Revised Open Prompt 3

Open Prompt 3

1978. Choose an implausible or strikingly unrealistic incident or character in a work of fiction or drama of recognized literary merit. Write an essay that explains how the incident or character is related to the more realistic of plausible elements in the rest of the work. Avoid plot summary. 

I believe the best way to see someone's true character is to put them somewhere they aren't comfortable. Most people's routines are programmed into their minds at this point, and their actions are only based on that. But if we want to see actions based on their personality, we need to mix it up. That's the principle behind adding the Young Man in The American Dream by Arthur Miller. His presence lets Grandma leave and so he come her replacement, symbolizing the departure of the Old American Dream and the drive to achieve satisfaction by the current one.

When the Young Man is introduced into the play, Grandma is the first to meet him. When they meet, Grandma immediately breaks out of her act. He is the new element that causes her to leave her routine and stop the act. She tells him what she has secretly been doing behind Mommy and Daddy's backs.That she is competent and been making tons of money behind their backs She becomes more attentive and sympathetic to whats around her. She is able to understand what happened to the Young Man after he tells her his story. That the mutilation of his twin had nasty side effects. Grandma is shown to much more caring than when she was going through her day. But it also shows she wants to leave. The new element has pushed her out The Old American dream has no place in the moving world of consumerism. 

The Young Man is advertised as not only as a replacement for Grandma, but as a replacement from the previous child Mommy and Daddy had. They were unhappy with that one, mutilating it by cutting his hands and eventually killing it His presence shows that all they care about is satisfaction. When they realize Grandma has left, they are a little upset but it goes away as the much more handsome Young Man comes in. Now they have a product they can be satisfied with. Even Mommy tries to hit on him to get more satisfaction. It is an endless cycle in the world of consumerism, 

Arthur Miller hopes that his message about the evils of consumerism will get across. That's why he uses the arrival of the Young Man. He represents what the American Dream will become. Attractive on the outside, empty on the inside. In other words, superficial.