American Dream

Essay by PaperNerd ContributorHigh School, 12th grade October 2001

download word file, 3 pages 0.0

Downloaded 12 times

Six Degrees of Separation, Rent, and Glengarry Glen Ross are all wonderful plays, each of which explores the idea of the "American Dream," but each has a different twist to its definition. The main difference between these three plays is that each one deals with a different class of people who have different ideological views. Throughout these plays we see the world through the eyes of the wealthy in Six Degrees of Separation, through the eyes of the poor in Rent, and through the eyes of middle class salesman in Glengarry Glen Ross. Each play presents its own ideas about what the "American Dream" truly is.

In Six Degrees of Separation we get to explore what is so called "American Dream" look like through the eyes of wealthy art dealers. Paul, the main character, is a young man who enjoys rich people's company, who is willing to pretend that he is somebody he is not just to be among the wealthy and feel wealthy himself.

For him Flan and Ouisa is a representation of everything he wants to be, they are his dream. The "American Dream" in this particular play is presented as an object or objects, it is defined by materialistic status, you are what you have. John Guare takes us into "high class" society, a society that many would like to join. We see throughout the play that this society's values are based on money and prestige solely, "elephants" is all that this people want. Through out the play we see unbelievable hypocrisy and desire to show off, from the "American Dream" achievers Flan and Ouisa. "Let's not be star fuckers," says Ouisa to Flan, but they are exactly that, they treat Paul nicely only assuming the fact that he is Poitier's son. Letting other...