1982. In great literature, no scene of violence exists for its own sake. Choose a work of literary merit that confronts the reader or audience with a scene or scenes of violence. In a well-organized essay, explain how the scene or scenes contribute to the meaning of the complete work. Avoid plot summary.
The best literary violence carries meaning beyond itself. This is true in Edward Albee's The American Dream when Mommy slowly dismembers her adopted baby son. The disfigurement of language and materialistic obsession in this scene of violence contribute to Albee's message: that America has become obsessed with objects and does not understand ideas.
In this scene, language is deformed along with the baby. Grandma gives the account of the mutilation of this "bumble", itself a disfigured version of the word "bundle", to Mrs. Barker. Every time a wound that Mommy inflicted on the child is described, it is in the form of a figure of speech. These figures of speech are taken literally, disfiguring the language and the baby at the same time. This literalization of language contributes to the idea that Americans have lost their ability to understand things figuratively, and can only make sense of material things.
The same materialism present throughout the play also appears in the scene. Objects in The American Dream are disposable, giving a short period of happiness before being replaced by another object. This sets the cycle in motion again. The baby is treated similarly. It gives Mommy satisfaction for a short time, then she begins to destroy it as if it were an object instead of a person. Albee uses the materialism in this scene to show modern America as a "throw-away" society that only cares about objects.
