[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-318506-105":59,"doc-detail-318506-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","american-dream-study-guide-by-course-hero","American Dream Study Guide - By Course Hero","","A study guide for Edward Albee’s 1961 comedy and satire on the American Dream, explaining the title’s generational shift in values and the promise of success through hard work. It places the play in post–World War II prosperity and rising materialism, then connects its outlook to existentialism and the Theater of the Absurd. Key ideas include how people seek meaning, the anxiety of absurd existence, and communication breaking down under social tension.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":15,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/literature/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/american-dream-study-guide-by-course-hero/318506/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/american-dream-study-guide-by-course-hero/318506.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Hazel","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-22","2026-09-20",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":39},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What does the title “American Dream” mean in Albee’s play?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"It refers to a shift in values between generations. Albee suggests that the promised happiness from equality, comfort, and hard work may become meaningless.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How does the post–World War II era relate to the play’s themes?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"After 1945, prosperity and mass manufacturing encouraged accumulation of material goods. Albee satirizes how this materialistic life creates an outward veneer of happiness without emotional or intellectual depth.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"How do existentialism and the Theater of the Absurd connect to The American Dream?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"The guide describes existentialism as placing responsibility for meaning on individuals, often ending in anxiety over an absurd, conflict-filled life. It also frames the play as theater of the absurd, using nonrealistic methods, irrational dialogue, and pessimistic views to show communication breakdown and hopelessness.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},318506,1790075981,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":14,"category_name":15,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":39,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145},137441390410,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/2000252f4ab5702993?_k=1776741390130283984","American Dream  \nStudy Guide by Course Hero  \nWhat's Inside  \nj Book Basics ................................................................................................. 1  \nd In Context ..................................................................................................... 1  \na Author Biography ..................................................................................... 2  \nh Characters .................................................................................................. 3  \nk Plot Summary ............................................................................................. 6  \nc Section Summaries ................................................................................ 11  \ng Quotes ......................................................................................................... 14  \nl Symbols ...................................................................................................... 16  \nm Themes ....................................................................................................... 16  \nb Motifs ........................................................................................................... 18  \ne Suggested Reading .............................................................................. 18  \nj Book Basics  \nAUTHOR  \nEdward Albee  \nYEAR PUBLISHED  \n1961  \nGENRE  \nComedy, Satire  \nABOUT THE TITLE  \nThe American Dream refers to a shift in values between generations of Americans. Departing from the sentiment originally expressed by the cliché that is its title—that every  \nAmerican can achieve success and happiness given opportunity and hard work—Albee indicates that the dream of happiness that was supposed to come from equality and comfort might be meaningless after all.  \nd In Context  \nPost–World War II and the American Dream  \nThe phrase the American dream was coined in the 1930s by writer and historian James Truslow Adams, though the idea has been around since the founding of the United States in the late 18th century. The phrase originally meant that every American, regardless of circumstances at birth, could achieve economic prosperity and a way of life better than his or her forebears. Put more succinctly, class and social standing could be improved through hard work. However, this meaning has changed over time. The end of World War II in 1945 initiated a period of prosperity during which mass manufacturing allowed—and even seemed to encourage—the accumulation of material goods.  \nPlaywright Edward Albee believed the fundamental values of the American dream were corroded by this new, materialistic way of life, which emphasized an exterior veneer of happiness devoid of emotional and intellectual depth. Albee's The American Dream thus satirizes the shift in American values between generations, shining a particularly harsh light on those who define themselves by what they have and not by who they are.  \nExistentialism  \nForming the backdrop to the arts during the 20th century was a philosophical movement known as existentialism that began after World War II. This way of thinking places the responsibility for finding meaning in life—or choosing to view life as meaningless—squarely on each individual. In literature influenced by existentialism, a struggle to find meaning is often prominent. So, too, is an emphasis on responding to life with emotions rather than with reason. However, in the end such a search for meaning is all for naught. Humans begin from nothing and return to nothing. The only thing that can free a person from the anxiety over a meaningless life is consciousness, yet such an awareness brings nothing but conflict. Existentialists believe that thinking people know their existence is absurd and yet must try to justify it anyway.  \nTheater of the Absurd  \nThe American Dream is an example of the theater of the absurd, a short-lived but significant theater genre that began in Europe in the 1950s and spread","cbCaijDYRQjQZ2e4","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijDYRQjQZ2e4","pdf",192947,18,"English","# Book Basics\n## In Context\n# Section Summaries\n# Quotes\n# Symbols\n# Themes\n# Motifs\n# Suggested Reading","[{\"question\":\"What does the title “American Dream” mean in Albee’s play?\",\"answer\":\"It refers to a shift in values between generations. Albee suggests that the promised happiness from equality, comfort, and hard work may become meaningless.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the post–World War II era relate to the play’s themes?\",\"answer\":\"After 1945, prosperity and mass manufacturing encouraged accumulation of material goods. Albee satirizes how this materialistic life creates an outward veneer of happiness without emotional or intellectual depth.\"},{\"question\":\"How do existentialism and the Theater of the Absurd connect to The American Dream?\",\"answer\":\"The guide describes existentialism as placing responsibility for meaning on individuals, often ending in anxiety over an absurd, conflict-filled life. It also frames the play as theater of the absurd, using nonrealistic methods, irrational dialogue, and pessimistic views to show communication breakdown and hopelessness.\"}]","American Dream Study Guide - By Course Hero | PDF",1789940524,28]