Take this American Dream Quiz to find out how well you remember the book. Answer these quick questions to find out. Play it now!
In the seats on either side of their living room, Mommy and Daddy are seated. They bemoan the fact that “they,” or their visitors, are running late. Nowadays, anyone can get away with anything.
Mommy tells the story of how she bought a hat. When she first saw the chairwoman of her women’s club, who insisted her hat was wheat, she was quite pleased with her new beige hat. Mommy went back to the shop and acted out until she was given a new hat. She was “satisfied.”
Then Grandma comes in carrying a number of nicely wrapped boxes. She throws them at Daddy’s feet and complains that the elderly are unable to communicate with anyone because they become irate. They become deaf in order to stop people from speaking to them in that way, but in the end, it is the way people speak to them that kills them. Mommy recalls that Grandma always put good packaging on the boxes. Grandma used to pack her every day’s lunch for school when she was a young child and in need, and Mommy never had the heart to tear into it. Grandma always put her own leftover supper in it the previous evening. Mommy would bring Grandma’s lunch after school so she could eat it.
American Dream quiz
Now that Mommy married Daddy, she is wealthy. She used to let him mount her and “bump [his] uglies,” therefore she has earned the right to live off of his money. Grandma delivers additional boxes. She refers to her mother as a tramp since, even as a young girl, she plotted to wed a wealthy guy.
The doorbell ringing Grandma queries, “Are these the van people?” Daddy wrings his hands in dread as the bell sounds once again. Maybe they should think twice? His mother is adamant that he made up his mind. He opens the door at her urging. “WHAT a strong father! Isn’t he a daddy who is strong?” Mom scoffs. Also, you must try to play this American Dream quiz.
Then Mrs. Barker comes in. Mommy offers Mrs. Barker a cigarette, a drink, and the chance to cross her legs while Daddy motions for her to take a seat. The latter is what Mrs. Barker chooses because she is a working lady. She quickly obliges when her mother invites her to take off her clothing. Mrs. Barker queries whether “they” may assume that Mommy and Daddy have extended an invitation to the boxes. This American Dream quiz will help you remember certain details.
Characters:
Grandma
Grandma, the play’s sardonic commentator, substitutes for the role of the “absurdist” dramaturge; in fact, she eventually steps outside the action to take control of it. Her marginal position in what Albee refers to as the “American Scene” foreshadows her transition between the theater and action settings. She will place herself—as a “old person”—at the periphery of social interaction in her many caustic epigrams. Grandma stands out from the spectacle in front of her due to her marginalization. Notably, she is the only character to emphasize that her “act”—which she refers to as a masquerade—is being staged. Grandma uses “absurdist” strategies to protect herself from the aggression of social interaction, such as her apparent deafness, senility, memory lapses, epigrammatic humor, and general obscenity. This blatantly anti-social obscenity (L. ob-scaenus, off-scene) foreshadows her departure from the home, with Grandma effectively taking on the role of an observer from the outside who sharply leaves the judgment of the audience regarding the party.
Mommy
The stereotypical “bad mother,” rejecting Grandma and infantilizing Daddy, Mommy is the home’s cruel disciplinarian. She thinks of a few other female characters by Edward Albee, most notably Martha from Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Like Martha, Mommy’s speech stands out as the most aggressive in the family due to its shrillness, exaggerated sarcasm, strident tone, and expression of scorn and derision. Her sadism is nearly completely unrestrained, and Albee’s theater’s brutally childish behavior is undoubtedly one of its most frightening features. As a result, she humiliates Daddy at every opportunity and, unavoidably, mutilates the couple’s first child—the infamous “bumble of joy”—while correcting him.
Daddy
Daddy is a bad guy under Mommy’s rule of terror; in fact, early on in the play, Mommy reduces his speech to an echo of hers. He completely depends on Mommy for the affirmation of his masculinity because he is submissive to her will. Daddy exhibits a worrying predisposition for childlike conduct, just like Mommy. In contrast, Daddy typically transforms into the misbehaving child who has to be punished, while Mommy in her regression becomes the tyrannical sadist.
The Young Man
The Young Man is a blond, Midwestern beauty who calls himself a “type”; Grandma calls him the “American Dream” when they first meet. As Grandma points out, the party refers to him as the “bumble” because of his physical deformities. He is the result of the murder of his long-lost identical twin who opposes him. He explains to Grandma that he has gradually lost all emotion and desire, losses that, unbeknownst to him, correspond to the mutilations Mommy inflicted on his brother in order to punish his excessive physical behavior. He is now a shell, physically flawless but hollow inside due to these losses. Ironically, he replaces the killed bumble and eventually turns out to be the child that Mommy thinks will make her happy.
About the American Dream quiz
15 multiple-choice questions in the free American Dream quiz below will help you gauge your knowledge of the book. Determine which chapters, ideas, and writing techniques you already understand, as well as what you still need to learn in preparation for your forthcoming essay, midterm, or final test. Now take the free test!
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