George Sand, French romantic writer, hit the nail right on the head when he said this in 1872: Appearance versus reality has been a central theme in many American creative works. The film American Beauty is not an exception. American Beauty is a motion picture that delves into your typical, middle-class suburban American home and slowly uncovers all of the abnormalities that lie within. In this case the Burnham family is portrayed as normal but as …showed first 75 words of 1182 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1182 total…hard to stay mad, when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much, my heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst... And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it, and then it flows through me like rain and I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life..."