provides through the charity of his
neighbor and friend (Charley)
illustrated by the fact that Biff is a
thief -> he has internalized
capitalism (like his father)
family as a site for oedipal conflict -> suffering of women,
conflict between father and son
Long Day's Journey into Night
once-close family has deteriorated over the years
(drugs, alcohol, stinginess, attitude towards
money/work)
Marriage
problems due to
morphine
Tyrone: money for land
speculation and
investing, but not for his
family (Capitalism)
cheap doctor, second hand furniture
Mary: rich family,
equates love with
economic spending on
herself (capitalism)
Father-son-relationship
providing for his family (car, education, maid)
failure to protect his sons from
becoming alcoholics & in
protecting his wife's health
home is not
hygienic
let Jamie enter the nursery when
exposed to measles (Eugene)
he ignores his family's social,
personal, emotional needs because
consumed with his pursuit of
wealth
Mother-child relationship
she gave birth
-> requirement
of feminity
does not provide
for her family
(drugs)
does not cook, clean,
shop -> no
"traditional" maternal
act
Mary cannot see them,
because she is high ->
sees her children as
things
Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf
George has failed to fulfil the expectations of his wife and her father
-> lack of social and economic production
Martha compares George to her father: "And
Daddy built this college ... you know what the
endowment was when he took over, and what it
is now?" -> values him for making money
Nick married Honey,
because she is rich
(father: religion)
Nick and Honey as younger
versions of George and
Martha
in both marriages: spouse was chosen
for her or his economic potential
rather than romantic love
A Raisin in the Sun
family unite at the end to realize their
dream of buying a house -> Walter and
Beneatha learn it at the end of the play ->
put their family's wishes before their own
-> merging of individual dreams with the
family's overarching dream
Mother-child-relationship
tension: Mama's dream and Walter's -> Walter:
regain his pride and dignity, which has been
eroded by his work as a chauffeur for a white
man
Mama: ideal mother,
domestic provider -> looks
out for everyone's needs
before herself
Mama: Walter "worked himself to
death" -> people are exploited by
20th century American society in
order to produce things
all dreams are commodified:
Mama and Ruth dream about a
house, Walter wants a liquor
store, Travis wants 50 cents,
only Beneatha's dream of being
a doctor is not commodified by
a materialistic society
Mama ignores Walter's dream: contributed to
his emasculation, Walter seen as a commodity
that has to work