Da Amurrican Dreem

Summary: Mommy and Daddy are sitting in their living room, complaining about some late visitors, and how people can get away with doing anything that they want- they can be quick enough to want money, but slow enough if they have to work.

Mommy then talks about buying a hat, and makes Daddy pay attention. She talks about how she got her hat, met the chairwoman of the woman's club, who insisted that the hat wasn't the color that it actually was, and then promptly went to go exchange said hat...for the same hat...after throwing a huge tantrum. She talks about how people can't get satisfaction, and how she got her satisfaction.

Then Grandma enters with some nicely wrapped packages, and talks about how badly people talk to old people, and that's why they die. Mommy says Grandma has always wrapped things neatly, and then recounts how she never opened her lunchboxes at school and so always got it from the other children. They were poor. Now that she's married Daddy, she's happy, because she's rich and has the right to live off his money because she used to let him have sex with her. Grandma calls her essentially a skank and a gold-digger.

The doorbell rings, and Mommy and Daddy have that exchange that is very close to sex (you know which one I'm talking about). Mrs. Barker enters, and then there's a parody of a hospitality exchange. Mommy invites her to remove her dress, and Daddy "responds", which irritates Mommy.  Mrs. Barker asks if "their" visit has to do with the boxes.

Grandma says that that's not the reason, and Mommy gets irritated at her and the overcrowding of boxes, and tells Daddy to break her TV.

Mommy goes to get water for Mrs. Barker. Grandma tells Mrs. Barker the story of the people who were "quite like" everyone in the story, and the "bumble". (you can remember this story) After it died, the parents "wanted satisfaction" and called the agency back.

The doorbell rings again, and in walks the Young Man. He's very good looking, he is a "type". Grandma calls him "The American Dream". He says he'll do anything for money. He then recounts his version of his twin's mutilation and murder, and the figurative effects it has on him.

Grandma offers a solution to Mrs. Barker about Mommy and Daddy's problem, and essentially, they all get "what they think they want"...satisfaction. The Young Man stays behind with Mommy and Daddy.

Grandma says that she'll leave things while everyone has what they think they want, and the end.

Setting
The setting of the artificially lit apartment is significant because it symbolizes a closed off, fake world.

Characters
Grandma- She's the commentator of the play, and can symbolize the Old American Dream. She is represented as almost androgynous, and has more values and sense than the rest of the characters.

Mommy- a vapid, somewhat masculine, childish reversal of a "Mother" trope. She desires total control, and her life revolves around getting satisfaction and on material things.

Daddy- a weak, feminine reversal of a father character. He and Mommy represent how America is now, somewhat.

Mrs. Barker- a somewhat confused, naive representation of the American people, or perhaps an outsider who is trying to understand.

Young Man- the New American Dream- handsome, strong, can't see things with pity or love, he's just a shell-does anything for money.

Techniques and Theme

The theme is about how materialistic and immoral the "American Dream" has become.

Albee uses a lot of indirect characterization to show the characters of Mommy and Daddy, and how they're totally opposite from the typical American perfect family sterotype, and how stupid and materialistic they are.  Everything that happens is quite odd-but he makes the characters react to it normally, showing how different they are, kind of how insensate they are.

There's a lot of symbolism too. Grandma's neatly wrapped packages are the belongings and properties of the Old American Dream- but Mommy and Daddy only see the pretty wrapping. The mutilation of the bumble can symbolize how people will turn anything against it's own nature, break it, then complain when it doesn't work right anymore and demand a new one-while Grandma keeps and takes care of her old things, even if they're broken (like the blind Pekinese). Lots of allusion to sex and gender and emasculation, kind of gives you a perspective on gender roles and feminism.

Quotes
Young Man:"Oh, almost anything...almost anything that pays. I'll do anything for money." (p109)

Young Man:"...I have no talents at all, except what you see...my person; my body, my face. In every other way I am incomplete, and I must therefore...compensate.:

Mommy:"...Daddy has tubes now, where he used to have tracts!" (p90)

silly n00bs

http://www.destructoid.com/how-xbox-live-is-blatantly-better-than-psn-233346.phtml

Ah, how I love Jim Sterling. Seriously, if you're interested in some really good video game journalism/humor/satire/what have you, check him out.

Now, some background. XBOX Live and the Playstation Network are the online stores/services for their respective consoles. There's a rivalry here- it's widely accepted that PSN is better, due to it's free services, more perks, and they don't (pardon my language) dick thier customers over as much. However, they did get hacked that one time, which is huge fodder for the XBOX fanboys.

(note, I am a PSN member, so I may be slightly biased.)

Background part two: Games journalism is a lot different from "normal" journalism- they use a LOT of comedy techniques (hyperbole, disparagement, verbal irony, litotes, dramatic irony based on knowledge that is regarded as widely known in gamer circles, non-sequitur things, parodies, lots of sarcasm, and lots of wit), and that's regarded as normal.

Anyways, to our article!

It's essentially a satire on the crazy arguments XBL (XBOX Live) members use to prove that it's better than PSN. Even though, if taken literally, this article talks about how XBL is better than PSN, the point of the article is to prove the opposite.

First of all, this can be nearly indistinguishable from a serious article. Well, as serious as games journalism gets. This is a parody article, because it imitates the style and content of a serious comparison article, with the aim of ridiculing the topic.

I digress. Anyways, Mr. Sterling starts off this article with a typical "funny" opening, setting it up for a generic compare-and-contrast between two things article.

"Since medieval times, humanity has debated, argued, and sometimes even fought over the eternal question -- which company is better, Sony or Microsoft? Angry diatribes have been written and blood has been spilled, but neither man nor beast have found the answer.

However, each side can score points in less encompassing criteria, and it is on these smaller battlefields that the war is being waged in earnest. One of the greatest war zones, the realm of online services, is the most hard-fought, but it's clear who is winning -- Microsoft. Yes, Xbox Live is blatantly better than PlayStation 

To someone who has some knowledge of current-gen gaming systems, this presents a case of situational irony. We expect that someone knowledgeable enough to write an article knows that PSN is better than XBOX, so we laugh, because we didn't expect his final statement. 

His reasoning for XBL being better than PSN is a group of non-sequiturs, the first being 

"It's called the economy, dumbass! Look it up in a book sometime.

Paying for Xbox Live just proves it's better than the oafish PSN, which clearly has no respect for itself if it'll give us stuff without a charge. "

Yes, of course something is better just because we pay for it. This is an inference made that does not follow from the evidence. 

Another way he tries to "convince" us that XBOX is better is by sarcasm. 

"PSN got hacked once. Microsoft did not. Again, probably because we pay for Xbox Live, we can trust its security and know the service is able to afford a truly secure network that none of us ever need fear. To date, there have literally been NO reports (that I've seen) of anybody being harassed, attacked, conned, or otherwise inconvenienced by another person on Xbox Live (that I personally know)."

He expects that many people know that XBOX Live is a haven for immature people who constantly ridicule, attack, and harass others, making it a totally annoying, hurtful, and even unsafe environment for people to play in, and so his statement that it's nothing like that, he exaggerates the fact that it's what always happens, therefore solidifying why PSN is better. 

Just to keep this blog post short, I'll leave you with just one more example- I'm not sure entirely what to call this though. Hyperbole, colloquilaism, disparagement, etc?

"It's American

Unlike the PlayStation Network, Xbox Live is American, and as such it enjoys all the benefits that America has to offer. Xbox Live stands for freedom, a strong work ethic, democracy, God, eagles, Obama, and justice. Meanwhile, PSN is not American, and as such does not stand for freedom or any of the other things I can't be bothered to type out again. Also, it's probably racist a little bit.

Let us not forget that Japan started World War II by bombing a place once..."

At this point, I'm too entertained by this article to pick out all the different comedy techniques he uses, because it's such a complicated conglomeration, that I don't think I'd ever be able to really figure it out. 

Throughout the article, the voice and word choice he uses adds to the comedy. Using elevated language in some places, he makes things out to be more important than we know they are (see first excerpt), and in some places, he takes on the voices of various stereotypes (the true-blue American redneck, the ignorant fanboy) that most people generally see as idiotic and incorrect, to make us see his true point- this arguement is stupid, and PSN is obviously superior. 

2006, Form B. In many works of literature, a physical journey - the literal movement from one place to another - plays a central role. Choose a novel, play, or epic poem in which a physical journey is an important element and discuss how the journey adds to the meaning of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

     In The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan, the characters have to undertake a journey from a small village to a large city, and from there, they go to a place in which the doings of the whole world are worked. This epic journey not only helps the characters grow, but symbolizes that growth itself.

     When our main characters, Rand, Mat, and Perrin, are introduced, they are mischievous farm boys, excited for a yearly festival. Rand's friends are teasing him about Egwene, the girl he's in love with, who, this year, is considered a woman. The village and the daily day to day workings of their lives symbolize simplicity. As they're getting ready for the long awaited festival, things are quite exciting, which foreshadows the excitement to come. 

     That night, after creatures that were originally thought to be fictional attacked the village and the outlying homes, Rand makes a journey back to the village and is greeted by total chaos. This is where things start. 

     Moraine, a mysterious lady in the village, has taken a liking to the three boys, and deems it imperative that they leave as soon as possible. Without explanation or trust, Rand must leave his now severely injured father to a yet unknown location. 

     This sudden shock that injures his father and leaves him in charge of what he has to do is the start of his journey, and him not knowing his destination symbolizes the uncertainty he has about his future. 

     As they flee, they are pursued daily by more and more enemies, and this makes their journey harder while hardening their resolve. Out of desperation, they take refuge in the ghost town of Shadar Logoth, where they are told not to touch anything or to take anything they are given by anyone. They explore the town, almost like the three boys they were before they started on their journey, and soon find a man offering them something if they'll help him. Totally disregarding all advice they were given before, they help the man, but quickly drop all the treasure he offers them once they realize he isn't actually a man, but an evil shapeshifter. 

     The characters being forced to take refuge in a place of darkness symbolizes the nature of their journey, as well as how their minds no longer have the lightness of before. 

Here, my time runs out. Hey, cut me some slack, it's homecoming weekend. 

I can tell that I need to work on remembering details, as well as pacing and balancing an essay with important details while not making the plot of the book I'm analyzing seem confusing, but at the same time, not being overbearing on the plot. I need elaborate on connections better, and well, just develop my memory. 

Responses to Course Material 2

(Okay, I know this was supposed to be posted by 10/7, I guess I never hit publish...)

     First of all, we did a lot of practicing with DIDLES. I found this kind of hard, because I'm not used to looking at how things are constructed really, but once I got into the groove, I found that I really enjoyed annotating things...I'm not weird, promise. Just knowing how DIDLES works actually started helping me with my writing in general, like my college essays. I now think through specifically what each word and sentence should evoke in the reader...and this somewhat makes me feel like I'm using psychological manipulation to get accepted into college. Well, I mean, I know I'm not...but you know what I mean. I hope.
     Then we reviewed literary movements, and I always have found the evolution of literature quite interesting. Each time we talked about a different era, I'd think about the books of that era and see what characteristics it had of that time, compared to the times before and after it. This discussion also made me realize how huge of a fan I am of postmodern methods of writing, because I find unconventional ways of telling stories and revealing information to have a huge impact on me. It's also interesting to see how the things that are going on in history affect how literature is written.
    Because we all suck and forgot to bring our copies of The American Dream to school, we got to read those actually really awesome sheets on comedy, and the theories of how comedy works. I found it interesting and now I'm too lazy to go get my papers to tell you exactly what it was that I found interesting, but it's something about how there are multiple different ways that something can be funny, and they all kind of intersect.