A 5 page essay on this Sam Mendes play. Actors Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening play Lester Burnham and Carolyn Burnham. Happy marriages however are not always what the seem. 5 sources are listed.
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Mendes American Beauty - by typical social standards, that is. What actually lurks beneath their otherwise normal relationship is the discontentment of one mans desire to live more of
his life than merely being a cookie cutout of average people. Lester longs for excitement and intrigue to fill his lonely, boring life, and he has learned over the
years that he cannot get these things from his own marriage. "Carolyn Burnham: Uh, whos car is that out front? Lester Burnham: Mine. 1970 Pontiac Firebird. The
car Ive always wanted and now I have it. I rule!" (Mendes, 1999, p. PG). In essence, Lester and Carolyn have grown apart rather than together, no longer
sharing the same elements that originally brought them together as a couple. What has come to pass that inevitably inspires Lesters mid-life crisis is a combination of lost youth,
a life that is going nowhere, his marriage becoming more of a drudgery than an enlightening experience and a general sense of failure. Clearly, he realizes that he does
not even know his own wife anymore when she sharply retorts: "There happens to be a lot about me that you dont know, Mr. Smarty Man. Theres plenty of
joy in my life" (Mendes, 1999, p. PG). II. CONSIDERING SYSTEMS APPROACH What would it take to put Lester and Carolyns marriage back on track? One might consider
the insightful approach of Dr. Albert Ellis Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) theory, inasmuch as it addresses the exact issues that ultimately drive Lester over the edge and in search
of true happiness. The very essence of REBT resides in its "humanistic, action-oriented approach to emotional growth" (Anonymous, 2001) that focuses upon ones ability to establish his or her