WILLY - "Tell you a secret, boys. Don't breathe it to a soul. Someday I'll have my own business, and I'll never have to leave home any more" (Death of a Salesman, 1559).
Upon first finishing the play, I felt absolutely no sympathy for Willy. I believed that he was prideful and cruel to his family. While most of me still believes that to be true, a part of me feels bad for Willy. He got sucked into the trap of society. He believed that wealth and "success" were the only important parts of life. Because of how he believed that he had to live his life, he missed the beautiful parts of his life, like his wife and sons. He had all these grand dreams, like most people have, and he just couldn't let them go. It's like he never had a chance.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Death of a Salesman - Social Commentary?
5. Some critics have viewed Death of a Salesman entirely as a social commentary. To what extent do you consider this evaluation valid or invalid?
LINDA - "I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there'll be nobody home. We're free and clear." -page 1630
I believe that Death of a Salesman is in fact a social commentary. One of the main things it comments on is the American Dream. For many, that says that people have to be rich, own all the greatest appliances, and be on top of their career. This is the dream that Willy has for his life and for his family. However, I believe that Miller is commentating that this is not what the American Dream is all about. I believe that in the end of the play, Biff embodies what the Dream should really be about: freedom. Biff is finally free from his father's expectations and is now able to live as he chooses. I believe that Miller is saying that the American Dream has been skewed by what the media and society believe is important, when the real dream is about freedom (Biff's ability to finally determine his own life) , family (Linda's enduring dedication to her family), and comradeship (Charley's willingness to always help Willy).
LINDA - "I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there'll be nobody home. We're free and clear." -page 1630
I believe that Death of a Salesman is in fact a social commentary. One of the main things it comments on is the American Dream. For many, that says that people have to be rich, own all the greatest appliances, and be on top of their career. This is the dream that Willy has for his life and for his family. However, I believe that Miller is commentating that this is not what the American Dream is all about. I believe that in the end of the play, Biff embodies what the Dream should really be about: freedom. Biff is finally free from his father's expectations and is now able to live as he chooses. I believe that Miller is saying that the American Dream has been skewed by what the media and society believe is important, when the real dream is about freedom (Biff's ability to finally determine his own life) , family (Linda's enduring dedication to her family), and comradeship (Charley's willingness to always help Willy).
Death of a Salesman - Tragic Flaw
2. Regardless of your answers to question 1, there can be little doubt that Willy Loman is the victim of a "tragic flaw." Can you isolate that flaw? Is it Willy's own tragic flaw that causes his downfall? It it society's? Is it a combination of both?
CHARLEY: You want a job?
WILLY: I got a job, I told you that. [After a slight pause] What the hell are you offering me a job for?
CHARLEY: Don’t get insulted.
WILLY: Don’t insult me
I believe that Willy's tragic flaw is his pride. He has all of these grand dreams, but his pride prevents him from making these dreams true. He refuses to take any small jobs that would lead to the important ones. He wants to simply be on top and considers it a disgrace to be anywhere else. His pride also prevents him from seeing any problems with his life until it's too late. As shown by his memories, he believes that Biff is perfect, and even when Biff has flunked math and doesn't evolve into Willy's definition of successful, he still refuses to see his son as anything else. Willy believes that he is better than everyone else. He thinks that he is more successful than Charley even though the opposite is true. Charley was offering him a job, but his pride refuses to let him take it.
CHARLEY: You want a job?
WILLY: I got a job, I told you that. [After a slight pause] What the hell are you offering me a job for?
CHARLEY: Don’t get insulted.
WILLY: Don’t insult me
I believe that Willy's tragic flaw is his pride. He has all of these grand dreams, but his pride prevents him from making these dreams true. He refuses to take any small jobs that would lead to the important ones. He wants to simply be on top and considers it a disgrace to be anywhere else. His pride also prevents him from seeing any problems with his life until it's too late. As shown by his memories, he believes that Biff is perfect, and even when Biff has flunked math and doesn't evolve into Willy's definition of successful, he still refuses to see his son as anything else. Willy believes that he is better than everyone else. He thinks that he is more successful than Charley even though the opposite is true. Charley was offering him a job, but his pride refuses to let him take it.
Monday, February 27, 2012
The glass Menagerie
"I go to movies because-I like adventure. Adventure is something I don't have much of at work, so I go to the movies." (pg. 1252)
All of the Wingfields are dreamers. Amanda dreams about her son being rich and her daughter being popular. She wants Tom to have a secure job so that he can have nice things. She wants Laura to be a businesswoman or have lots of suitors and get married. She doesn't see what her children really are or what they want. Tom wants adventure. He wants to write poems and have an interesting life, but he works at a warehouse. He doesn't have adventure in his life, so he likes to go to the movies and dream he does. Laura lives in the world of her glass figures. She can't deal well with the real world, so she hides in the house and polishes her little animal figurines. She doesn't see that this isn't the real world and that she can't live like that forever.
All of the Wingfields are dreamers. Amanda dreams about her son being rich and her daughter being popular. She wants Tom to have a secure job so that he can have nice things. She wants Laura to be a businesswoman or have lots of suitors and get married. She doesn't see what her children really are or what they want. Tom wants adventure. He wants to write poems and have an interesting life, but he works at a warehouse. He doesn't have adventure in his life, so he likes to go to the movies and dream he does. Laura lives in the world of her glass figures. She can't deal well with the real world, so she hides in the house and polishes her little animal figurines. She doesn't see that this isn't the real world and that she can't live like that forever.
The Glass Menagerie - Complex Family Relationship
"I'm going to opium dens! Yes, opium dens, dens of vice and criminals' hang outs, Mother. I've joined the Hogan gang, I'm a hired assassin, I carry a tommy-gun in a violin case!I run a string of cat-houses in the Valley! they call me Killer, Killer Wingfield, I'm leading a double-life, a simple, honest warehouse worker by day, by night a dynamic czar of the underworld, Mother." (pg. 1247)
Even though this family loves each other very much, they also get on each others' nerves. In this example, Amanda is yelling at Tom for going to the movies every night. However, she believes that he is really doing something much worse. Tom is frustrated with his life, and he is angry by her invasion of his privacy. Laura is the peacemaker, and she tries to get them to reconcile. Even though Tom and Amanda get very angry with each other, they forgive each other in the end and fix their relationship. Amanda, as a mother, cares for her children very much and wants the best for them. However, this comes off in the wrong way. She wants Tom to be rich and have a nice job. She wants Laura to either be a successful businesswoman or get married. These are things that she wants though, and not necessarily what her children want. This leads to much of the conflict.
Even though this family loves each other very much, they also get on each others' nerves. In this example, Amanda is yelling at Tom for going to the movies every night. However, she believes that he is really doing something much worse. Tom is frustrated with his life, and he is angry by her invasion of his privacy. Laura is the peacemaker, and she tries to get them to reconcile. Even though Tom and Amanda get very angry with each other, they forgive each other in the end and fix their relationship. Amanda, as a mother, cares for her children very much and wants the best for them. However, this comes off in the wrong way. She wants Tom to be rich and have a nice job. She wants Laura to either be a successful businesswoman or get married. These are things that she wants though, and not necessarily what her children want. This leads to much of the conflict.
The Glass Menagerie - Realism vs. Nonrealism
"The play is memory. Being a memory play, it is dimly lighted, it is sentimental, it is not realistic. In memory everything seems to happen to music. That explains the fiddle in the wings. I am the narrator of the play, and also a character in it." (pg. 12360
This play is full of both nonrealism and realism. One of the most important examples of nonrealism is that Tom can address the audience. He talks to the audience and explains things to them. He can direct the play, as shown on page 1238 when he motions to get more light on Amanda. Another example of nonrealism is that for most of the play, there are only three characters, and then at the end there are only four. Examples of realism include how the family interacts with each other. They fight and disagree, but in the end they love each other. They also talk realistically. They don't always speak in complete sentences.
This play is full of both nonrealism and realism. One of the most important examples of nonrealism is that Tom can address the audience. He talks to the audience and explains things to them. He can direct the play, as shown on page 1238 when he motions to get more light on Amanda. Another example of nonrealism is that for most of the play, there are only three characters, and then at the end there are only four. Examples of realism include how the family interacts with each other. They fight and disagree, but in the end they love each other. They also talk realistically. They don't always speak in complete sentences.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
"As You Like It" - The End
"His crown bequeathing to his banish'd brother,
And all their lands restored to them again
That were with him exiled." (pg. 78)
This play is the ultimate happy wedding. No person is left out of the perfect conclusion. Everyone gets what they want. There are three weddings. Oliver and Orlando reconcile. Duke Senior gets his dukedom back. Duke Frederick decides he loves religion. Orlando is the heir to the dukedom and Oliver gets to keep all of his possessions. Everyone who was in the forest with Duke Senior gets to spend the rest of their lives partying in the castle. Honestly, I was really irritated with this ending. I know that this was supposed to be a comedy, but it was a total letdown. After reading Othello, I wanted at least a semblance of drama.
And all their lands restored to them again
That were with him exiled." (pg. 78)
This play is the ultimate happy wedding. No person is left out of the perfect conclusion. Everyone gets what they want. There are three weddings. Oliver and Orlando reconcile. Duke Senior gets his dukedom back. Duke Frederick decides he loves religion. Orlando is the heir to the dukedom and Oliver gets to keep all of his possessions. Everyone who was in the forest with Duke Senior gets to spend the rest of their lives partying in the castle. Honestly, I was really irritated with this ending. I know that this was supposed to be a comedy, but it was a total letdown. After reading Othello, I wanted at least a semblance of drama.
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