Family and Edward Albee

Edward Albee's "The Sandbox" The inability of people to communicate and loss of personal values can lead to dramatic effects. Edward Albee's play "The Sandbox" is an example of modern American drama in which he demonstrates cruel relations in a middle class family, criticizing modern society's decay. Within the story we see the dialogue between family members, a husband and his wife, who are awaiting the death of her mother. As the names of characters suggest (Mommy, Daddy, Grandma), the action takes place within the family unit. Notice that the names of characters are generic. In doing this, the author is trying to show that it can be any family members.

The story shows their cold relations with and disrespect for their old grandmother. We see the money over the family values, so much in common with American society today. The story reflects the reality of the contemporary American family. This is often a common situation today: the children bring their old mother from her country farm to their big beautiful house in the city. They do it not for her pleasure, but for their own convenience. They care neither for what she thinks, nor her interests or values. Money is the most important thing to them. They think she does not understand things very well anymore because she is old, and old-fashioned. In reality she understands more than anyone can imagine. Finally, when the children tire of her, they take her to a nursing home, where she can wait for the end alone.

In the story "The Sandbox", the author makes a judgment about the younger generation's attitude towards the older generation. The main theme of the story is the inability of people to communicate with each other, the emptiness of contemporary family life, and the meaninglessness of modern existence. The main characters play an important role in supporting the theme. As we see throughout the story, Mommy and Daddy are ignorant people. Mommy is domineering and cruel, while Daddy is passive and emasculated.