Recent orders
Death of a Salesman is a play written by Miller, Arthur in 1949
Name of Student:
Name of Lecturer:
Course Number:
Date:
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a play written by Miller, Arthur in 1949. Its story revolves around the life of Willy Loman’s family. His wife is Linda and their two son’s Biff and Happy. Willy Loman proves to be a protagonist all along this play. He starts with worrying about their son Biff even being as tired as he is. This is evident when he complains to his wife that Biff needs to make a good in his life even after he failed in senior year math exam and did not proceed to college. He is devoted to his job that is why he attends business trips far away from his home town. This portrays his attitude towards his work. In the play, Willy also gets angry because his sons, Biff and Happy, did not become what he wanted them to be. Even with Biffs’ promise to succeed in athletics/agons, he did not amount to any of that. The two sons and Willy a meet up at a dinner restaurant and he is left alone when Biff and Happy walk out on him after he refuses to listen to Biffs’ business proposal. Later on at home, Biff goes outside to clear the conflict with his father and the conversation ends with the two of them hugging after Biff asks Willy to accept him for who he is not who he failed to become and tells him that he loves him. On realizing that his son has forgiven him and wants to pursue a business career, the play hits climax when Willy commits suicide through an accident so that Biff can use his insurance money to set up his businesses and start off in his career. This shows to what extent Willy was willing to go to for his sons to succeed.
Biff on the other hand shows his protagonist nature by persisting in becoming an athlete earlier on in the play. He makes a promise to succeed and this shows how optimistic he was about it. Later on in the play after failing in his finals, his father gets an attitude towards him in the manner that he does not even want to listen to his business proposal when they meet in the restaurant. Willy still thinks of him as a failure to this moment because of his performance in his finals. Willy goes to his past employer to try and get his job back but unfortunately does not succeed. He does not give up but he later confronts Willy outside the house on a plot to reconcile with his father. Though it turns to an argument at the beginning, it ends well after he tells him to let go of the dream he still has for him because it does wait for him to this day. They hug and clear off the air and Biff tells his father Willy that he loves him.
Getrude was wife and queen to the deceased King Hamlet in the play, The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. She got married to the succeeding King, King Claudius, who is said to have murdered King Hamlet. She shows sympathy in the play to her son and also sarcastically foreshadows to Ophelia in her burial when she says that she had hoped for her to get married to her son. Later on in the play she get’s poisoned in place of her son through a drink meant for Hamlet during his fight with Laertes. She dies shouting in agony and calling out to her son.
I would take us to Host International since being an international hotel it would be suitable. First and foremost I would ask her why she chose or rather decided to marry the deceased King’s brother right after his death. In the play this left so much curiosity in me that I would like to be settled. In normal sense, this should have been a demoralizing act especially in the setting it was placed in. Then I would want to know from her directly why she was not as affected by her husband’s death as she should have been. This should have been a hard time in her life as she tried to recollect the pieces of her life after the incident. Even under the suspension of disbelief, I still would have asked this question. “If you happened to have been aware of King Claudius’ plan towards your son, would you still have taken the drink meant to kill him?”
Personally basing this on the knowledge of Getrude and the exposition in the play, I think the reason she would give as to the subsequent marriage to King Claudius was so that she had always envied the King’s brother even in her marriage with King Hamlet. This would have been the more convincing reason that dint demoralize her, having a hubris personality. To the question on why she did not get as affected by King Hamlet’s death, I think she would say that everyone has their own different ways catharsis and hers was the way that she did. Last but not least, she would say that she would have done it as a mother for the love of her son and so that he would live on his fathers’ life and dream and honor his name by regaining the throne to its rightful leader. Personally, I think the real not said reason would be a straight no.
Tragedy plays are mainly plays that have males as the main protagonists or whose major characters die or plays with shuttered hopes or null promises through trickery. So as to change Tartuffe to a tragedy play, first I would reverse the script that instead of Tartuffe being a friend to Orgon, he is an old friend to Elmire who she insists to his husband to let stay with them for some time. This breaks the obviousness of plays that the male is always the lead character. Tragedy would also be brought in the play Tartuffe by creating a relationship between Tartuffe and Damis. I would have it that Damis was old enough but his father had not yet given him his share of wealth and for this reason he grew to hate his father. So for this reason he befriends Tartuffe in a quest to the destruction of his father and the sharing of the property on Orgon’s downfall. Later on after Tartuffe has been arrested and truth is in the light about his plot with Tartuffe, he is arrested too and faces the same judgment
Looking at the plays Death of a Salesman and Tragedy of Hamlet, they have their differences and similarities despite being written by different authors. For instance the major similarity between the two is vivid as both Biff and Hamlet are in a conquest to meet certain expectations in their lives. Other than one of their parents being involved in an act that is greatly unpleasant to them they still look at the greater picture which is achieving what they have their minds set to. Biff catches his father Willy cheating while he was in a business trip and Hamlet’s mother, Getrude, marries the succeeding King who happens to be a brother to his deceased husband. Beef tries to explain to his father the new business idea he had but gets turned down whereas Hamlet engages in many fights in the quest to avenge his father and reclaim his place in the throne.
The setting itself raises the curtains for the differences between them. Whereas Death of a Salesman is set in a town and developed kind of setting, Tragedy of Hamlet is placed in a setting showing the ancient days when the rules of king’s existed and there was the hierarchical shift of power and thrones.
The play Death of a Salesman is meant to show how a father worked so hard in his lifetime so that his sons would grow up to be who he always thought of them to be except they grew up to be different people, who like different things and had different perceptions of their future. On realizing this after so many years, he does what the situation would only allow him to, so that he could be of assistance to his son’s success. He kills himself so that the son would use the life insurance money to start up the career he wanted.
In comparison to delusion, Willy and Linda Loman were really under the want that their sons make in life through education. This is shown when Willy complains to Linda about Biff not having made anything of him. We are then reminded him of how he had failed on his final math exam and failed to join college and his father changed his perception on his success.
In Tartuffe, women have been treated in a diminishing manner. In that Elmire is unable to change her husband’s mind about the son’s banishment after they tried to give reason to their father that Tartuffe had other bad motives to his stay. Normally as lady of the hose and mother to Damis she had a say in Orgon’s decision. This is also clear because roles of women in the play are fewer than those of men.
In The Tragedy of Hamlet, women have been given a vital role. They are present before King Hamlet dies and also after his succession. For example Getrude is wife to King Hamlet and also to King Claudius. However much she dies out of poisoning at the end, she is a lead character throughout the play being the queen to both kings.
Death Dying and funeral as it relates to a social institution
Death/ Dying and funeral as it relates to a social institution
From a social perspective, death translates into difficult encounter that the members of the affected social institution would like to get over soon. Loss and grieve characterize the mood of the bereaved in nearly all social institutions, a phenomenon of the advanced social life that human beings have. In a general setting, the departure of the diseased creates a somber detachment since the social bond that binds the members of a social institution is usually strongly manifested at that time. Loss of a loved one can leave a huge mark on the bereaved, especially in the family setting to such an extent that the emotional aspect of grieving is extended long after the burial. In such scenarios, assistance is necessitated by the fact that psychological breakdown can easily be experienced.
In the family setting for instance, the loss of a member can result in a serious foiled attachment consequence if the necessary psychological assistance is not accorded to the victim (Kennedy, 45). Some of the most devastating grieving experiences occasioned by the death of a family member include; loss of a child, loss of a spouse, loss of a parent and loss of a sibling. There may be other serious grieving scenarios where members of the extended family were closely attached to a member of the family such as what happens in a nuclear family. An example of a serious loss experience is when a grandparent dies when exercising the custody of his or her grandchildren, who get the shock upon the death. Te basic element of such grieving is the attachment that members of the family develop with each other over the years. In some situations, where the relations are tense and inappropriate to befit a family setting, death may not affect the bereaved.
Coping with the death of a close member of a social institution is a psychological state that only a few can handle. Psychological assistance is offered in assisting the grieving members to come to terms with the fact that the departed is finally gone and assist them continue with life without the dead. A series of stages are brought out in the grief and loss therapy where denial and anger are first dealt with. Acceptance of death and healing from the shock of the loss of a beloved one should facilitate the necessary coping that ends grieving (Moshe, 238). Episodes of bitter emotional breakdowns are expected in the sessions since grief and loss is a highly emotional therapy. Silence does not imply that every member of the family is well with the results of the loss and counseling sessions should be offered to tackle any withdrawal symptoms.
From a social conflict perspective, it is largely agreeable that several disputes arise from death of a member of a social institution. Ranging from petty burial site conflicts to complex inheritance rows, death has been recorded as a source of discord among members of a social institution. According to Maslin (8), the death of a parent can be a source of misunderstanding and conflict among siblings. In areas where a family’s rule may be seen to be under threat, the death of the parent may cause tension not only among the members of the family but also among the power searching opponents of such a political organization thereby creating a conflict (Scheele, 860). From the conflict perspective, it follows that the death of a member of a social institution creates an instability that seems almost impossible to be present while the member is alive. For instance, for inheritance wrangles among members of a family upon the death of a parent, the conflicting parties would find it inappropriate to instigate any differences in the presence of their parent. As reported by McGoldrick (441), issues arise regarding the will of the dying which can result in a preventable conflict. The author holds the opinion that if the appropriate intervention is sought before the dying leaves the uncertainty in the will at the final moments of life, then conflicts would not be prevalent.
From a symbolic interactionism approach, death is a moment that defines the relationship that one has over his or her entire life. People create relationships with both humans and objects to build their own constructs about life and they stick to their perceptions till death. At their hour of death, what was uniquely dear to them may be manifested to reveal a part of their character that others did not know. One of the main reasons why people develop such unique relationship perceptions is dependent on their social life with their social world. According to Abbuhl (1), it is clear that at death, one’s own social life may be subject of analysis to reveal how important social life is to every human being. For instance, the disclosure of love for musical instruments attested by the presence of a variety of collections for the same can be used to draw a conclusion of how the dead person lived among music lovers.
Works Cited
Abbuhl, Shannon “Extreme Isolation of Symbolic Interaction,” 2010. Web. HYPERLINK “http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~sa337397/symbolic.htm” http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~sa337397/symbolic.htm (Accessed 25 April 2011)
Kennedy, A. Your loved one lives on within you. New York, NY: Berkley Publishers, 1997. Print
Maslin, Janet “Carefree Look at Death Reveals Family Conflicts: Review.” New York Times, Issue 24 April 1992, p.8. Print
McGoldrick, Monica “Thoughts on the Importance of Wills in Family Relationships: A Clinical Approach to Elizabeth Stone.” Family Process, 47.4(2008):441-444
Moshe, Israelashvili “Staying Normal in an Abnormal Corner of the World: Mental Health Counseling in Israel,” HYPERLINK “http://search.proquest.com.ezp.pasadena.edu/docview.lateralsearchlink_1:lateralsearch/sng/pubtitle/Journal+of+Mental+Health+Counseling/$N?t:ac=198719833/12EF3B6DF0C196740A1/2&t:cp=maintain/resultcitationblocks” o “Click to search for more items from this journal” Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 27.3(2005):238-248
Scheele, Judith “Algerian Graveyard Stories.” Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 12.4(2006):859-879
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Name of Author:
Course:
Name of Tutor:
Date of Submission:
“Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe
Al though written by two different authors and set on different grounds, the two texts, “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller and “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe compare to a great extent. In both Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, there is a clear outline of the notion of success, despite the different settings of the literary works. Things fall apart presents the notion of success in an African point of view during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. On the other hand, the Death of a Salesman highlights the idea of success in America and the epitome of the American dream. Despite their varied settings, these two books highlight how the idea of being successful can affects the whole society.
In Things Fall apart, the author begins by exposing his main character, Okonkwo, who has risen to the halls of fame by his achievements (Things Fall Apart p.3). As a young man of eighteen years, he brought glory to his village when he defeated Amalinze the Cat, a famous warrior with an unbeaten record standing of seven years. Okonkwo wanted to be famous; he requested the elders to arrange a match between the two of them. Although the elders were a bit petrified, they went ahead to organize the fiercest battles the village had ever witnessed. It was the desire to rebuild his father’s lost glory that drives Okonkwo to the realm of personal achievement. This is evident when he beats the Amanzi, the most feared warrior.
Unoka, Okonkwo’s father, was viewed by his clansmen as a failure. The writer informs us that Unoka was lazy and improvident during his days. He was a man who could not foresee the future and exploit his present position to help him evade the future calamities. Furthermore, the author says that whenever Unoka got money (which he rarely did), he would call his folks and make merry. He was always in debt; he owed every clansman some bit of cash. As a result, he died in debt. Okonkwo seeks to reverse his father’s failures to his own success. In Okonkwo’s world, his father’s calamities tormented him simultaneously and drove him towards attaining his highest ambitions in life (Bloom p.8).
In chapter two, Achebe outlines Okonkwo’s successful war stories. He was a warrior with thirst for blood; unlike his father, a coward, who feared the sight of war. When sent for any mission, he hardly returns without a human head. When a daughter of Umuofia is murdered, Okonkwo is appointed to wage war to the offending clan. The unchallengeable Okonkwo enters into the enemy territory and captures a girl and a lad named Ikemefuna. The elders increased their honor for Okonkwo, and his fame spread like lightning.
The elders direct Ikemefuna to live with Okonkwo. The lad considers Okonkwo as his own biological father. However, things go wrong for Ikemefuna when the Oracle of Umuofia decrees his death for the appeasement of the land. Ezeudu informs Okonkwo to detach himself from the boy’s murder, but the adamant Okonkwo, driven by the lust for success, throws the final blow that murders Ikemefuna. This part proves that Okonkwo would do anything to achieve fame and success; even if it meant killing a kinsman.
After seeing the White man’s establishments, the desire to conserve the traditional heritage of Umuofia possessed Okonkwo. Together with a few elders, they try to reclaim their lost glory by burning a local Christian Church. They are later captured and imprisoned by the colonial government. The people of Umuofia mounted a strong a great uprising when they saw the strange turn of events. The government gets wind of the happenings and sends messengers to Umuofia. Okonkwo, out of rage, kills one of the messengers. He later hangs himself when the colonial leaders come to take him to court.
The notion of success in the Death of a Salesman mirrors that in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. The characters in Arthur’s play base their concept of success in the American dream, which hypothesizes that anyone can be become successful irrespective of where they started. According to this hypothesis, an individual had to work hard; persevere and have a charming personality to be successful. The same is reflected in the character of Willy Lowman, who views success as a product of hard work and popularity (p. 9).
As a salesman, Willey developed a charming personality which made him popular with his buyers. He tries to instill the same in his two boys, Happy and Biff. While bringing them up, he tells them success is all about hard work and popularity. For instance, when Biff confesses to making fun of a teacher, Willey is more concerned with the reaction of Biff’s classmates. When he realizes that Biff’s colleagues liked the joke, Willy knows that his son will become popular, hence successful in the course of his life. He forgets to teach him morality.
Willy struggles to provide for his family and does not seem to make ends meet. This is evident from his sales in Providence and Boston (p. 35). His desire is to give his household what they desire champions his daily routine schedule of hard work. He wants to be successful; being honored by his colleagues and neighborhood alike. Despite this dream, he is always in debt and has to grapple with his little salary to fend for his household. The events complicated their lives, and at the age of 60 years, Willy was still struggling to meet his American dream.
Willy’s brother, Ben, is his source of inspiration to achieve the American dream of success. Ben’s adventurous nature shows some of the elements of Willy’s pursuit of success; seeking greater chances in order to become wealthy (48). His brother’s memory sparks his continued search for material excesses. Willy wished that he had exploited his youthfulness to gain material wealth.
Happy, in his pursuit of riches, wishes the death of the merchandise manager so that he can replace him (Act one p.17). He views the manager as a successful fellow; He constructed a beautiful estate in Long Island where he stayed for a couple of months before selling the estate. Later on, the manager begins constructing another estate that is yet to be finished. Happy feels that, in the absence of the manager, he would be able to enjoy such privileges as well; a furnished apartment, a car and plenty of women surrounding him. Therefore, we are left to wonder the degree to which somebody can seek for material wealth.
Biff is not left out either. After finishing his high school, he goes out job-hunting. His driving principle is success. In his dialogue with Happy after returning home, he narrates how he has tried close to thirty jobs in a row, without getting personal satisfaction. He had herded cattle in Dakota, Arizona, and numerous other places (p.16). With his meager earnings, he realized he realizes he could not sustain himself and decides to go back home. His unsuccessful stories greatly disappoint his father.
From these two books, the notion of success is rather similar. Different characters develop a zeal that propels them to realize success. However, there is a slight difference in the nature of success. In Achebe’s book, the main protagonist, Okonkwo, seeks for leadership success. He wants to rise to the level which no clansman has reached. Through his hard work and courage, he was able to rise to a number of ranks in Umuofia. In the Death of a Salesman, different characters strive to achieve material success. Willy, with his hypothesis of hard work and popularity as the pillars to success, strives hard to achieve recognition through his riches.
Despite their different settings, these characters sacrifice their own happiness with the oblivion of success. Okonkwo, for example, kills ikemefuna, a boy he raises up in a bid to achieve social standing. Willy sacrifices his happiness and that of his entire family in a bid to achieve the American dream of success. Towards the end of these two books, the main protagonists suffer humiliation and isolation and eventually meet their untimely death. The authors, Chinua Achebe and Arthur Miller, therefore, warn their audiences against obsession with success.
Works Cited
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. New York: Anchor Books, 2010. Internet resource.
Miller, Arthur, and Enoch Brater. Death of a Salesman. London: Methuen Drama, 2010. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart. New York, NY: Bloom’s Literary Criticism,
2010. Print.
Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers,
2004. Internet resource.