We've nearly concluded our time with The American Dream, examining themes, characterization, and how many metaphors for sex Albee can cram in there. The more I read the play, the more I like Grandma. She's wise without being pretentious, and has the best comic timing in the entire play. I really enjoyed her spats with Mommy. Albee has an interesting point, the idea of America was founded with more social ideals in mind, while it has become a materialistic and unsatisfying scramble. Maybe this is why Finland has a ridiculously high percent of artisan furniture makers, lower average income, and much greater national level of happiness.
In other news, we've been continuing with our work in creating concise essays. I'm glad we got a shot to rewrite the Eros essay. Detail example in mine was akin to "Eros said some things".
I agree with your opinion on Grandma! For some reason I initially didn't like her all that much, but as we analyzed the play more and more I grew to appreciate her wisdom and constant opposition to Mommy. I think your comment on Finland is very interesting since we normally refrain from comparing our own country and its values to other places. It seems sometimes that in analyzing literature, even if its on the American Dream, we forget about the rest of the world and focus on ourselves. We seem to ignore the fact that other countries might actually have something positive to offer us.
ReplyDeleteYour post was rather enjoyable to read. First, I definitely agree with liking Grandma. I thought she was a great contrast character and kept the play entertaining. Also, while I may have expanded a tad more on details in Eros, it was most definitely helpful to rewrite my essay. My only suggestion with this blog post is make sure you explain what you talked about in your actual class and not just your opinions on the American Dream. Other than that, well done!
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