Summaries and Analyses of Literature

The American Dream

Author: Edward Albee

Setting: 1950’s America, in an urban city apartment, very generic apartment with no unique features

Plot: Mommy and Daddy discuss their problems; many of them centered around having Grandma live with them.  Mommy commands emasculated Daddy, and Grandma pretends to listen to Mommy.  They are paid a visit by Mrs. Barker and The Young Man, bringing about the terrible events of their past.  Grandma makes a grand escape at the end of the play, and seems to quite literally leave the play and speaks to the audience.

Characters:

Mommy-a crass woman, typical member of consumerist society, a blind follower of Mrs. Barker, responsible for the emasculation of Daddy and believes she is the alpha member of her household, demands to be the center of attention

Daddy-an emasculated man of the house, has ceded all power to Mommy, acts as Mommy’s instrument of desire, lacks ambition and drive, unsure of the past and what means

Grandma-feigns senility often with confabulation, representative of the Old American Dream, and with this comes wisdom and a sense of knowledge that Mommy lacks, allows Mommy to think she is in charge while in reality Grandma is undermining Mommy, has odd sexual desires for an old woman, directed especially toward the Young Man.

Mrs. Barker – a character that is feared yet looked up to, “the Man” yet in a female role, in charge of Mommy’s club that she is a member of, also has a husband who is in a wheelchair, in charge of brining Mommy and Daddy Children they adopt

The Young Man- A man of perfect appearance, however he can feel nothing due to the torture and killing of his twin brother by Mommy and Daddy, with the killing of his twin so to died the American Dream that he symbolizes

Symoblism: The author’s symbols are mostly tied to the consumerist issues of American Society or the American Dream.  These include the beige/wheat colored hat, the Day Old Cake competition, The Young Man symbolizing the mutilated American Dream

Quotes:

“I wont think about it that way and I’ll forget I ever said it” Foolish people who go somewhere with questions that stir up to much thought or question the heart of things tend to do just this, the problem that leaves everyone but Grandma in this play so clueless

“They wanted satisfaction. They wanted their money back. That’s all they wanted” In this consumerist society, and thus American society, money is satisfaction, nothing else

“We’ll drink to celebrate satisfaction. Who says you can get satisfaction these days?” With the young man they think they have satisfaction, however they have gotten nothing new, this superficial idea of satisfaction shows how superficial their American Dream is.

Theme: The consumerist mentality has destroyed the American Dream, the ingenuity and worth ethic are gone and replaced with purely a system to draw pleasure from, focused on outward appearance and entirely superficial, and the childish and ignorant masses eagerly follow this dream.  Albee stresses in the pointless conversations of Mommy and Daddy and the lack of any real plot line to show the trivial nature of their life, which stresses the trivial nature of the new version of the American Dream.

Death of A Salesman

Author: Arthur Miller

Setting: 1940’s Brooklyn in Willy’s home and around town, his flashbacks take him across much of his life

Plot: Willy Loman is a struggling middle class salesman suffering from mental problems, he is the father of two kids, one of whom worshipped Willy until he caught Willy having an affair. Following this the family was torn apart, and the play takes place when Biff returns home.  Again Willy tries to set up Biffs life to follow in his footsteps but this causes even greater conflict and a sense of regret in Willy who realizes his mediocrity and lack of ability to provide for his family.

Characters:

-Willie -  self worshiping, narcissistic, sensitive, deluded, lost in the past, suffers from actual mental problems, spends much of his life regretting past mistakes like not going with Ben to the African Jungle, unfaithful to his wife out of a desire to provide for his family and be successful in an unfair world
-Linda- Loves Willie and her boys, hates to see them in their constant battle with their father, stoic and loves Willy despite his anger and cruelty
-Hap - the son who Willie largely ignores, craves to have the attention of his Dad, does exactly what Willie wants Biff to do yet receives no attention, a more devout follower of Willy than Biff, yet his lack of ability reminds Willy to much of himself
-Biff- once a follower of Willy's philosophy,  now focuses on rebelling against his father's wishes, truly lost in the, can't find comfort in a world after being raised on such a belief system, a compulsive thief, demonstrates his inability to fit in the capitalist system

Symbolism:  The primary symbols of the novel relate to Willy’s inability to provide for his family and the failure of the American Dream  These include the Stockings that Linda tries to mend (reminding Willy of his unfaithful act), Willy’s appliances and car that are in a constant state of disrepair, the rubber hose that Willy plans to secretly use to kill himself

Quotes:

“Go back to the West! Be a carpenter, a cowboy, enjoy yourself!” Willy says this to Biff in a fit of rage, the west is a place of hard work, where real things are accomplished, ironically Willy used to love this sort of work, seen in his attempt to build the front porch

“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life had been. We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years.” Biff realizes that Willy had been feeding him a false reality, the disillusionment caused his supposed high position in life to come crashing down.

“With one gadget he made more in  week than a man like you would make in a life time” In this flashback, Willy is insulting himself and his profession that he claims to believe is the greatest profession a man could have, at least when he is trying to convince Biff.

Theme:

The failure of the American Dream is a result of the Capitalist system that has left hard working men struggling to provide.  The harder the work the more they fall behind, and try to find meaning in consumerism, but are given terrible products.  All of this drives Willy to the point of desperation, and he resorts to taking his own life to make up for a pointless life due to the mistakes he made and the profession he chose.  The dismal events of Willy’s life, the anger and sadness of Biff, and the stressful economic conditions all add to this criticism of the failure of the American Dream due to competitive capitalism.

Ceremony

Author: Leslie Marmon Silko

Settting: A Laguna Pueblo reservation spanning from pre WWII to post WWII as well as the surrounding lands as Tayo travels about seeking to heal his rifts.

Plot: The distraught and lost Tayo seeks to find a way to achieve recovery after the loss of his closest family members, PTSD, and the self blamed drought on his reservation.  He takes part in an epic quest, a ceremony, that he learns is much more than a way to heal himself, but rather a way to heal the entire world and bring together the white and native ways of life.

Characters: 

-Tayo- Native American Vet, suffering from a mix of post traumatic stress disorder, the loss of his best Rocky and his Uncle Josiah.  Blames himself for the death of Josiah, only by forgiving himself and fixing the drought and dire situation of the Native Americans of his tribe is he able to be healed, a mix of the two cultures, only he can traverse this void and bring about a ceremony that will save both white and native peoples
-Betonie- modern day Shaman, embraces the changes to the world to create a ceremony for Tayo that will work in the modern world
-Emo- Tayo's sworn enemy, a fellow vet who is a destroyer, symbolizes the evil and destruction so prevalent in the world, arguably worse than any white person encountered in the book
-Josiah and Rocky- Tayo's closet friends, he is destroyed by losing them, taught Tayo all he knows
-Auntie- christian valued woman, focused only on the impression of the family to the community, wants to be seen as a martyr for raising Tayo

-Ts’eh – a semi divine figure that assists Tayo on his quest to achieve the ceremony, helps him to heal by being a guile and a lover

Symbolism:

Features a set of symbols entirely unique to any other novel in this course, including:

Yellow-associated with corn mother, pollen, life and birth

Circles/Hoops – sacred shape, the circle of life

White- nothingness, void

Cattle- Tayo’s self guilt, the cause for Josiah’s death

Sacred Dirrections

The mountain lion- the most sacred animal in their culture, gives tayo power to continue on 

Quotes:

“It is important to all of us. Not only for your sake, but for this fragile world” Tayo’s healing and the successful completion of his ceremony is much bigger than himself, it will save the entire world

“The teeth sucked up the light, and darkness closed around Tayo with an ambush of voices” Theses teeth of dead Japanese soldiers show the evil that Emo possess and the deep damage to Tayo

“The day they buried her, the wind blew gusts of sand” When his mother died the land was dry, just as it is now due to Tayo’s wish for the rain to stop.  He needs to fix this problem he caused.

Theme: Ceremony stresses the interconnectedness of the world, how the hate by one people is really the hate by all people, all a result of the Destroyers.  Tayo’s completion of the ceremony fixes the hate, brings about understanding and unification between the white and native American cultures that have clashed and destroyed each other for so long.   The symbol of the hoop is often shown in disrepair in the beginning of the book, but by the end the world is back in harmony and the world is linked again.

Pride and Prejudice

Author: Jane Austen

Setting: England in early 1800’s, upper class genteel society, taking place in homes and social events during the life of young Elizabeth’s journey to find a husband

Plot: Elizabeth Bennet has come of age to begin looking for a husband.  She and her sister Jane are the most sought after of her family, and they attend many social events looking for a suitable match that their mother thinks is worthy.  Jane easily clicks with Bingley, a wealthy and agreeable man while Elizabeth has difficulty finding a match.  After many insults, misunderstandings and lies, Elizabeth and Darcy are able to overcome their prejudices of one an another and end up happily married.

Characters:

Elizabeth- 2^nd daughter of Bennet family, intelligent and quick witted, not one to take orders or follow social norms, tends to make harsh and quick judgments of people that cause her to regret her actions, has significant issues with people who take pride in themselves, Darcy being a prime example, her beauty and wit attracts the ire of many jealous female characters

Darcy – extremely wealthy, very prejudiced of anyone who is of a lower class which is one reason for his dislike of Elizabeth, thinks he is far above everyone around him, too quick to judge people just like Elizabeth, best friends with Bingley

Jane – sister of Elizabeth, not a critical or inquisitive person, but friendly and accepting of those around her, really the opposite of Elizabeth yet they are very close, marries Bingley

 Mrs. Bennet – incredibly annoying, foolish, all she does is complain about other girls and try to make her daughters get a great husband, she lacks any semblance of intelligence

Symbolism:

Wickam- He symbolizes the danger of quickly judging people. Elizabeth is quick to judge Darcy as being a bad person, and when she finds Wickam feels the same way, she is quick to assume he is Darcy’s opposite.  She is completely wrong however, and as a result her sister married off to this lower class trickster which brings a great disgrace to her family. 

Quotes:

“ It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” This is the idea that everyone in the book believes, without this idea than none of these rich men would ever display any interest in any of the Bennet girls and the book would have no plot. 

“She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me”.  This quote by Darcy is representative of his prejudice and his inflated sense of importance due to his immense wealth.

Theme

Pride and prejudice often cloud judgments and lead to misunderstandings and problems that could be avoided if these emotions were set aside.  This is backed up by the fact that Darcy and Eliz end up falling in love, however their pride and prejudices just postponed this from happening.  It is also backed up by the symbol of Wickham, who takes advantage of people’s prejudices to enter into peoples lives.

Hamlet

Author: William Shakespeare

Setting: Denmark, 1500’s, in Elsinore, the royal court of Denmark

Plot: Estranged Hamlet is upset by the death of his father, a man hamlet worshipped as a god.  Hamlet’s mother quickly remarries to Hamlet’s uncle, causing further distress for Hamlet.  When Hamlet is visited by the ghost of his father, he is told of the murder committed by his Uncle.  Hamlet slowly loses his sanity, destroying his relationship with Ophelia along the way, and loses all credit as a legitimate heir to the throne.  In the end he avenges his father, and all of Denmark is lost to Norwegian conquerors. 

Characters:

Hamlet – Son of Claudius and Gertrude, rightful heir to the throne, in love with Ophelia, very witty and sharp but loses himself in his quest for revenge, obsessed with the idea of pleasing his father which comes through in avenging his death

Ophelia – A target of Hamlet’s affection, a girl who has no ability to stand up for herself, she easily caves into demands by her father, foolish and innocent to the point that she loses her sanity when she loses her father

Claudius – the man responsible for murdering Hamlet’s father, shows little true affection toward his Queen and none toward Hamlet, killed to seize the throne

Polonius – a man who panders directly to the wishes of Claudius, controls Ophelia and her every move, able to split her off from Hamlet’s affections

Laertes – a devout follower of his father and strongly vengeful following his father’s death, loves Ophelia very much, highly similar to Hamlet in these respects

Fortinbars – Prince of Norway, a noble man who also seeks to avenge his father, a foil to Hamlet

Quotes:

“something is rotten in the state of Denmark” This quote by Hamlet is very indicative of the foul play that Hamlet will soon learn about. He has known from the start that his father’s death was odd, this shows foreshadowing and also important character traits of Hamlet.  He is certainly no fool, and is very sane at his point. 

“To be, or not to be: that is the question” While certainly over quoted, this line does say a lot about Hamlet.  It shows the beginning of his loss of sanity, and he is starting to grapple with the idea of death.  He realizes the severity and finality of death, yet is not afraid by any means.  He is on his way to accepting God’s future for him, reflected in the fall of a sparrow reference. 

Theme

Hamlet proposes that revenge is a dangerous road to follow, that will bring both benefits and destruction.  Looking at the events of Hamlet, indeed his journey to achieve revenge does bring about death of many around him, including himself.  However the allusions to the bible show that he has learned much from his quest for revenge, and he has become a faithfully religious man despite losing his sanity.  His quest granted faith and an acceptance of death. 

Fifth Business

Author: Robertson Davies

Setting: Starts in 1908 in Deptford Ontario, spans to 1969 when Ramsay is writing a letter to the headmaster of the school at which he taught. 

Plot:

The story is told in the form a letter that is written to the headmaster of the school which Ramsay has just retired.  He is unhappy with what the headmaster had to say about him, according to Ramsay he has left out all of the significant life accomplishments.  The letter seems to be a way of validating the significance of Ramsay’s life.  His prime challenge in the novel is understand Mary Dempster, a woman he worships as a saint, and chooses to ignore all of her negative qualities that make her a fool-saint.  He also battles the self appointed guilt of hitting her with a snowball that set the entire narrative into motion.

Characters:

Ramsay(Dunstable) – insecure about his own character which prompts his writing of “the book”, maimed in WW1, a hagiologist, worships Mary Dempster as a saint, falsely wears blame for harming Mrs Dempster

Boy Staunton – both Ramsay’s lifelong friend and enemy, responsible for hitting Mrs Dempster, extremely wealthy and successful businessman, assists Ramsay economically

Mary Dempster – spends much of her time in an insane asylum, scene as an insane person by everyone but Ramsay, the defining character which Ramsay spends the entire novel worshipping and trying to understand

Paul Dempster – Ramsay inspires him to become a magician, called Magnus Eisengrim

Liesl – completes Ramsay, provides him with deep thought provoking questions that allow him to understand life more deeply, Ramsay opens completely up to Liesl which makes her a unique character

Quotes

“I was contrite and guilty, for I knew that the snowball had been meant for me, but the Dmepsters did not seem to think of that.” This is evidence of Ramsay being 5^th business from a young age, yet he is uncomfortable with just a marginalized role.  He craves having a more important role in events, and he is able to satiate that desire with the irrational acceptance of guilt. 

“I thought it better that he should go to his own room, as he must some time resume his ordinary life, and the sooner the better” Ramsay here has a very condescending tone.  He speaks as if David lives an ordinary mundane existence, while his own life if filled with excitement.  In reality Ramsay lives a normal life, and a weird one at that, yet he is unwilling to accept this fact. 

Theme

Fifth Business demonstrates the demeaning nature of living a life as Fifth Business, and everyone is fifth business from certain perspectives. This is made clear in the case of Ramsay, a man who was Fifth Business from the beginning of his life.  He wrote a letter, the book, in an attempt to validate to the world ( and thus himself) that he was more than fifth business.  However in trying to do so he solidified his situation.  The application of the Jungian Archetypes, Mary Demptser as the mother, Paul Dempster as the magician, further the point the book is making, that people are all fifth business no matter the timelessness of those they interact with.