Four

     The idea of the “American dream” has a hold on the Holbrook family. The dream blinds and holds the family in their place. Jim becomes “drunk with the job” and he foolishly figures life will get better. Olsen depicts money as the key component that blinds the family from true and disastrous idea of the ideal dream. Jim’s new job pays him “forty-five cents an hour” and it is a “few pennies more pay an hour,” which the reader can “see how little it takes to make a man happy.” Jim does not surpass his limits because of the quick fixes.

     Jim hangs a “grass-on-the-end-of-a-stick” for the horse to move. The horse, Nellie, did not go into a trot, but ran for the “tantalizingly” piece of grass in front of her. The government hangs money in front of Jim to make him believe he can get “the dream.” Both, Jim and Nellie, keep going and running after what is at the end of the stick.

     In the musical, Nine, “Take it All” relates to Jim because he will do anything to get money. In the beginning of the song, imagine the “you” as money and the Jim singing to it.

(Listen to all the song, but pay attention to the indicated lyrics/times list)



(0:14-1:23)

You want my love,

take it all.

You want to watch it all come off,

take it all.

Come on now,

show me how

you can take it all.

You want my glove,

are you enthralled?

You want to see it slip away

and watch it fall?

Oh, we know it´s your show

so take it all.

You want the movement

to see what the hips can do.

Come watch the slinky girl,

see how the pasties twirl

to make your bells all ring

fulfulling everything you ever wanted.

So go ahead,

take it all.

You want my soul,

take it all.

Jim put himself at risk for just a “few pennies more pay an hour.” The song’s “strip tease” melody helps connect Jim to a stripper. Both, Jim and a stripper, will expose and leave themselves defenseless to the after effects for money.

Towards the end of the song, picture the money talking back to Jim: 
(2:12-3:05)

Now it´s your turn to finally learn,

you had the world,

you had your fling,

you wanted more than everything,

you got your wish,

you got your prize.

Now take it right between your thighs,

you grabbed for everything, my friend,

but don´t you see that in the end

there will be nothing left of me?

If Jim keeps searching for money and Jim gets it, it will blind him of his problems and leave him with nothing.