The first conclusion that Albee makes in reference to “The American Dream” is that it is a portrayal of how artificial values have replaced real values in the American society. This theme is apparent in the study of how the family replaces Grandma with the Young Man. To Albee, Grandma represents the way life used to be, a time when real values and self-worth mattered. Grandma is an overall depiction of how American’s have not learned from their past. Instead, they “talk past it” and ignore its existence. Albee teaches that the past holds the truth to our future when he gives Grandma the ability to reveal the truth for Mrs. Baker’s visit, and the knowledge that the Young Man is the identical twin of the family’s first son. The family’s ignorance of Grandma is obvious in analyzing her comment to Mrs. Baker; “Oh my; that
The first conclusion that Albee makes in reference to “The American Dream” is that it is a portrayal of how artificial values have replaced real values in the American society. This theme is apparent in the study of how the family replaces Grandma with the Young Man. To Albee, Grandma represents the way life used to be, a time when real values and self-worth mattered. Grandma is an overall depiction of how American’s have not learned from their past. Instead, they “talk past it” and ignore its existence. Albee teaches that the past holds the truth to our future when he gives Grandma the ability to reveal the truth for Mrs. Baker’s visit, and the knowledge that the Young Man is the identical twin of the family’s first son. The family’s ignorance of Grandma is obvious in analyzing her comment to Mrs. Baker; “Oh my; that