Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
TYAS PURBASARI
Student Number: 034214026
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra
in English Letters
By
TYAS PURBASARI
Student Number: 034214026
ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTERS SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY
YOGYAKARTA 2007
Taruhlah keinginanmu 5 cm,
menggantung di depan keningmu
and all you have to do are:
#1 Kaki yang melangkah lebih jauh dari biasanya
#2 Tangan yang berbuat lebih banyak dari biasanya
#3 Mata yang menatap lebih lama dari biasanya
#4 Lapisan tekad yang 1000 kali lebih keras dari baja
#5 Hati yang bekerja lebih keras dari biasanya
Dan
#6 Mulut yang selalu berdoa
(Dirgantara Doni, ‘5 cm’)
For the Strict Rules that keep me walking in the line
give my deepest gratitude to my beloved Father, Jesus Christ who has enriched me in every second of life. He has been there to give me His best smile when I am
lost.
Second, I would like to thank my advisor, Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M. Hum. who has guided and helped me during this thesis writing process. I would like you to know that you always enlighten me every time I meet you in the
common room and also thank you very much, Sir, for the book you lent me, it
really helps me. I would like also to thank my co-advisor, Modesta Luluk Artika Windrasti, S.S. for checking this thesis and giving me her suggestion.
My deepest gratitude also goes to my beloved parents, ‘Babe’ Bondan Nusantara and ‘Ibu Suri’ Maria Sri Sulastri. Thank you for believing and supporting me during my study at Sanata Dharma University. Thank you for your
love, prayer, strict rules, and patience that have been given to me mom. I’m sorry
for letting you down sometimes.
Thanks to my big brother Arcaya Manikotama for his future chit-chat, it really persuades me. My special thanks are for Supri for her grammar lessons,
Widhy for the support, Cindy for the sharing time, and J.K Rowling for the amazing and stunning books you wrote, it encourages me to finish my thesis
earlier. Thanks also go to all my friends Vallone, Ronald, Yayak, Ella, Renzie
strong ties of friendship that never ends.My appreciation also goes to all the staff
in English Letters Department and staff in the library, especially to Mas Drajat
for not fining me whenever I am late to return the books.
Finally, I would like to give my heartfelt thanks to Yabes Elia Suryanto
for his the four-clock room, magnificent compy, and especially for the
sundae-strawberry time. Thank you for laughing, crying, singing, debating, and,
processing with me. Thanks for always being by my side, though you stink
sometimes
☺
.ACCEPTANCE PAGE ... iii
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background of the Study ... 1
B. Problem Formulation ... 3
C. Objectives of the Study ... 3
D. Definition of Terms ... 3
CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW ... 5
A. Review of Related Studies... 5
B. Review of Related Theories... 7
1. Realism in Literature ………... 7
CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY ………. 20
c. Rising Action……….. 43
d. Climax………. 44
e. Resolution……… 44
5. Theme ……… 45
B. Realism in The Sandbox ….……… 46
a. Character ……….……. 47
b. Setting ……….. 50
c. Stage Direction ……… 50
d. Theme ………. 51
C. Surrealism in The Sandbox………... 51
a. Character ………. 52
b. Setting ………. 54
c. Stage Direction………. 55
d. Theme ………. 55
CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION …... 58
BIBLIOGRAPHY …... 62
APPENDIX ………. 65
Drama, as an art expression and communication, gives moral enrichment such as self-consciousness, satisfaction, deeper and broader understanding of life. As time goes by, drama develops its form and tries to expose new ideas of life in experimental way. Among some great numbers of American dramas, the writer chooses Edward Albee’s The Sandbox. Through this play the writer wants to analyze characteristics of the realism and surrealism reflected in the intrinsic elements of the play. Even though realism and surrealism oppose each other in the concept of presentation, it is not impossible to be found in one-act play. Realist tries to present life as it really is while surrealist presents life in irrational and incongruous way.
The problems to be answered in this thesis are: (1) what are the intrinsic elements found in The Sandbox?, (2) how do the intrinsic elements reflect the characteristic of realism?, and (3) how do the intrinsic elements reflect the characteristic of surrealism?
This thesis is a library research. It takes most of the information and references from books. The study applies the philosophical approach since the aim is to find the essence characteristics of realism and surrealism. In finding the characteristics of the play, the writer has to analyze the intrinsic elements such as characters, setting, stage direction, plot, and theme.
Through this study, the writer discovers that the intrinsic elements found in The Sandbox are character, setting, stage direction, plot, and theme. The first intrinsic element is character. The characters in this play besides reflect a picture of American people in twentieth century; they also have a double casting, as a character and a back stage crew. There is a dislocation of the setting since the property and the setting are altered by the character. The ‘bare stage’ stage direction reflects an open invitation to the audience to explore their mind in imagining the stage. The theme of this play is the gap between two generations creates misunderstanding idea about death. Death in this play is not presented in dark, sad, and frightening way but it is presented in incongruous way by using object like sandbox, beach, musician, and handsome Angel of Death.
The general conclusion drawn from this study is that though The Sandbox
reveals most of the surrealism’s characteristic but there still realism characteristic reflected by intrinsic elements of in this play. The play is no longer a depiction of life presented on stage but rather a rehearsal of play presented on stage where a stage manager, director, and music arranger perform on stage rather than on back stage. The function of using realism and surrealism characteristic is to give audience a better understanding in viewing life, deeper than their senses.
Drama sebagai ungkapan seni and komunikasi dapat memberikan pesan moral. Misalnya, mengungkapkan kesadaran diri, kepuasan, dan pemahaman yang mendalam mengenai nilai-nilai kehidupan. Drama kemudian mengembangkan format dan berusaha mengemukakan ide-ide baru dengan cara yang eksperimental. Dari sekian banyak drama Amerika, penulis memilih drama karya Edward Albee yang berjudul The Sandbox. Melalui karya ini, penulis ingin menganalisa karakteristik realisme dan surrealisme berdasarkan unsur-unsur intrinsic yang terdapat di drama ini. sekalipun realisme dan surrealisme saling bertolak belakang tetapi bukanlah tidak mungkin untuk menemukannya dalam drama satu babak. Realis berusaha memaparkan gambaran senyata-nyatanya tentang kehidupan sedangkan surrealis berusaha memaparkan kehidupan secara tidak logis dan tidak lazim.
Permasalahan-permasalahan yang harus dijawab di studi ini adalah: (1) apa saja kah unsur-unsur intrinsik yang ditemukan di The Sandbox?, (2) bagaimana cara unsur-unsur intrinsik tersebut mengungkapkan karakteristik realisme?, dan (3) bagaimana cara unsur-unsur intrinsik tersebut mengungkapkan karakteristik surrealisme?
Studi ini merupakan studi pustaka, artinya mayoritas informasi dan referensi bersumber pada buku. Studi ini menggunakan pendekatan filsafat karena tujuan utama dari studi ini adalah menemukan intisari karakteristik-karakteristik realisme dan surrealisme. Dalam mencari karakteristik- karakteristiknya, penulis harus menganalisa unsur-unsur intrinsik seperti tokoh, setting, petunjuk laku, alur, dan temanya.
Melalui studi ini, penulis menemukan bahwa unsur-unsur intrinsic elemen yang ditemukan di The Sandbox adalah karakter, setting, petunjuk laku, plot, dan tema. Ternyata hampir semua unsur-unsur intrinsik dalam The Sandbox ini menggambarkan karakteristik realisme dan surrealisme. Unsur intrinsik yang pertama adalah tokoh. Tokoh-tokoh di drama ini selain merupakan gambaran masyarakat Amerika abad dua puluh, mereka juga mempunyai peran ganda, yaitu sebagai seorang tokoh dan juga sebagai orang di belakang layar. Terdapat juga ketidaksinambungan setting karena property dan setting yang ada di panggung dapat di putar-balikkan oleh tokoh. ‘Panggung kosong’ di penunjuk laku mengundang penonton untuk membayangkan gambaran panggung tersebut. Tema dari drama ini adalah kesenjangan antara dua generasi yang akhirnya menimbulkan kesalahpahaman penafsiran akan kematian. Kematian di drama ini tidak digambarkan dengan berbagai hal yang tidak sinergi dengan menggunakan obyek-obyek seperti kotak pasir, pantai, pemain musik, dan malaikat kematian yang tampan.
Kesimpulan dari analisa ini adalah meskipun The Sandbox lebih merefleksikan karakteristik drama surrealisme tetapi masih terdapat jejak-jejak
xii
A. Background of the Study
As one of the products of literature, drama reveals many aspects of human
life, since drama communicates the experience that people have in the course of
daily life. Drama, as an art expression and communication, gives moral
enrichment such as self-consciousness, satisfaction, deeper and broader
understanding of life.
As time goes by, drama develops its form and tries to expose new ideas.
David Thompson’s in Theatre Today (1969: vii) says, “Drama has its
experimental or avant-garde side, and all experiment in the arts, precisely because
it tries to express something new.” It means that drama can reflects human life in
experimental way. Playwrights may give their judgment or opinion to the object
of their observation as their contribution in showing the fact and revealing human
problems.
Among the great number of American dramas, the writer has chosen to
discuss Edward Albee’s play The Sandbox. The reason why the writer chooses
this play is because the writer feels curious about this play because it carries
unstated points to convey. Points here mean characteristics of realistic and
surrealistic play. The characters in this play are unique especially because of the
double casting and also the setting, which can be altered by the character. Ronald
Hayman (1971: 20) states in his book Contemporary Playwrights Edward Albee
that The sandbox represents Albee’s most extreme departure from realism.
Starting from this point, the writer wants to analyze The Sandbox.
Edward Albee is an American dramatist, born in March 12, 1928, in
Washington. He has published more than twenty five plays including The Zoo
Story, The Sandbox, The American Dream, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
His works are considered crafty and often unsympathetic examinations of the
modern condition. His early works reflect a mastery and American absurdist that
found its peak in works by European playwrights such as Jean Genet, Samuel
Beckett, and Eugene Ionesco (Wager, 1967: 23).
When first reading the play, the writer was already excited since this is a
very short play that reveals new ideas in performing the play. Reading Albee’s
work makes the writer wonders about the meaning of his writing and what may be
revealed from his writing.
The topic that the writer selects is Edward Albee’s The Sandbox: A
Reflection of Realism and Surrealism. Though realism and surrealism are two
things that oppose each other, these two opposing things are found in one-act play.
It is a very interesting phenomenon since realism and surrealism are two things
that contradict each other. They bring their distinctive idealism. Realism refers to
reality or condition as it really is while surrealism refers on the representation of
unconscious processes, the irrational, and combination of absurd following logic
of free association. The stage direction, setting, theme, and what the characters do
in this play are unique. In the writer’s opinion, Albee is trying to tell something to
Hence, this fact challenged the writer to study and skim out the intrinsic
elements of the play that reveals the characteristic of realism and surrealism. In
this thesis, the writer wants to find out the answer of the formulated problems.
The purpose is to point out the significance of a literary work, in this case is a play,
so that it could enrich our knowledge and be beneficial to the writer’s life in
finding the meaning of life itself.
B. Problem Formulation
1. What are the intrinsic elements found in The Sandbox?
2. How do the intrinsic elements reflect the characteristics of realism?
3. How do the intrinsic elements reflect the characteristic of surrealism?
C. Objectives of the Study
The objective of the study is to find out the answer of the formulated
problems. Considering those three problems, firstly, the writer wants to reveal the
intrinsic elements of character, setting, stage direction, plot, and theme found in
The Sandbox. Secondly, the writer wants to convey in what way the intrinsic
elements reflect the characteristic of realism. The last, the writer wants to convey
in what way the intrinsic elements reflect the characteristic surrealism.
D. Definition of Terms
There are two terms to be defined in this part to avoid misunderstanding.
romanticism. According to Abrams, realism is a way of thought, and the main
idea is to represent life as it really is (1971: 174). The main concept of realism
itself is to “give a comprehensive picture of modern life” by presenting many
aspects of life (Elliot, 1988: 502). If it is applied in drama it means that all the
elements of drama such as setting, characters, stage directions, decorations,
lighting, etc must be presented as real as it should be. In short, realism drama tries
to capture every single movement, phenomenon and picture of real life as it really
is.
The second term is Surrealism. If realism focused on conscious imagery, surrealism focuses on the representation of unconscious processes, the irrational,
and bizarre juxtaposition of seemingly incongruous following logic of free
association (Robert Harris, A Glossary of Literary
Terms, http://www.virtualsalt.com). According to Styan in Modern Drama Theory
and Practice vol.2 (1992: 52), surrealist tries to bring some order and reason into
their idiom performance which means to perform what is considered as the reality
and what is important about it. Surrealism uses elements of surprise, the
involuntary, and the unconscious. It wants to arrange the derangement of the
senses. The key word to sum up surrealism, according to Andre Breton, is
freedom (2001: 488-490). Surrealist precisely emphasizes the freedom of mind.
A. Review of Related Studies
The writer puts the review because she wants to give a clear picture if the
play is performed. A review by Justin Olynyk on www.newwinnipeg.com
Monday, January 26, 2004 said that The Sandbox, Edward Albee's short
12-minute play, is about misguided values and how our society treats the elderly.
According to Olynyk, The Sandbox is one of Albee's earliest plays and it is
awkward in a couple of spots, especially where the cast unnecessarily asks for
lights. The characters should have been contained in their own world and breaking
the illusion of theatre didn't add anything to the play.
It is said that the characters in this play are very unique: Mommy and
Daddy are middle-aged couples who bring Mommy's eighty six year old Grandma
to the beach to die. In fact, they dump her in the sandbox while they suntan and
drink martinis. Grandma is naturally angry at this treatment, plus the way Mommy
and Daddy have treated her for years while they pursue their riches. Mommy
harshly tells Grandma to "stop it" and tells Daddy "don't look at her." In fact,
Mommy and Daddy smile when Grandma dies.
Olynyk states that the interesting thing about this production is that
Grandma does not look - or act - like an eighty six year old; she looks like she's
half her stated age, and she shovels sand with the strength of a young child.
Obviously, the implied message is that Grandma still has a lot of life in her, but
the young people want her to die so they can move on with their lives.
A lot of critics consider Albee as a leading dramatist and successor to
American playwrights, such as Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neil. Albee is
also considered having influenced by European playwrights like Samuel Beckett
and Harold Pinter. It is demonstrated in his ability to make a direct connection
with the disaffected and deprived, as what has been stated by Joshua Jacobson in
Julliard online Journal. (http://www.julliard.edu/update/jornal 10/18/04 10:34
AM).
Albee has said that The Sandbox is his favorite play.
Sandbox is a perfect play. Fortunately it’s short enough so that I can’t make any mistakes in it. It’s…a very good play…a damn good play. It’s a good fourteen minutes (Walter Wager, The Playwrights Speak. 1967: 160).
In this research, the writer agrees with the opinion of Justin Olynyk that
The Sandbox is about misguided values and how nowadays society especially
treats elder people. It is true that this play is very unique in its packaging. For
example are the characters, Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, the Youngman, and the
Musician who are very varying in the qualities of personality and roles. However,
the setting and the stage direction imply an unusual vision than the other plays do
since the setting and the stage directions, which was seen by audience as a
backyard of someone’s house, are being opposed by MOMMY’s dialogue “here
we are in the beach.” What the writer can figure out after read it several times is
that the play is, indeed, criticizing American life especially how American people
should find something mentioned on the text itself without precisely being out
from the text. Starting from this point, then the writer exposes the topic on
reflection of realism and surrealism found in The Sandbox.
B. Review on Related Theories
To support this research, the writer uses some theories. Those theories are:
realism in literature, surrealism in literature, and theory of elements of drama such
as characters, setting, stage directions, plot, and theme.
The theory of realism and surrealism in literature help the writer to
understand the typical realistic and surrealistic writing. Realistic and surrealistic
fiction has its own characteristic and style. The writer needs to know them in
order to analyze the play. Moreover, the writer would like to find out the theory
of character, setting, stage directions, plot, and the theme of the play.
1. Realism in Literature
The term realism comes out particularly in medieval thought. The term
was used to oppose idealism and romanticism. In modern philosophy it is
primarily an attitude toward knowledge. Realism is used to view that material
objects exist eternally to us and independently for our sense experience. Realism
believes the ideas in the mind represent real objects. (Edward, 1967: 77)
Realism defends the independence of knowing things. The content of
knowledge that lies in or before the mind where knowledge takes place is
According to the realist, something cannot be beautified or pictured worse than
the reality. The realist has to see it objectively and report it accurately.
Based on McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama 5, 2nd Edition
(1972: 249-250), realism is the mode in drama that attempts to place on the stage
a convincing replica of real-life situations and engage its audience by creating an
allusion of reality. The Playwright’s aim is to replace the superhuman heroes of
the romantic melodrama with ordinary, recognizable characters.
Realists attempt to “give a comprehensive picture of modern life” (Elliott,
1988: 502) by presenting many aspects of life. They do not try to give one view of
life but instead attempt to show the different classes, manners, and stratification of
life in America. Realists create this picture of America by combining a wide
variety of “details derived from observation and documentation” to “approach the
norm of experience” (Elliot, 1988: 503). Along with this technique, realists
compared the “objective or absolute existence” in America to that of the
“universal truths, or observed facts of life” (Hart: 1995). In other words, realists
objectively look at American society and point out the aspects that have in
common with the general truths of existence. According to Abrams (1994: 174),
realist is a way of thought and the main idea is to represent life as it really is.
The characteristic of realist drama according to Hendrik Ibsen (1979: 541)
deals with it tenets of new writing of a stage. First: the new subject deals with
corrupt business, social repression, exploitation, conditioned mores, neurotic
behaviors, and outdated beliefs. Second, the new subject spawns a new kind of
present while the environment, i.e. the present as shapers of conflict, choice, and
destiny. In realist drama, the text or dialogue expresses everyday conversation.
And the text’s signs and symbols are taken directly from the play environment. In
short, realism drama tries to capture every single movement, phenomenon and
picture of real life as it really is.
2. Surrealism in Literature
According to Merriam-Webster’s Encyclopedia of Literature page 1080,
the word sur- above + realism- realism, it means the principles, ideas, or practice
of producing fantastic/incongruous imagery in art or literature by means of
unnatural juxtapositions and combination. It is a reaction against rationalism that
had guided European culture and politics in the past and that had culminated in
the horrors of World War I. It was flourished in the 1920s and 1930s; principally
in Europe is surrealist drama.
In McGraw Hill Encyclopedia of World Drama 5, 2nd Edition (1972: 257) it is mentioned that surrealist drama defines the form as “pure physic automatism”,
by which is intended to express, verbally, in writing, or by other means, the real
process of thought. Surrealism draws upon the subconscious mind and dreamlike
physic states so that the viewer could look upon some inner site of the mind.
J.L. Styan in Modern Drama Theory and Practice vol.2 (1992: 52) defines
the connection between surrealism and the stages are uncertain, illogic, static, and
they try to bring some order and reason into their idiom performance which means
to perform what is considered as the reality and what is important about it.
The surrealist movement was short-lived, although it did contribute toward
the general trend away from realism. In Glossary of Literary Terms (1971:
205-206) Abram defines the influence of surrealism innovations can be found in many
modern writers of prose and verse who have broken the conventional modes of
artistic organization to experiment with free association, a broken syntax,
non-logical and non-chrononon-logical order, dreamlike and nightmarish sequences, and
juxtaposition of bizarre, shocking, or seemingly unrelated images. In drama,
familiar characters are placed in unusual surrounding or in unrelated scenes which
are juxtaposed.
According to A Glossary of Literary Terms, surrealism is a movement in
art that emphasizes imaginative expression as realization in dreams and is
presented without conscious control. Its focus is on the representation of
unconscious processes, the irrational, and bizarre juxtaposition of seemingly
incongruous images following logic of free association.
<http://www.virtualsalt.com>
Andre Breton in Surrealist Manifesto (2001: 488-490) states that
surrealism is a combination of romanticism and Freudian theory about dreams.
According to Freud theory, fantasy that is out of control and association represent
the realist side from everyday life. That is why the characters in surrealist drama
the audience and the reader. The key word to sum up surrealism according to
Breton is freedom.
In short surrealist was a means of reuniting conscious and unconscious
realm of experience so completely that the world of dreams and fantasy would be
joined to the everyday rational world in an ‘absolute reality, a surrealist.’
Surrealism uses elements of surprise, the involuntary, and the unconscious. It is
more purposeful and it wants to arrangethe derangement of the senses.
3. Elements of Drama
Drama is an old-age form of shared experience. Through centuries
audiences have watched live actors act out events on a stage. Talking about drama
means talking about intrinsic elements of drama such as character, setting, stage
direction, plot,and theme.
a. Character
Character is one of the most important elements of a play. Usually the
strength of a play depends on how the characters are presented. Characters has
two meanings: (1) a figure of literary work, and (2) personality, that is the mental
and the moral qualities of the figure, as when we may say that X’s character is
strong, or weak, or immoral, or whatever. (Barnet, Berman, and Burto, 1988: 71).
In Glossary of Literary Terms (1971: 20-21), Abram defines character as
the person presented by the author as being endowed with moral and disposition
In the book entitled Approach to Literature, Little gives explanation of
how to study a character. According to him, a character can be studied from: first,
his or her basic characteristics. This can be seen from:
i. The physical condition of the characters, including his or her age.
ii. The social relationship, which mean the personal relationship with other
characters or wider social relationship, such as social class and occupation.
iii. The mental qualities, this is typical ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.
Second, from his or her appearance from various points of view. This includes:
i. How the character sees himself or herself
ii. How other characters see him or her
iii. How he or she develops or fails to develop during the course of the story
Third, is from his or her place in the work. It means:
i. The treatment of the author (sketched of fully rounded portrayed
descriptively or dramatically treatment sympatically or unsympathetically)
ii. His or her place in the story (leading character or a minor one)
iii. His or her relation to the theme. For example; whether the character
embodies something important that the author has to say.
Holman and Harman define characters as the creation of imaginary person.
Although they are only imaginative characters, the characters must be real. Real
here means that the reader must accept them as believable person who have the
same characteristic as people in real life. The characters in a story should be
created and attributed by the feature of lifelikeness in order to be accepted as an
In order to be believable or convincing, the characterization must observe
at least 3 principles. (Perrine, 1969: 69). Firstly, the character must be consistent
in their behavior. They must have strong and appropriate reason if they are change.
In other words, a character may remain stable or unchanged or she/he may
undergo a radical change in her/his outlook and deposition from the beginning to
the end of the story, but she/he must be consistent with her/his behavior traits.
b. Theory on Setting
Setting is an important intrinsic element. It is always to the way a piece of
literature work affects the readers and, thus, it is important element to be consider
in reading. Based on The Literary Heritage by Hans P Guth, setting is the time
and the place of the events of the play. (1981:729). Setting sometimes helps shape
the characters and the event. Setting is also used to enrich the meaning of the story.
In a limited sense, setting refers to “the general locale and historical time”
(Abrams 1971:175). In a large sense, setting refers to “the social circumstances in
which the action occurs” (Abrams 1971:175). It takes the social or environment in
which the characters live.
Based on A Glossary of Literary Terms by Robert Harris, the setting
includes time period, the place, the historical milieu, as well as the social, political,
and perhaps even spiritual realities. The setting is usually established primarily
through description, though narration is used also. <http://www.virtualsalt.com>.
There is also a close relationship between the setting and the central idea
wrote “setting of the novel has a great effect upon the personalities, actions, and
the way of thinking of the characters” (1972:41).
c. Theory of Stage Direction
In The Literary Heritage (1981: 738) Hans identifies that stage direction is
used to give detail instructions about scenery. The scenery sometimes re-creates a
place with realistic details to make it look likes an actual room, street or
everything that pictures where the action takes place. Sometimes the stage is
almost bare, with many details of setting left vague. The stage direction is used to
describe the appearance and the use of important objects, or called prop (read:
property). Properties play an important role in the events: a painting, a vase, a
pistol, a bunch of flower, etc. often, the stage directions give many details
instruction for the entrance and exit of the actors. There may be much guidance as
to the actors’ use of gestures, which are an important part of the language of the
theatre.
d. Plot
A plot is another intrinsic element which directly influences the character
in the play. According to Abrams (1971: 159), plot is constituted by events and
actions which directly order the achieving of particular emotional and artistic
effects. He also suggests that plot is a bare synopsis of the temporal order of what
happens in a literary work.
The plot must have some sort of unity and clarity by setting up a pattern
by which each action initiates the next rather than stands alone without connection
involved in conflict that has a pattern of movement. The action and movement in
the play begin from the initial entanglement, through rising action, climax, and
falling action to resolution.
In other word plot means an arrangement of events. According
to http://drama.eserver.org/plays/ there are five elements of plot. The first is point
of attack, this is the moment of the play at which the main action of the plot
begins. This may occur in the first scene, or it may occur after several scenes of
exposition. The point of attack is the main action by which all others will arise. It
is the point at which the main complication is introduced. Point of attack can
sometimes work hand in hand with a play’s inciting incident, which is the first
incident leads to the rising action of the play. Sometimes the inciting incident is
an event that occurs somewhere in the character’s past and is revealed to the
audience through exposition.
The second is exposition. Exposition is at which important information is
needed in order to follow the main story line of the play. It is the aspects of the
story that the audience may hear what he or she is not witnessed in actual scenes.
It covers the past actions of the characters before the play’s opening scenes
progress.
The third element is rising action. Rising action is the section of the plot
begins with the point of attack and/or inciting incident and proceeds forward to
the crisis onto the climax. The action of the play will rise as it sets up a situation
of increasing intensity and anticipation. This scene creates the body of the play
The next element is climax/crisis. All of the earlier scenes and actions in a
play will build technically to the highest level of dramatic intensity. This section
generally refers to the climax. This is the moment where the major dramatic
questions rise to the highest level, the mystery hits the unraveling point, and the
culprits are revealed. This should be the highest level of dramatic intensity in the
action of the play. In this level, the whole actions of the play generally lead up to
this moment.
Resolution/Obligatory scene is the last element of the plot. Resolution is
the moment in which the conflicts are resolved. It is the solution to the conflict in
the play, the answer of the mystery, and the clearing up of the final details. This is
the scene that answers the questions raised earlier in the play. In this scene the
methods and motives are revealed to the audience.
According to www.cocc.edu/lisal/literaryterms/elementsofliterature.htm
plot is divided in two categories. The first is climatic structure. The plot begins
late in story, closer to the very end or climax. It covers a short space of time,
perhaps a few hours, or at most a few days. This plot contains a few solid,
extended scenes, such as three acts with each act comprising one long scene. It
only occurs in a restricted locale, one room or one house. And also the number of
characters is severely limited, usually not more than six or eight. The
plot is linear and moves in a single line with few subplots or counter plots only. In
this plot, the line of action proceeds in a cause and effect chain. The characters
and events are closely linked in a sequence of logical, almost inevitable
The second plot structure is episodic structure. Here the plot begins
relatively early in the story and moves through a series of episodes. It
covers a longer period of time: weeks, months, and sometimes years. There are
many short, fragmented scenes; sometimes an alternation of short and long scenes.
It may range over an entire city or even several countries. There are also loads of
characters, sometimes several dozen. Frequently, this plot is marked by several
threads of action, such as two parallel plots, or scenes of comic relief in a serous
play. The scenes are juxtaposed tone to one another. An event may result from
several causes, or no apparent cause, but arises in a network or web of
circumstances.
e. Theme
Theme is the main idea within the play. According to Appendix H:
Elements of Drama - A Brief Introduction by Paul Ruben (2005), theme must be
expressible in the form of a statement. He defines theme as a central and unifying
concept of the story. It must adhere to the following requirements: first, it must
account for all the major details of the story. Second, it must not be contradicted
by any detail of the story. And the last, it must not rely on supposed facts since
facts are sometimes not clearly stated or implied in the story.
C. Theoretical Framework
The theories that are provided in the previous sub-chapter will
analysis, the writer will apply the theories provided by selecting the necessity of
the theories needed.
The first problem of this analysis will mainly analyze the intrinsic
elements found in The Sandbox. The second problem is to find out in what way
the intrinsic elements reflect the characteristic of realism. The third problem is to
find out in what way the intrinsic elements reflect characteristic of surrealism.
In finding the intrinsic elements and relating the intrinsic elements with
the characteristic of realism and surrealism the writer uses three theories. The first
theory is the theory of realism in literature. This theory is relevant with this study
since this study is asking about the existence of realism seen in this play, as
realism is one of literary works mode. That is why the writer uses this theory in
order to understand the work.
Second theory is the theory of surrealism in literature. The first and the
second theory are significant since the writer wants to find the aspects of realism
and surrealism stated in the play.
The next theory is theory of elements of drama. Since the writer’s problem
formulations are asking the intrinsic elements found in The Sandbox, the theory of
elements of drama are also important. There are theory of character, theory of
setting, theory of stage direction, theory of plot, and theory of theme. These
elements are the intrinsic elements which are going to be analyzed by the writer.
After the writer understands the characteristic of realism and surrealism,
the theory of characters, setting, stage directions, plot, and theory of theme the
the play such as characters, setting, stage directions, plot, and theme. If after
analyzing the play there is some elements which do not represent the
characteristic of realism and surrealism, the writer will not discuss that further.
After finding the prominent intrinsic elements, the writer can conclude whether
A. Object of the Study
This play, The Sandbox, is written by Edward Albee, an American
playwright, in 1959. The play was first published by Longmans, Green & Co Ltd
in 1965. This one act play is published together with eight other plays in a book
titled Theatre Today edited by David Thompson, and only consists of nine pages
of The Sandbox and 190 pages of other plays. The book also added with some
description about Edward Albee and some critics on his play.
The Sandbox is a sort of simple but meaningful play by Edward Albee
which is biting satire on America family life called The American Dream. There
are five characters in the play: Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, the Young man, and
The Musician. The play begins with the entering of Mommy and Daddy. Mommy
says where they are. The Young man does his calisthenics. Then, not for long,
The Musician enters, seats himself in the chair which is placed in the left stage
and ready to play when Mommy nods to him. When The Musician begins to play,
Mommy and Daddy exit, then not for long they re-enter, carry Grandma. She is
borne in their hands under her armpits. She looks very rigid, puzzled and scared.
Mommy and Daddy put Grandma in the sandbox; they are more like dump her in.
Grandma voices are voices between baby’s laugh and cry. Grandma begins to tell
audience, she complains about their treatment. Then she realizes that there is a
Young man does calisthenics, he is the Angle of Death. Grandma and the Young
man have a chat, she tells him about her past that her husband dies when she is
thirty. Then the lights dim, the night comes out, The Musician still plays music.
Not for long, there is an off-stage rumble. Mommy understands what the meaning
of off-stage rumble is. It means that the time for Grandma has come. Again the
off-stage rumble comes again, louder than before, all the lights go out, saves the
spot on the Young man while The Musician stops playing. Grandma then says
“don’t put the lights up yet…I’m not ready; I’m not quite ready. (Silence) All
right, dear…I’m about done.” Then, the lights come up again, to brightest day (it
indicates that it is daylight, next day). The Musician begins to play, while
Grandma is discovered, still in the sandbox, propped up on an elbow, and half
covered by the sand. When Mommy and Daddy come to the sandbox want to see
her, she plays dead. “Lovely! It’s…it’s hard to be sad…she looks …so happy. …
Well daddy…off we go” says Mommy, then they exit. After they exit, Grandma
tries to sit up but she can’t. Seeing that, the Young man stops his calisthenics and
walks over to Grandma. The Young man confesses that he is the Angel of Death.
Hearing that, Grandma looks neither surprised nor frightened. Indeed, she feels
composure and faces the Death with a smile. She deals death so sweetly by saying
“You’re …you’re welcome…dear.”
Mommy is the leader of the family. Daddy is the dumb husband who is
afraid of his wife. Grandma is old, powerless, and still wants to live but
unfortunately Mommy and Daddy do not think the same thing. That is why
interesting thing about the characters is that Mommy and Grandma sometimes
talk to the backstage man when they are on stage.
The scene is realistic setting, the backyard of a house belonging to a
musician who has a small child, since there is a large child’s sandbox with toy pail
and shovel. The sky cloth background is used symbolically, darkening slowly
from brightest day to darkest night. However, the first dialogue would revise
reader’s impression where the setting takes place when Mommy says “Well, here
we are in the beach.” It means Mommy has the authority to decide the setting.
The stage direction of the play states that the scene is ‘bare stage.’ The
stage direction states that The Young man stands upstage of the child’s sandbox
does calisthenics with his arm. It is stated that the calisthenics should suggest the
beating and fluttering of wings. The Youngman is, after all, the Angel of Death.
The main conflict is occurred between Mommy and Grandma. It is about
misunderstanding in interpreting death correctly. Mommy thinks that by preparing
a perfect plan for Grandma to spend her remaining days, she already did her duty
as a good daughter. On the other hand, Grandma who still wants to live thinks that
her daughter wants to get rid of her soon so that she could move on their life. On
the other hand, The Musician sees death as a job and The Young Man see death as
a duty. The conflict is actually the theme of the play. It is the gap between two
generations which creates misunderstanding in handling situation.
The play itself is about misguided values and how nowadays society
characters, who are very varying in the qualities of personality and roles, and the
setting and stage direction which are unusual from traditional play.
The play was performed on May 16, 1960 at the Jazz Gallery, New York,
directed by Lawrence Arrick with Jane Hoffman and Sudie Bond. Most of
Albee’s works are concerning the criticism on America nowadays society and all
of its respects. It is stated in the online journal of SMU Meadows School of the
Arts posted in May 1, 2004
“Today, Albee’s plays from a body of work that has been called unique, uncompromising, controversial, elliptical and provocative. Albee describes his works as an examination of the American Scene, an attack on the substitution of artificial for real values in our society, an condemnation of complacency, cruelty, and emasculation and vacuity, a stand against the fiction that everything in this slipping land of ours is peachy-keen.”
(http://www.smu.edu/newsinfo/release/m2049.html 10/11/04 03:30:54 AM)
B. The Approach
The writer uses philosophical approach to find the idea of the play itself.
Philosophical approach provides the reader the correct interpretation formula of
text using the intrinsic nature or quality of something, especially something
abstract, which determines its character of the text itself.
Guerin (1979:29) in A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature says
that the largest function of literature is to teach morality and to probe
philosophical issues. From that definition, it means that literature not only teaches
morality but also explores philosophical issues by considering that the literary text
should be interpreted within a context of philosophical thought of a period or
In order to find the essence of realism and surrealism, the writer will
employ the philosophical approach. By using this approach the writer will concern
about the work itself. Since philosophical approach deals with the process or an
active relation with reality, it can be applied to analyze The Sandbox, which is
supposed to be the work of realism and surrealism. Therefore, the writer is
focusing only on the intrinsic elements of the work itself. The writer will relate
the intrinsic elements to the characteristic of realism and surrealism.
C. Method of the Study
The study of this thesis is a library research. It means the writer takes most
information and references from the books. Two sources were used to support this
thesis, primary source and secondary source. The primary source of the study is
The Sandbox written by Edward Albee in David Thompson’s Theatre of today.
The secondary sources are the sources that were closely related to the topic
analyzed, including books, essays, and selected criticism on the play and also
several references on biography of author, and many other related sources on the
study. Those secondary sources were used to help to strengthen this thesis.
There are several steps that are taken in this research. First, the writer
should read the play in order to have a better understanding about the play. It was
necessary to read the play several times considering the play was rather confusing.
The writer used the text as the primary source of the analysis to find the
Second, the writer had to make an objective and reasonable analysis on the
work. It means the writer should understand the whole context of the work and
also the entire elements that are exist in it (Burton, 1977: 18-19). The writer
focused on the intrinsic elements of the play and then relates the aspects of The
Sandbox to the characteristic of realism and surrealism.
The writer tried to analyze the play by using philosophical approach to
find the idea of the play itself since philosophical approach provides the correct
interpretation of text using the intrinsic nature or quality of something, especially
something abstract, which determines its character of the text itself. This approach
is explication or closed reading. It means the basic principles of this approach is
verbal, the entire primary source is taken from the work itself. Then the writer
made a summary and took notes of the points that the writer wanted to discuss
such as the intrinsic elements of the play. The writer also tried to find the relation
between the intrinsic elements of the play and then relate it to the characteristics
of realism and surrealism.
The first step in analyzing the play was identifying the character of
Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, the Young man, and the Musician. Their characters
were revealed by finding the conversation between the characters. Started from
here, the writer could find some important role and personality of each character.
After identifying the characters, the writer tried to find out the setting and the
stage direction mentioned in the play. The setting and the stage direction
explained the situation and the property used in the play. Plot is also important
the writer analyzed the plot. And the last, the writer analyzed the theme of the
play. Theme is the main idea what the play is about so it was important to analyze
the theme of the play. Once analyzing the intrinsic elements, the writer tried to
relate it to the characteristic of realism and surrealism.
The final step was drawing conclusion. Burton stated in his book The
Criticism of Prose that the conclusion made by drawing it from the analysis and
combined with the writer’s objective analysis and subjective response, and finally
The analysis is divided into three main parts. It is particularly due to the
number of questions in the problem formulation mentioned in chapter I. The first
part focuses on the intrinsic elements found in The Sandbox. The second part
focuses on the idea of realism through the specific details based on the analysis of
the intrinsic elements. The third part focuses on the idea of surrealism based on
the analysis of the intrinsic elements.
A. Intrinsic Elements of The Sandbox
There are, at least, five intrinsic elements that can be discussed in this
chapter. However, since this study focuses on revealing the idea of realism and
surrealism in The Sandbox, this chapter will discuss only the intrinsic elements
which support this study.
1. Character
A character is one of the most important elements of a play. Usually the
strength of a play depends on how the characters are presented. There are 5
characters in this play, i.e. MOMMY, DADDY, GRANDMA, the YOUNG MAN,
and the MUSICIAN. According to Albee, these names are empty of affection and
state the pre-senility and vacuity of their characters. Among five characters there
are only four speaking characters except the MUSICIAN. However, the writer
will analyze the character of MOMMY, GRANDMA, DADDY, the YOUNG
MAN, and the MUSICIAN.
a. MOMMY
MOMMY is fifty-five years old. After she gets married with DADDY she
gains the high social status. This is shown through her description as a
well-dressed and imposing woman. Formerly, she comes from lower social class. She
is a daughter of a farmer. She becomes rich because she gets married to Daddy.
Here is the dialogue of GRANDMA that indicates MOMMY’s previous class
status.
GRANDMA. (to the audience again, shrugs) Anyhow, I had raise…that
over there all by my lonesome; and what’s next to her there…that’s what she married. Rich? I tell you…money, money, money. They took me off the farm…which was real decent of them…and they moved me into the big house with them…fixed a nice place for me under the stove…gave me an army blanket…and my own dish…my very own dish! So, what have I got to complain about? Nothing, of course. I’m not complaining (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 174).
MOMMY is a superior character. She wants everybody to obey everything
she says. She dominates every decision in the family. She has a quality to be a
ruler in the family. She is the leader of the family. She likes to give order
especially toward DADDY. She treats DADDY like a child, tells him that it is a
‘warm and toast’ day.
DADDY. (whining). I’m cold.
MOMMY. (dismissing him with a little laugh). Don’t be silly; it’s as warm as toast. Look at that nice young man over there: he doesn’t think it’s cold. (Waves to the Young Man). Hi! (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 170).
This is similar to a situation when a mother tries to tell her child to obey mother
order. By saying “don’t be silly; it’s as warm as toast” mother wants DADDY,
MOMMY likes DADDY to listen to her order. The evidence is shown
when Grandma gets angry and throws sand at MOMMY.
GRANDMA. GRAAAAAA!
MOMMY. Don’t look at her. Just… sit here…be very still…and wait. (To the Musician) You… uh… you go ahead and do whatever it is do (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 173).
She is the one who makes the decision to put GRANDMA in the
"sandbox" in the remaining hours of GRANDMA’s life. This decision reflects
how she actually wants to prepare a perfect place for her mother to die, which is
in the sandbox, since she thinks that GRANDMA is in her second childhood. She
thinks that by doing a good arrangement, laying some soothing music, and waiting
patiently, she has done her duty as a daughter.
MOMMY. (looking about): This will do perfectly…don’t you think so, Daddy? There’s sand there…and the water beyond. What do you think, Daddy? (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 170).
---
DADDY. Where do we put her?
MOMMY. (the same little laugh). Wherever I say, of course. Let me see…well…all right, over there…in the sandbox. (Pause). Well, what are you waiting for Daddy? ... The sandbox. (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 171).
According to GRANDMA, MOMMY is a disobedient daughter and
GRANDMA feels sorry that she has raised her, especially because of the way
MOMMY treats her.
GRANDMA. Ah-haaaaaa! Graaaaaa! (Looks for reaction; gets none. Now…directly to the audience.) Honestly!What a way to treat old woman! Drag her out of the house…stick her in a car…bring her out here from the city…dump her in a pile of sand…and leave her here to set (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 173).
---
imagine what that was like. Lordly! (Albee in Thompson, 1965:173)
From the dialogue above, it can be said that GRANDMA is quite angry toward
MOMMY because MOMMY no longer respects her, though GRANDMA is her
mother. Of course every parent wants his or her elderly life be safe and sound and
it is a great gift if he or she could receive good attention from his or her daughter.
Unfortunately the reality does not give what GRANDMA wants and it is natural if
she gets mad at MOMMY.
MOMMY does not only give order to her family member but she also tells
the MUSICIAN when to play and when to stop. MOMMY is the one who decides
the symphony of the situation by directly ordering the MUSICIAN either to play
or to stop.
MOMMY. (leading the way out, stage-left). Of course, whatever I say. (To the Musician) You can begin now.
The Musician begins playing; Mommy and daddy exit; the Musician, all the while playing nods to the Young Man (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 171).
Another evidence which shows the superiority of MOMMY occurs when
GRANDMA is about to die.
There is an off-stage rumble. DADDY.(starting). What was that?
MOMMY.(beginning to weep). It was nothing.
DADDY. It was… it was… thunder…or a wave breaking…or something. MOMMY. (whispering, through her tears). It was an off-stage
rumble…you know what that means… DADDY. I forget…
MOMMY. (barely able to talk). It means the time has come for the poor grandma…and I can’t bear it!
From the dialogue, MOMMY gives sadness and bravery expression. The
dialogue “It means the time has come for the poor grandma…and I can’t bear it!”
means that MOMMY wants to show the audience that the time for GRANDMA
has come and she feels bad about that. However, the next dialogue shows that she
should face death with brave. If we read the text from beginning until the end, the
impression we get about mother is that she actually only pretends to look sad
since from the beginning of the play it is MOMMY that intends to put
GRANDMA in the sandbox. The word ‘pretends’ here means that she is ‘acting’
to feel sad. In the writer’s opinion, MOMMY’s position is higher than other
characters’.
b. DADDY
DADDY is a sixty-year-old small man. He has gray hair and is a little bit
thin. Though actually he comes from a rich family, he is a husband who is afraid
of his wife because he always accepts everything MOMMY says by responding
“Whatever you say, Mommy.” It shows how powerless DADDY is that even to
speak he should ask his wife’s permission. DADDY is a depiction of a dumb
husband who does not know what he should do, and for that reason he then asks
his wife what he should do next. This situation occurs after MOMMY and
DADDY put GRANDMA in the sandbox.
DADDY. (pause). What do we do now?
MOMMY. (as if remembering). We…wait. We…sit here…and we wait…that’s what we do.
DADDY. (after a pause). Shall we talk each to other?
MOMMY (with that little laugh; picking something off her dress). Well, you can talk, if you want to…if you can think of anything to
MOMMY. (with a triumphant laugh). Of course not! (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 172)
From the dialogue above, according to MOMMY DADDY is a character
with low mental quality because he cannot speak something new. And his
character remains the same until the end of the play.
c. GRANDMA
She is a tiny and an aged woman with bright eyes. She is eighty-six years
old. When she is seventeen years old she gets married to a farmer but when she is
thirty years old, she becomes a widow. She has to raise MOMMY alone.
GRANDMA. I’m eighty-six years old! I was married when I was seventeen. To a farmer. He died when I was thirty (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 173).
Even so, when MOMMY gets married to DADDY, her social life increases.
GRANDMA is a childish woman. She likes to attract others’ attention by
screaming and crying like a babby “Ahhhhhh! Graaaa!”. She is also trying to get
MOMMY’s attention by throwing sand to her when she does not pay attention to
her protest.
GRANDMA. (same as before) Ahhhhhh! Graaaaa! ----
GRANDMA. (bagging the toy shovel against the pail) Haaaa! Ah-haaaa! MOMMY. (out over the audience) be quiet, Grandma…just be quiet, and
wait.
GRANDMA. throws a shovelful of sand at MOMMY (Albee in Thompson, 1965:172).
The way GRANDMA looks for an attention is similar to a child who looks for her
mother’s attention. When child does not get what her or his wants she or he will
ignore her, as many people do when they do not want to deal with their elderly
parents.
MOMMY and DADDY think that her time is nearly over. That’s why they
dump her in the sandbox until the end of her life and they just sit and wait for
GRANDMA to die.
GRANDMA. Ah-haaaaaa! Graaaaaa! (Looks for reaction; gets none. Now…directly to the audience.) Honestly! What a way to treat old woman! Drag her out of the house…stick her in a car…bring her out here from the city…dump her in a pile of sand…and leave her here to set (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 173).
This shows how elder people are being dumped by her family when they are
getting old. GRANDMA is old, sensitive, and difficult to care for. Her behavior is
like other elderly; prefer complaining and talking and babbling like a baby. In fact,
GRANDMA still has a lot more fun in her life. She is still spry and is even
humorous. It is shown when she meets the YOUNG MAN. She can cast a roguish
eye at the handsome boy.
YOUNG MAN. (same smile) Hi!
GRANDMA. (after a pause, a mild double-take, continues, to audience) YOUNG MAN. (flexing his muscles) Isn’t that something? (Continues his calisthenics)
GRANDMA. Boy, oh boy; I’ll say. Pretty good (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 173-174).
Though GRANDMA is described as old and powerless in the beginning of
the play, she is descried as having power to rule in the middle of the play. This is
shown through the situation when she speaks to the back stage man, the setting
man.
The lights dim; night comes on. The Musician begins to play; it becomes deepest night. There are spots on all the players, including the Young Man, who is, of course, continuing his calisthenics. (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 174).
Another evidence showing GRANDMA’s talking to the back-stage people is after
the off-stage rumble occurs and all the lights go out.
A violent off-stage rumble. All the lights go out, save the spot on the Young Man; the Musician stop playing.
MOMMY. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh……poor Grandma……poor Grandma…..
Silence
GRANDMA. Don’t put the lights up yet… I’m not ready; I’m not quite ready. (Silence). All right, dear… I’m about done.
The lights come up again, to brightest day; the Musician begins to play. Grandma is discovered, still in the sandbox, lying on her side, propped up on an elbow, half covered, busily shoveling sand over herself (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 176).
GRANDMA can also be considered as the narrator of the play because she
frequently talks to the audience. From the text it is clearly stated that she describes
her story by addressing directly to the audience, just as if she is talking to people
in front of her and in this case the ‘people’ in front of the stage are the audience.
GRANDMA. Ah-haaaaaa! Graaaaaa! (Looks for reaction; gets none. Now…directly to the audience.) Honestly!What a way to treat old woman! Drag her out of the house…stick her in a car…bring her out here from the city…dump her in a pile of sand…and leave her here to set. I’m eighty-six years old! I was married when I was seventeen. To a farmer. He died when I was thirty. (To the Musician). Will you stop that, please?
The Musician stops playing.
I’m a feeble old woman…how do you expect anybody to hear me over that peep! Peep! Peep! (To herself)There’s no respect around here.(To the Young Man)there’s no respect around here!
YOUNG MAN. (same smile). Hi!
and I had to raise that big cow over there all by lonesome. You can imagine what that was like. Lordly! (Albee in Thompson, 1965:173).
GRANDMA. (to the audience again, shrugs). I’m smart that way. Anyhow,
I had raise…that over there all by my lonesome; and what’s next to her there…that’s what she married. Rich? I tell you…money, money, money. They took me off the farm…which was real decent of them…and they moved me into the big house with them…fixed a nice place for me under the stove…gave me an army blanket…and my own dish…my very own dish! So, what have I got to complain about? Nothing, of course. I’m not complaining (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 174).
From the analysis above, the writer concludes that though GRANDMA is
talking like a powerless baby who is crying and babbling, she is also acting like
the stage director of the play who has power. She is also the narrator because she
frequently talks to the audience.
d. YOUNG MAN
He is a good looking and well-built boy in bathing suit. He is, after all, the
Angel of Death. He is doing calisthenics from the beginning of the play until the
end of the play. His calisthenics suggests the beating and the fluttering of the
wings. His calisthenics actually distracts the line of the play because by doing this
the YOUNG MAN steals the focus of the audience. In other word, his calisthenics
suggests that there are two actions in this play, one is the conversation between
MOMMY, DADDY, and GRANDMA and the other is his calisthenics. It can also
suggest that there are two actions occur at the same time.
In this play, the YOUNG MAN is like an amateur actor. After MOMMY
and DADDY exit from the stage, GRANDMA finds that she cannot move so the
YOUNG MAN stops his calisthenics. He nods to the Musician, kneels down by
GRANDMA. I…can’t move….
YOUNG MAN. Shhhh…be very still…. GRANDMA. I…I can’t move…..
YOUNG MAN. Uh….ma’am; I….I have a line here. GRANDMA. Oh, I’m sorry, sweetie; you go right ahead. YOUNG MAN. I am…uh…
GRANDMA. Take your time, dear.
YOUNG MAN. (prepares; delivers the line like a real amateur). I am the Angel of Death. I am… uh… I am come for you.
GRANDMA. What… wha… (Then, with resignation.)… ohhhh…ohhh, I see (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 177).
The special thing about this character is that he says he expects to get into
film, although he is not a good actor, has a good-looking face though.
YOUNG MAN. I mean … I mean, they haven’t given me one yet…the studio…
---
GRANDMA. You’re…you’re an actor, hunh? (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 174).
It might criticize the ‘American’ Hollywood Dream Factory where stars are made
on their looks only. And the reason why he plays as the Angel of Death is because
he is asked to.
And when the YOUNG MAN does well, GRANDMA is like a stage
manager who flatters the actor when he does well.
GRANDMA. What I mean was… you did that very well, dear… YOUNG MAN. (blushing)….oh…
GRANDMA. No; I mean it. You’ve got that… you’ve got a quality.
YOUNG MAN. (with endearing smile). Oh… thank you; thank you very much…ma’am (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 177-178).
From the dialogue above the writer concludes that in this play the
YOUNG MAN also acts like the actor. This idea is supported by the stage
direction. If MOMMY acts like a director and GRANDMA acts like a stage
experiences in acting. It is shown when he delivers his key line. He says it with
few pauses which indicate his anxiety.
The other reason to say that the YOUNGMAN’s acting is that his function
is under one’s authority that is the director or the stage director. This is clear when
the YOUNGMAN delivers his line and according to GRANDMA, the stage
director, he is doing well. If the YOUNGMAN does not act well, he will not blush
when GRANDMA flatters his act.
e. The MUSICIAN
This character has no specific details, neither the appearances nor the
personality. However, the text suggests that ‘young would be nice’. This character
appearance is only to create and fill the symphony of the play. The MUSICIAN
stops whenever MOMMY tells him to stop and he will play whenever MOMMY
asks him to start again. It means that The MUSICIAN is the music arranger who
plays on stage.
2. Setting
The next element is setting. There are three settings in this play: setting of
time, place, and social condition. The play takes place in one day from morning
until the next morning.
The background is the sky, which alters from brightest day to deepest night. At the beginning, it is brightest day (Albee in Thompson, 1965: 170).
From the explanation of the scene above, it is clear that the play occurs on a bright
