Recently in class, we've just been annotating and analyzing Albee's The American Dream this might be a quicker response than usual. I have some mixed emotions about what we've been doing. I think the play is fascinating, Albee is a genius. To be able to find patterns and connections to theme and meaning is great, our group gets so excited when we think we figure something out. The play itself is not my favorite, I just don't really enjoy it. Its definitely not one that I would jump at the chance to see. However, I love discussing in class. The most interesting thing about what we've been doing, I think, is how things all sort of fit together. Even the tiniest of details contribute somehow to the overall meaning, like the repetition of the phrase "very much like" or Albee's specific stage directions. The Young Man fascinates me. My group has discussed a million times what actually happened to his "twin". Did the twin actually exist and was killed by Mommy and Daddy? Or was the Young Man actually that child, who was emotionally and mentally torn apart by his parents, and who reappears on their doorstep as a stranger, due to the vague and disappearing nature of the recent past? We've found some evidence to support this second theory and I cannot wait to look for more and to keep discussing it with them, Ms. Holmes, and the class.
We've also been reviewing terms for our test next week and I've been playing games to get them down!
I can't wait to begin Death of a Salesman next week because we will annotate and analyze much the same way we've done The American Dream but here I get the added bonus of loving that play!
good response, i agree that The American Dream is not the greatest play but that might just be because theater of the absurd seems to me like an acquired taste tht i have yet to acquire but now that you mention how Albee perfectly does tie everything together I now see why this piece is so widely renown because he is a genius.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. It is so interesting how every little detail we find and discuss relates somehow to a theme or recurring idea in the play. This play is also not one of my favorites, it is so strange. but great job with this response to course material and its great you are excited about Death of a Salesman!
ReplyDeleteI agree, The American Dream is an interesting play, but I'm not sure I would love an actual performance of it. The way the details fit together are amazing, how Albee can fit so much meaning into such a short play is impressive. In our class one of the things we talked about was whether or not this was actually Theater of the Absurd or not, and that was an exciting discussion, I'm not sure we completely agreed on if it was or not, but like the twin debate there is a lot to look for there. Nice work on this review.
ReplyDelete