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American Beauty And The Crucible

Paired Text Study: American Beauty and The Crucible

"American Beauty and The Crucible are both powerful critiques of American society at different periods in history." In what ways are the representations of the characters and the worlds of the text a product of the composers' socio-cultural and historical contexts and what, if any, parallels can be drawn between them?

Both American Beauty and The Crucible are texts written to emphasize flaws within the American society at different periods in history. 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 façade for dysfunctional relationships. The Crucible, which is set in 1692, during the instable 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 1950's.
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...