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The Language and Culture of a Dream: A Case Study
1a
Rajabali Askarzadeh Torghabeh
Abstract
ARTICLE HISTORY: This study has analyzed the culture and language of the
Received March 2019 American Dream in Blue Surge. It shows the effects of the
Received in revised form May 2019 formula of success and the competition presented by this
Accepted June 2019 dream; and, how it produces neurotic individuals trying to
Available online June 2019 cope with the competitive society by means of neurotic
strategies. This study has used Karen Horney’s theories and
strategies. Horney says neurosis is engendered from the
conflicting values of the competitive culture such as the
absence of means to fulfill goals which are set for the
individuals and harsh childhood experiences. The paper has
KEYWORDS: analyzed the main characters’ languages, their psyches, and
American dream their defensive strategies according to Horney’s theories of
Language Neurotic needs, which consider cultural elements as an
Culture important factor in producing neurotic individuals. The
Social class results show that the members of this society, the rich and the
Horneyan defensive strategies poor, all become neurotic individuals who are searching for
defensive strategies, since individuals are living a social life
and cannot escape its consequences.
© 2019 IJSCL. All rights reserved.
1 Assistant Professor, Email: asgar@um.ac.ir
Tel: +98-51-38806001
a Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran
70 The Language and Culture of a Dream: A Case Study
1. Introduction everyone alike, to the poor to become rich and
ebecca Gilman deals with cultural and the rich richer, to the native-born or the
social issues in her plays. This immigrant, and to women and men. This dream
playwright tries to explore big issues of constitutes a better, richer, and fuller life for
R everyone and provides equal opportunity for all
the contemporary society in her plays as regardless of their circumstances of birth or
well. One of the most important issues position (Adams, 1931). However, according to
that appear in her play, Blue Surge (2001), is Cadwell (2006), this portrayal is transformed
the American Dream. This dream presents a set from idealism through realism to cynicism. The
of ideals and opportunities for people to reach
success. influences of this ideology on people’s minds
and identity are studied, and the conclusion
In her works, Gilman does not try to present any shows that the dream is just a product of
solution but expects the audience to be engaged Americans’ imagination and it is not real
in the issues she portrays (Jones, 2000; Smith, (Samuel, 2012) and that they are not living in a
2008). Smith (2008) continues by mentioning classless society. The American Dream makes
that “although there is a limited number of people class conscious. Isherwood (2002)
scholarly studies on Gilman’s works, she mentions that Gilman raises the audience’s
presents worthy materials (social issues like class consciousness in Blue Surge. He
abuse, violence, and manipulation) to make her continues that,
audience think about them besides being [T]he limits that America’s unofficially
entertained” (p. 2). stratified society imposes on the lives of
One of Gilman’s “issue plays” is Blue Surge its citizens are soon put before us when
(2001). It discusses issues of culture and social it’s revealed that Curt’s girlfriend, Beth,
classes, the American Dream, and prostitution is a member of the upper middle class …
(Smith, 2008). It is the story of Sandy, a young her displeasure with Curt’s lowly cop
prostitute, and Heather who work under the title status is also fairly obvious.
of being masseuses and bond with policemen Blue surge shows characters that are trapped
named Curt and Doug who, respectively, and cannot escape poverty like Sandy who
wanted to arrest Sandy and Heather, at the gives in to prostitution, or like Curt, who goes
beginning of the play. Beth is Curt’s upper- down the hill while he aspires upward mobility
middle-class girlfriend, who reprimands him of (Isherwood, 2002; Sierz, 2011).
not trying hard to get a raise at his job. All in
all, Curt sees himself as a follower of his The characters of Blue Surge are the emblems
dreams as well as Sandy, who is now her own of what the American Dream and its culture
boss and does not have to pay commission to a have taught Americans during generations, and
pimp. They are trapped in living the American it shows how it affects their lives and more
Dream, which has been set for them, and they importantly, their psyches. Analyzing the
are going to achieve it regardless of the means, characters’ language and psyches from the two
no matter how hard the road gets. aspects of social and psychological issues at the
The American Dream has always been same time is significant. Moreover, the
important in America and for the American characters’ psyches are studied according to
people. This dream had played a big role in Karen Horney’s theories of Neurotic needs
Americans’ social life and culture. At the same (1937, 1942, & 1950) which consider cultural
time, Americans have always placed a very elements (e.g., competition) as an important
high value upon social life, emotions and factor in producing neurotic individuals.
Therefore, Horney’s theories (1937, 1942 &
success; “communication of emotions is a 1950) are used to analyze the psyches of the
fundamental aspect of social life” (Keshtiari & characters of the play especially Curt, Sandy,
Kuhlmann, 2016, p. 72). The concept of the and Beth who are using different defensive
American Dream and its culture exerts an strategies in dealing with the competition
enormous influence on American social life and produced by the American Dream.
culture. The promises of wealth and success
made by the American Dream are powerfully
appealing. It offers these enticements to
R. Askarzadeh Torghabeh/ International Journal of Society, Culture & Language, 7(2), 2019 ISSN 2329-2210 71
2. Methodology 3. Analysis
Literature, culture, and psychology when 3.1. The Culture of the American Dream and
studied hand in hand can present a New Formula for Success and Competition
comprehensive analysis of human minds. America, from the early time of the Puritan
Karen Horney is among the Neo-Freudians who settlement, had the dream of hope, happiness,
added newer social and psychological social prosperity, and a better life for all people;
dimensions to Freudian analysis. According to and finally, the dream of an empire. Through
Horney (1937), Freud has attributed great the centuries, Americans considered success in
priority to the biological factors in analyzing their work and life. This success was not only
the psyches. “This tendency [Freudian analysis] in having money but in all aspects of their social
has led psychoanalytic writers to believe, for life.
example, that wars are caused by the working
of the death instinct, that our [American] Across all social classes, there is a strong faith
present economic system is rooted in anal- in the American Dream and the possibility to
erotic drives …” (Horney, 1937, p. 282). On the become rich. Becoming rich implies moving up
other hand, the Neo-Freudian psychoanalysts the ladder of social class. New York Times
such as Karen Horney, Erich Fromm, and Harry published an excellent series of articles (e.g.,
Stack Sullivan adopted cultural orientation in DePalma et al., 2011), offering thoughtful
their studies concerning psychological conflicts commentaries on how the construct of class
such as neurosis. Horney (1937) suggested that interrelates with health, marriage, religion,
the sociological aspects should be adopted to education, immigration, status, and culture in
explain the formation of neurosis in individuals' the United States. In this report, the analyst
psyches. writes that in the survey conducted for the
series, respondents identified occupation,
According to Horney (1937, 1950), neurosis is education, income, and wealth as the four major
engendered from the conflicting values of the components of the class. Yet class, except in a
competitive culture such as the absence of few myth-making exceptions, is arguably the
means to fulfill goals which are set for the single most important element in achieving the
individuals (1937) and harsh childhood American Dream of the good life of affluence
experiences (Horney, 1950). To relieve tensions, and happiness.
neurotics use defenses in dealings with other Contrary to what would appear on the surface,
people, and utilize interpersonal defenses data from the study shows that class mobility
(Horney, 1942, 1950), which are as follows: has become more stable since the 1970s.
1. Compulsive moving toward people, the self- According to Horney (1950), the downward
effacing solution, in which compliant mobility and not even stability is seen in Curt’s
individuals seek to be loved and approved by life who wanted to achieve the American
the powerful partner. Dream by means of being connected to her
fiancé by not leaving her despite her rude
2. Compulsive moving against people, the attitude toward him and his friends, albeit it was
expansive solution, in which aggressive
useless. Beth’s rude behavior is shown from the
individuals seek mastery, power, social
beginning of her entrance toward Dough, Curt’s
recognition, and prestige. friend by not considering him as a friend and
not inviting him to her birthday party (Gilman,
3. Compulsive moving away from people, 2001). Curt wanted to get a raise through hard
resignation, in which the detached individuals work at the police station, but could not.
seek freedom, self-sufficiency, and personal Eventually, he thought studying at college and
achievement. higher degrees would help him achieve higher
social class; nonetheless, he was not allowed to
Therefore, in order to analyze the interpersonal study in the major he liked. At the end of the
relations among characters considering the play, his condition is worse than before without
cultural effects of competition and success even hope of moving upward the social ladder
ethics of American Dream, Horney’s theories now that he has lost his fiancé. Sandy, too, can
would help this study. only see her way to financial security by
72 The Language and Culture of a Dream: A Case Study
returning to prostitution through eliminating college student someday so that he can get the
the middleman. job he wanted. He lives in his illusions and will
The early idea of the American Dream was an not stop until he achieves it, because he wants
ideological response arising from the poor them “badly enough” even if at the end of the
masses, as Adams (1931) points out, to the play where there is no evidence of his moving
quickening rate of inequality. This early version to the higher levels of the social mobility now
of the American Dream was an ideological that he has been trapped in debt and a dead-end
mechanism of hope that allowed the job, he hopes for a better future. They both want
economically poor to believe that they could be to be successful at any cost.
equal to those who had accumulated enormous Chenoweth (1974) discusses the American
fortunes. The American Dream was, therefore, Dream from a socio-economic viewpoint. He
a delusional articulation of the masses in their argues that the conceptualization of the
quest to attain instantly equal status with the American Dream as the degree of success
affluent, powerful and famous. The beauty and achieved is a measure not of people’s success,
power of this concept cannot be but rather, it is a measure of the influence of its
underestimated. The American Dream had the ideology. Success is perhaps the most important
same effect, as it does today, on the component of the American Dream. In fact,
economically limited masses: it makes them success is the yardstick for measuring the
work hard all their lives believing that they will degree of achievement of the American Dream.
get as rich as their bosses. Sandy tells Curt that At its root, “the success ethic encourages
she is still a hooker, but now she is her own supremacy not equality” (p. 10). So for a person
boss. She keeps all the money and is doing to win, the others should lose. Eventually,
fairly well. society is made up of some people that are
Within a couple of generations, the first ideas successful and rich, and some people who are
of the American Dream of having a place to call poor feeling inferior to those rich people.
home had evolved into the idea of getting rich According to Horney (1937), this brings up the
quickly. The Industrial Revolution with its concept of competition. Beth and her family are
ever-increasing need of all sorts of services rich, and she thinks everyone can become rich.
That is why she always reprimands Curt for not
raised “a spirit which demanded riches trying hard to become rich. Curt, on the other
overnight instead of by the efforts of a lifetime hand, knows that he cannot become rich and
of toil” (Adams, 1931, p. 146). Thus, the successful, and he always feels inferior at the
American Dream evolved more attuned to the presence of rich people and sweats. Such
economic conditions rather than to spiritual or beliefs are presented in his language as well in
cultural concerns. It seems that Sandy wants to the excerpt below.
achieve money and status faster at the expense
of her dignity, for other jobs are not waging like CURT. Her husband’s a case. The guy has
prostitution, and she may not even achieve that what? A Ph.D.? In what?
success via working other jobs like waitressing. BETH. Italian Renaissance History
Cullen (2004) gives a short but interesting CURT (to DOUG). He doesn’t have a job.
definition of the American Dream. He mentions He just sits around all day while his wife
that the term the American Dream "today works.
appears to mean that in the United States BETH. It’s hard for academic couples to
anything is possible if you want it badly find two jobs at the same place.
enough" (p. 5). In the course of the story, Sandy CURT (to Doug). They spend their whole
and Curt want to achieve their goal so badly that summer at Cape Cod.
they do anything at any cost to achieve it. Sandy DOUG. Oh yeah?
has been and remains a prostitute because she BETH. His family has a house there.
wants to make money and compensate for all CURT. He is rich. (Gilman, 2001, p. 21)
the years she was poor doing this lucrative job.
Curt, also does whatever he can to be in the loop Curt is always trying to prove himself to the
of the rich. He is in relationship with Beth, who people around him, pretending that he is not a
is of a higher class, with whom he has nothing loser and finds himself competing with her
in common. He dreams about becoming a fiancé’s family and friends. He envies them
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