Response to Classwork

Live.Love.APLit

We have been quite studious these last couple of weeks. We primarily worked on our prezi presentations. It was nice to work with Prezi. I have never worked with such a program before so it was a little challenging. In class we have done many things. My failure to acknowledge most is not a representation of the class, simply my failing teenage memory. It is a problem I'm trying tumultuously to fix. I have no idea what tumultuous means...

Open Prompt- leggo!

1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.

Parental conflict is an everyday experience for the  average teenager. However, in literature, it can often have deeper implications. On such example is in The American Dream by Edward Albee, in which the conflict between Mommy and Grandma  describes a generational change as opposed to a mere act of rebellion.

Mommy illustrates the growing trend in consumerism in America. Mommy enjoys the thrill of getting "satisfaction" of purchasing a "baige" hat opposed to a "wheat" hat. Mommy, while looking up to authority, tries to increase her own social status. Mommy respects Mrs. Barker and engages in an implicit battle with Mrs. Barker over Daddy's satisfaction. Mommy is obsessed with the material world and makes it a job to remind that fact to Daddy, who is still nostalgic of the old beliefs that Grandma promotes.

Grandma, a manifestation of the older American dream, is constantly belittled by Mommy. Though Grandma is an elderly lady, she is the one with all the cards. She manipulates Mommy, Daddy and Mrs. Barker while also acknowledging the audience, which is significant because it creates a piece that isn't just a play but a deeper statement on the changing society and the changing American dream. The conflict between Mommy and Grandma alludes to the dismissal of the old frontier dream.

The surge in comsumerism in America marked a period in which the old frontier dream that founded the country became non-existent the materialistic society that become the new United States of America. Edward Albee highlights such changes through the fued he creates between Mommy and grandma.

Great Stuff Chieftains...