Analyzing Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance Based on Symbolic interactionism Focusing on the Viewpoints of George Herbert Mead

Edward Albee (1928-2016), an outstanding American playwright, is one of the authors who tried to represent the social relations of individuals in his plays. The reflection of these relationships can be viewed not only in the characters' words, and in their silence, as well as their physical encounters. This characteristic reminds us of the attention to the visible and hidden aspects of behavior in the theory of symbolic interaction. The purpose of this study is to apply symbolic interactionism focusing on the viewpoints of George Herbert Mead (1931-1863) in Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance. In this study, the method of directional qualitative content analysis has been used. Findings show the changes occurred in the beliefs of Americans after the middle of the twentieth century through the confrontation of two groups of characters. On the one hand, parents who are subject to the bourgeois patterns, values, and standards of traditional American society, and on the other hand, their significant others have lined up against them. The second group, despite transmitting from the traditional values of society, have not been able to continue their social life independently and are therefore dependent on the first group. This parasitic dependence that gives rise to conflicts and tensions of the characters; upset the delicate balance of the family. It Eventually leads to the evaluation and rethinking of the dichotomy of social responsibility vs. individual rights.