American Drama and National Identity - Research Paper Example

American Drama and National Identity American dream is almost like a national ethos of America that stands for a pursuit of freedom which encompasses a promise of prosperity and success. This epoch making phrase and concept was first pronounced and envisaged by James Truslow Adams in the year of 1931. With this concept injected within the common mass of United States, citizens almost from every strata felt that they can attain a “better, richer and happier life” (Cullen, “The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation”). The icon of the Statue of Liberty and the phrase “American Dream” became the icon of freedom and liberty with enough space for millions of immigrants who migrated to United States with a vision for a better future. American Dream became almost analogous with thousands of poor and middle class working mass of America striving hard every day for their existence and chasing the dreams for their better future. But with time, the concept of “American Dream” started changing. Since its initiation the concept of “American Dream’ have become one of the poignant themes of the literary world. Authors and playwrights viewed that the concept of “American Dream” was useful in building a consistent American experience but with growing years the concept was largely critiqued for inflated expectations (Greider, “The Future of the American Dream”). Since 1920, myriad authors precisely Lorraine Hansberry in her play “A Raisin in the Sun” scathingly attacked and ridiculed the pursuit of materialism operating behind the concept and chase for American Dream and its confinement to the barrier of class and race by displaying the negro family in the play surpassing their limit to attain and fulfil their dream. In the year 1949, Arthur Miller presented the American citizen with a brilliant play “Death of a Salesman” in which the concept of American Dream is displayed as a futile pursuit. On the other hand, the works of Tenesse Williams portray a strong notion for the great concept of American Dream which is explicitly displayed in the play, “The Glass Menagerie”. There are also instances in American theatre where the concept of American Dream has been reinforced time and again almost like a rejuvenating spirit. The play by Edward Albee, “The American Dream” which was published in the year 1960 also encapsulates strong themes of American national identity and American Dream. The later of the twentieth century faced a huge economic depression in America and the vision shown by the fathers of the nation which encompassed a gleaming bright future slowly seemed to be quite beyond reach and blunt with every passing day. The play, “Glass Menagerie” by Tenesse Williams tried to portray a dream which has become only a pursuit for middle class American family Laura, the protagonist who is displayed mundane and insignificant. Every character in this play has their individual dreams for which they are in a pursuit no matter they are able or unable to attain it. Playwright tried to portray with a sheer contrasting motif between illusion and reality that a dream should always operate and live behind the eyes of every American citizen despite of the time frame required to attain it. The play “A Raisin in the Sun” on the other hand comes before its audience with a complete different perspective on the concept. The younger generation of Afro-American youth are displayed with the archetypal and portrayed as a miniature of the community with the display of the Afro-American family in the play who are the representatives of the class struggling for the pursuit for the “American Dream”. The character of Mama in the play has been used by Lorraine Hansberry to portray the theme of American dream in particular. This becomes more poignant with a dream of buying a house of her own for her family. Apart from this the dreams by Benethea and Walter are also examples of American Dream and its pursuit. Arthur Miller’s mind-boggling play, “Death of a Salesman” on the other hand expresses the downfall of a great man with an intention of counter exampling the concept of characterization put forwarded by Socrates in his tragedies but one of the underlying themes of this play is the growing hollowness in the pursuit of American Dream and the endless attempt of the million working or middle class of the nation keeping faith on the phrase of a “better future” propagated almost 230 years ago. Willy Loman, the protagonist and a salesman in the play is been displayed as a representative of the middle class American in pursuit of their dream. The failure of the salesman in the play shows the failure of millions who have same kind of dream. The shattered dream of the salesman is the shattered dream of every middle class youth of America chasing for their better and brighter future which is an actual trap and the dead end circle actually stifles and suffocates one to perish is what Miller tried to portray in this play. Edward Albee’s “American Dream”, staged on 24th January 1961, tells the story that actually satirizes American family life cantering a married couple and their mother who is displayed as an elderly woman. Their family life receives a jolt when two guests visiting them completely change their surrounding world. Albee expresses the false promise which the American Dream brings with it and displays its hollowness. All the hollow status – quo and the hollowness of American life style only throbbing on the material pursuit have been explicitly satirized here. In the preface to the play Albee himself writes “an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, a condemnation of complacency, cruelty, emasculation, and vacuity; it is a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen” (Albee, “The American Dream and The Zoo Story: Two Plays by Edward Albee”). It is quite evident from the above discussion that American Dream is explicitly intertwined with the philosophy, psychology, culture and day to day living of American Citizens. Whether reinforced or critiqued, American Dream consistently becomes one of the poignant tone and theme running through and operating behind almost all the plays of America. References Albee, Edward. The American Dream and The Zoo Story: Two Plays by Edward Albee. Plume Books, 1997. Cullen, Jim. The American Dream: A Short History of an Idea that Shaped a Nation. Oxford University Press US, 2004. Greider, W. “The Future of the American Dream”. July 25, 2010. The Nation. May 06, 2009. Read More