GradeSaver(tm) ClassicNotes American Beauty
Home : American Beauty : Study Guide

American Beauty Study Guide

by Sam Mendes

American Beauty study guide contains a biography of Sam Mendes, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

The film opens with a grainy shot of Jane Burnham lying on a bed, complaining about her father. Off screen, a boy (presumably the camera operator) asks her whether she wants him to kill her father, and she sits up, looks directly into the camera, and says "yes". The shot changes, and we are flying over a town while a man - Lester Burnham - tells us that he will be dead in less than a year. We then witness a typical morning at the Burnham house: Lester masturbates in the shower; Carolyn cuts some roses from her garden; Jane researches breast augmentation surgery on line; on the drive to work and school, Lester huddles in the backseat while his wife and daughter ride in the front. At work, Lester learns that an efficiency expert, Brad Dupree

Read the full American Beauty Summary

American Beauty Essays and Related Content

 

Posted By giulia s #226755 at Jan 25, 2012 10:12 AM

 

Posted By Quercetum at Dec 31, 2011 3:17 AM

Did the ending contribute to the discovery of Beauty?

Why did Carolyn carry a gun into the house? If she is intending to kill her husband why do think she intended to do so? Why did Colonel Fitts kill Lester? Is there any beauty in what Carolyn and Fitts intended to do? Did Lester deserve to die? Is there any beauty in his death?

American Beauty | Answers: 1

 

Posted By bob s #221833 at Dec 25, 2011 10:14 AM

Try to analyze one of them.

Lester Burnham’s antagonists are the two figures who seek to end his life at the climax----Carolyn and Colonel Fitts, but they also represent the much broader “forces of antagonism”. Try to analyze one of them.

American Beauty | Answers: 2