, for while I know I cannot relate... I know I must be related to. I let people love me… I let people touch me… I let them draw pleasure from my groin… from my presence… from the fact of me… but, that is all it comes to.
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As The Young Man continues his monologue, he describes the profound alienation he feels as a result of his emotional “disembowel[ment.]” The Young Man—a stand-in for the concept of the American dream, as well as the fiction of the perfect American family—reveals that he is hollow and completely indifferent to the way others use him and perceive him. The “fact of [him]” pleases and attracts people—but he is unable to reciprocate their love, lust, or interest. The American dream as a concept, Albee is saying, is a hollow sham—a glittering ideal which draws people in only to disappoint them and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae
YOUNG MAN: All the boxes are outside.
GRANDMA (a little sadly): I don’t know why I bother to take them with me. They don’t have much in them… some old letters, a couple of regrets… Pekinese… blind at that… the television… my Sunday teeth… eighty-six years of living… some sounds… a few images, a little garbled by now… and, well… (she shrugs) …you know… the things one accumulates.
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Grandma, in preparation for leaving the apartment, calls upon The Young Man to help her carry the finely-wrapped boxes she’s been keeping in the living room out of the house. Grandma has been protective of the boxes themselves, and equally secretive and possessive about what they contain. Now, after dangling the information in front of Mommy and Daddy (and by proxy the audience) for the entire play, she reveals what they contain—they hold the entire history of her life, the “accumulate[d]” possessions of her many decades of living. Grandma is confirmed, in this short speech, to be the arbiter of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas
MOMMY: Why… where’s Grandma? Grandma’s not here! Where’s Grandma? And look! The boxes are gone, too. […]
MRS. BARKER: Why, Mommy, the van man was here. […]
MOMMY (Near tears): No, no, that’s impossible. No. There’s no such thing as the van man. […] We… we made him up. Grandma? Grandma?
DADDY (Moving to MOMMY): There, there, now. […]
(While DADDY is comforting MOMMY, GRANDMA comes out, stage right, near the footlights)
GRANDMA (To the audience): Shhhhhh! I want to watch this.
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As Mommy and Daddy return to the living room from other parts of the house after Grandma’s departure, Mommy becomes hysterical and emotional. Mommy has spent the entire of the play antagonizing Grandma—telling her that her opinions are stupid or unwanted, trying to keep her silent, and threatening her with removal to a nursing home by “the van man” whenever she steps out of line. Now, though, that Mommy believes “the van man” has really come to take Grandma away, she becomes irate and upset, exposing the hypocrisy at the core of her family and—Albee suggests—at the core of all Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero
MOMMY (Herself again, circling THE YOUNG MAN, feeling his arm, poking him): Yes, sir! Yes, sirree! Now this is more like it. Now this is a great deal more like it! Daddy! Come see. Come see if this isn’t a great deal more like it.
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As Mrs. Barker presents The Young Man to Mommy and Daddy as a “surprise” replacement “bumble,” Mommy appraises The Young Man like he’s a piece of meat or property. Mommy, who has had apparent amnesia about the entire incident with Mrs. Barker and the last “bumble” that she and Daddy mutilated years ago, now admits that she thinks The Young Man is “a great deal more like” what they wanted in the first place. The Young Man—an attractive but empty husk of a person who admits he feels nothing, loves no one, and has no personality or soul—is exactly what Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiore
MOMMY (Moving to the tray): So, let’s— Five glasses? Why five? There are only four of us. Why five?
YOUNG MAN (Catches GRANDMA’S eye; GRANDMA indicates she is not there): Oh, I’m sorry.
MOMMY: You must learn to count. We’re a wealthy family, and you must learn to count.
YOUNG MAN: I will.
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After Mrs. Barker introduces The Young Man to Mommy and Daddy as their special “surprise,” Mommy suggests the group all toast to The Young Man’s arrival. The Young Man goes to the kitchen to fetch some wine and glasses—but he returns with five, an extra on the tray for Grandma, who is waiting in the wings watching voyeuristically as the action unfolds without her. Mommy, who was just crying over Grandma’s departure a few moments ago, now seems to have completely forgotten about Grandma—it’s suggested she’s done so willfully, and is urging The Young Man, Daddy, and Mrs. Barker to Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam o
GRANDMA (Interrupting… to audience): Well, I guess that just about wraps it up. I mean, for better or worse, this is a comedy, and I don’t think we’d better go any further. No, definitely not. So, let’s leave things as they are right now . . . while everybody’s happy . . . while everybody’s got what he wants. . . or everybody’s got what he thinks he wants. Good night, dears.
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In the play’s final moments—while Mommy, Daddy, Mrs. Barker, and The Young Man descend into chaos and debauchery—Grandma steps onto the stage to call the action to an end. She declares that the play has been a “comedy,” and that in order to keep it that way, things must “wrap” up immediately. The play’s incredibly dark moments and confusing atmosphere are decisively uncomedic, but in naming it a comedy, Grandma is making an ironic statement that infantilizes the audience. She calls things to a finish “while everybody’s got what he wants,” harkening back to Mommy and Daddy’s rampage of a Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicab
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