Open Prompt #4

1973. An effective literary work does not merely stop or cease; it concludes. In the view of some critics, a work that does not provide the pleasure of significant closure has terminated with an artistic fault. A satisfactory ending is not, however, always conclusive in every sense; significant closure may require the reader to abide with or adjust to ambiguity and uncertainty. In an essay, discuss the ending of a novel or play of acknowledged literary merit. Explain precisely how and why the ending appropriately or inappropriately concludes the work. Do not merely summarize the plot.

      The end of a literary work is often the most critical component of the piece, where the author attempts to leave their mark and crystallize their ideas in the mind of the reader. Its hard to imagine Romeo and Juliet without the fate of the star crossed lovers being realized or Harry Potter with a Voldemort still living. In the American Dream the author, Edward Albee, uses the ending to further the readers understanding of his message: the replacement of the old American Dream with a less substantive, more glamorous, newer one. 

     Albee's play uses few characters, each representing very broad things. Grandma, the physically unappealing elder that she is, represents traditional american values and is said to be of "pioneer stock." She is constantly at odds with Mommy, who represents the new breed of Americans who value aesthetics over function. Grandma is the oldest and wisest character in the novel, turns out to be somewhat omniscient. This is confirmed in the last lines of the play, in which she directly addresses the audience to inform them that the play was indeed "a comedy", and they shouldn't go any further because the characters had clearly reached satisfaction. However, its clear that Grandma knows they haven't and she was making quite a strong point. Albee's use of this ending  makes  Grandma's true function clear, Albee's puppet master. She alone shares the authors viewpoint and is by far the wittiest character. She is constantly manipulating the other characters, guiding to them to their places and making their shortcomings painfully obvious. In the beginning of the novel Grandma is someone to be pitied, but at the end she reveals some shred of dignity, something the other characters sorely lack. Albee made this all apparent with his ending, making it highly effective. 

      Albee's purpose for this piece was to make the public aware of what he saw as a shift from traditional values to newer ones that devalued genuine emotion and emphasized material wealth. He shows us the build up to the arrival of Young Man, the character who represents the new American Dream, and the immediate sense of "satisfaction" achieved by Mommy and Daddy, but fails to show us the aftermath. This was intentional, he leaves the audience to ponder the ramifications of a emotionless, superficial, status driven society. This is also appropriate for the play, which is very absurd, because nothing is clear in the play until all the loose ends are tied in the conclusion. Albee was trying to make the point that hindsight is twenty twenty, and if the fate of his messed up family is to be avoided, the Grandmas of the world need to recognize the problem before they are disregarded. 

     The ending to The American Dream by Edward Albee was highly appropriate because it shed new light on the mechanisms of the play and implores the audience to imagine the consequences of the abandonment of traditional values and challenges them to do something about it.