“A searing condemnation of the American Dream” How well does this phrase express the concerns in Miller’s play. It can be said that the American dream and its failure is certainly one of the central themes of Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’. Miller tells us the story of an ageing travelling salesman, Willy Loman, who’s success is rapidly dwindling, who’s sons fail to live up to his expectations and who is increasingly haunted by memories and imaginary conversations with people from his past. A significant portion of the play takes place as flashbacks that give us insight into the problematic relationship between Willy and his family and the origins of his failure as he strives to achieve success. Willy has a dream that he refuses to give up even when it becomes clear that his dream is shallow, unrealistic and unattainable.
A gutless fucking wonder!’ When Blacky explains to his father about the storm, Bob insults him rather than swallow his pride and takes his son’s advice on board. The relationship that is shared between Blacky and his father has negatively impacted Blacky’s self-esteem so much that it has led to him not having faith in his own father and to expect no support. During the novel, the desertion that Bob shows toward his son leads Blacky to be more independent, and he learns to expect no support from his father, as he cannot rely on Bob to look after him. The grand final, and Dumby Red’s funeral are examples of when Gary seeks his father’s input,
Owen’s choice of words suggests how drained and weary the soldiers have become. In summary, the physical state of the soldiers is cleverly conveyed by Owen’s technique, experience, and his selective choice of words. The mental state reflects the tragic effect war has on the soldiers. “Drunk with fatigue.” This metaphor tells us that the soldiers were not in the right state of mind and that they did not have the competence to make fatal decisions. Owen then goes on to describe how the mental trauma becomes worse.
Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is a tragic story of Willy Loman, the father of what can be considered a typical American family. Willy’s father was never there to teach him the importance of tradition, values, or healthy opinions. Willy has spent his whole life chasing the American dream of wealth and posterity working as a salesman. Now in his sixty’s he is suffering from memory loss, he has lost his job, and has no financial security. He never knew his father so he doesn’t have a good sense of his own identity, he makes poor decisions in raising his son’s by instilling a false sense of what it takes to be successful, and allows them to steal and cheat.
Willy Lomax reached the point in life when everything was unsatisfying to him and nothing he does seems to add up, (add quotes about the car and fridge). All of life’s problem seem to compound for Willy, the failures of his sons, Biff and Happy and the fact that his wife Linda does not seem to be assertive enough. The day Willy got fired, he becomes overwhelmed with reality. When he remembers that Biff discovered
Blindness and Insight: Torvald’s Tragedy of Pride Pride has been the cause of many conflicts through the ages of time. It is said, that at the center of every conflict is a man’s pride. Pride is a human nature that clouds the thoughts and controls the emotions of people. Pride builds barriers of arrogance and vanity that blinds people of seeing what is really going on around them. In Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House, the pride of Torvald blinded Torvald, and gave him a sense of manhood and superiority over Nora throughout the play until his pride was put to the test, and in doing so, revealed a weak and desperate man.
In both plays Death of a Salesman and True West can be both in contrast to the conditions of their visions of the American dream. Both of these plays focus on characters that spend their lives pursuing this dream while they fail at happiness as a result. In Death of a Salesman Willy Loman is a unfortunate, man who is so obsessed with trying to live up to an ideal that he has become disillusioned and has developed a loose sense of reality. Willy, spends his lifetime attempting to become a salesman, only to find in the end that he had failed. True West also focuses on the dysfunction of the American Dream.
Tennant on the other hand tried to show this through by being so depressed he won't even move. By not moving all of his emotion is but into how depressed he is and how he doesn't want to do anything. His face seemed smashed against the wall. Tennant did wanders with his eyes while his mind was running. In both of these soliloquies Hamlet isn't angry or fired up; he just seems rather tired and upset about the events around him.
All these things are shown many times throughout the play but there are certain times that stand out more than others. Hamlet’s being suicidal and his depression takes over most of his thoughts and they are two main characteristics he shows. During his soliloquies most things he talks about is himself being upset or not wanting to live. He shows his depression by saying, “How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable seem to me all the uses of this world!” (I ii 133-134). He is really upset about his mother and his uncle, but also his father dying.
Willy associates Ben with qualities that he himself severely lacks Realtiyvs Illusion Willy has dreams of material success, notoriety and has a misguided notion of the American Dream. These hopes dwarf the other aspects of his mentality and ultimately result in a psychological descent. He is then unable to distinguish his wild dreams and unattainable goals from the harsh reality of the present. Willy attempts to convince his sons that he is well-liked: ‘... and know me,boys, they know me up and down New England…’ This demonstrates that he is discernibly delusional, as he is neither well-liked nor known. The pressure