"American Beauty" and "The Crucible"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how both "American Beauty" and "The Crucible" are texts written to emphasize flaws within the American society at different periods in history. The paper first looks at how "American Beauty", which was created at the end of the 20th century when there was an increasing dissatisfaction with the American Dream, depicts Alan Ball and Sam Mendes', the composers, contemporary opinions of Western society and is an illustration of how the American Dream is often a facade for dysfunctional relationships. In comparison, the paper then examines how "The Crucible", which is set in 1692, during the unstable times of the Salem Witch trials, was written as an allegory by Arthur Miller, and demonstrates the similarities between the situation in Salem and McCarthyism in the 1950s.

From the Paper:

"American Beauty was produced at a time when people were beginning to realize that the American Dream is full of unfulfilled desires, repressed dreams and shattered hopes. Alan Ball and Sam Mendes highlight the flaws of this vision through characters in the text. Lester Burnham, the main protagonist of the text, is not content with his suburban life. "Look at me, jerking off in the shower -- this will be the high point of my day. It's all downhill from here." He has a respectable occupation as a magazine executive and a family he once enjoyed the company of however he feels that his he lives a meaningless existence, "in a way, I am dead already." His only daughter Jane has issues with her body image and wishes her father would take interest in her life. "I need a father who's a role model, not some horny geek-boy who's gonna spray his shorts every time I bring a girlfriend home from school." And his wife is stuck in a loveless marriage and doesn't allow her husband to touch her. "Our marriage is just for show. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• http://www.americantheme.apc/feminism/pt2.fly
• http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_26-3-2003_pg3_7
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/may/31/newsid_4417000/4417523.st
• http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_26-3-2003_pg3_7
• http://writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

More papers on "American Beauty" and "The Crucible":

• Film Review # 25673 : "American Beauty" and the Oedipus Complex Theory"
• Term Paper # 100732 : "American Beauty" and "The Great Gatsby"
• Film Review # 138977 : "American Beauty' and Marriage"

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