Discussion on how the grandmother is treated in Edward Albees play the Sandbox
How is the grandmother treated in Edward Albees "The Sandbox" and how does it provide a comment on contemporary society? ... Edward Albee shows this in his play "The Sandbox". To understand the meaning of this play it is necessary to have a short look at Albees biography. In my opinion some of his biographical facts present a basis for this play. Edward Albee was born on March 12th 1928. Only two weeks old, he was adopted by "Reed Albee, the son of Edward Franklin Albee, a powerful American Vaudeville producer". ... His grandmother (from his mothers side) though, supported him in his wish to be an artist and to become a writer. In 1959 he wrote the play "American Dream", which also featured the characters Mommy, Daddy and Grandma. While writing this play, he was asked to write a play for the Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. He took the main characters from the play and used them for "The Sandbox". Another main character in the play "American Dream" was a young boy who was adopted by Mommy and Daddy. ... In my opinion, this is a direct to Albees biography because he had similar experiences with his own adoptive mother. Therefore, the characters in "The Sandbox" are also a direct reference to Albees mother, father and grandma. Albee starts the play with a note, in which he explains that the names Mommy and Daddy are "names of empty affection" that "point up the pre-senility and vacuity of their characters".