Open Prompt Revision #3

In retrospect, the reader often discovers that the first chapter of a novel or the opening scene of a drama introduces some of the major themes of the work. Write an essay about the opening scene of a drama or the first chapter of a novel in which you explain how it functions in this way.

While one often thinks of the opening of a novel or a play to simply serve as an introduction to characters or a peaceful spot to enter the action, often it can foreshadow a great deal about the themes and messages of the work as a whole.The opening scene of The American Dream expresses the messages about the futility of seeking satisfaction, the flaws of consumerism, and the incapability of the general public that exist within the play as a whole.

In the first scene of the play, Mommy expresses dissatisfaction with the hat she purchased and recounts her failed struggle to gain satisfaction. The entire purpose of her visit, as she mentions, is to indirectly gain sexual satisfaction through commercial means. The fact that she must go to these bizarre lengths suggests a clear flaw in the process of attaining satisfaction. Even within this commercial enterprise, the hat Mommy purchases fails to meet her expectations, and she must knowingly delude herself as to its color to gain even a glimmer of false fulfillment from her purchase. Mommy is not even the only one being denied satisfaction in this venture, though. Since Mommy is seeking sexual rather than commercial pleasure, we can assume that he cannot grant her sexual satisfaction and thus cannot get any himself. Daddy, arguably by this very lack of masculinity, does not have the drive to seek satisfaction through other means as Mommy does. This denial of satisfaction is the premise for much of the play's meaning, from Mommy and Daddy's lack of satisfaction from their adoption of the child to Daddy's inability to gain satisfaction from his own masculinity.

Mommy's argument over the hat with Mrs. Barker suggests that consumerism is a flawed system. Mommy isn't directly satiating a need she has in her life, but rather is obtaining something she doesn't need, and wants only because of her own misconceptions. She buys the hat because she likes what she perceives it to be, but when she learns that others (Mrs. Barker) do not perceive her object the way she does, it loses its value. The entire exchange is empty; there is no intrinsic value to the hat, so it might as well not even exist; it's worth noting that the hat never actually shows up in the play. This exchange suggests that consumerism isn't a system which distributes what people need, but rather a system to create artificial need, and fulfill it with artificial satisfaction. Throughout the rest of the play, Mrs. Barker serves as an amorphous commercial figure to continue to propagate this message of broken commercialism.

Daddy's role during all of this is to pretend that he cares, taking his cues from Mommy to provide her the artificial satisfaction of a listener while he is incapable of expressing or even having his own opinion. He is repeatedly emasculated and ridiculed by Mommy, whether she's discussing how she is always on top or manipulating him into opening a door. He is passive and yielding throughout the beginning scene, expressing the passivity he will exhibit throughout the rest of the book to demonstrate the behavior a group of society that simply follows trends and does what it's told.

One can almost view the opening scene as a condensed version of the play, with Mommy's purchase of the hat representing her adoption of the child, Mrs. Barker representing herself, and Daddy as usual getting pushed around. The themes of dissatisfaction are apparent in Mommy, while Mrs. Barker demonstrates the scornful view of consumerism and Daddy expresses traits of incompetence and passivity that the author wishes to bring to light.