Conflict
1) The leading character in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, seemed to want to have the "American Dream" which entailed the perfect family, the perfect job and everything going right in his life, as well as he wanted to be successful just like his brother, who went to Africa and got rich. Simply put, Willy wanted to be like all the rest of his peers and have the luxuries that they had aquired, instead of trying to work for them. The King in King Lear seemed to want the best for his daughters and his kingdom, and just have someone love and take care of him as well as he wanted to be flattered most of all from his daughters just to seemingly build up his ego and self esteem.
2) The thing that stood in Willy's way would have to be his stubborn and delusional personality that seemed to make him believe that he did not have to work for what he wanted but instead, it would come to him since he was so well known and popular. In addition, his family and friends seemed to play a part in standing in his way since they never really tried to stray him away from this "crazy" dream or help him when they realised that he was a bit delusional. King Lear as well had his personality standing in his way since his arrogance and want for flattery caused him to be blinded to the real truths of life and as a result left him naive and without much in the end.
3)The high point of the tension/ crisis in Death of a Salesman was when Biff finally admitted to himself and his family that he was not the person they thought he was and that he was tired of living this life. Biff's "dime a dozen" speech was truly the highest point of tension in the drama.
Character Analysis
1) Willy Loman does not seem true to life since he believed in the "American Dream" and did not believe that he had to work for all the luxuries and the 'perfect life' that he desired. King Lear did not seem true to life either since he wanted to be flattered so much that he let his want for flattery blind him from seeing his daughters' true feelings for him.
2)The characters of both Willy Loman and King Lear seem to be revealed by their actions, the words they speak, and the way in which the other characters talk about them and treat them throughout the drama.
3)The driving force of Willy Loman seems to be the strong want of attaining wealth and becoming more like his brother and the salesman he knew years ago.King Lear's driving force seems to be his need and want for flattery which subsequently led to him giving up his kingdom to his two daughters that did not love him or care about him and led to his demise.
4) In both dramas, when the character changes the causes as convincing and true to life
Setting
1) The sets in both plays seem to be very appropriate since they represent the specific time period in which the play was based upon.
2)Yes they are attractive to some extent. In King Lear the set was slightly attractive since the setting was made to exhibit the time period in which such an event woud occur. This was done quite well, making the set quite attractive. On the other hand, it was not that attractive since it the colours and definition of the film were not of good quality since it was filmed so long ago. This made viewing slightly difficult and not that appealing to the audience.
The set for Death of a Salesman was slightly attractive as well since the atmosphere created by the diction in the book was well portrayed by the settings chosen to film the video. Even though the settings were well chosen to depict a true reflection of the scenes in the book, the quality of the video was not as up to standard as it could be and therefore lost the interest of the audience now and then due to viewing problems.
3)Some seem to be authentic and others do not seem to be authentic based on the quality of the video that is shown for both dramas.
Critical standards used for Drama, novel, motion pictures:
1) The chief emphasis of King Lear would have to be the greed found within majority of the characters and their motives behind getting what they want.
In Death of a Salesman, the chief emphasis would have to be on the "American Dream" that Willy Loman has,and the idea of it that he instills within his children from an early age.
2)The purpose of of the chief emphasis in King Lear seems to be to show the audience how greedy some of the characters were and that their greed, arrogance and clever minds led to their demise in the end. For example, Goneril and Regan's greed to obtain the entire kingdom led to them dying in the end. The purpose of this was also to provide humor for the audience so that the story line kept the audience interested.
In Death of a Salesman, the purpose of the chief emphasis seemed to be to explain the concept of the "American Dream" that Willy had in more detail and to show that this want of such a dream can be achieved with effort but not by simply by waiting. Thus showing the audience that one must work hard for what they want and not expect it to come to them because they are well known or have friends.
3)Both plays seem to be the farthest thing from romantic, but they are definitely realistic.
The emphasis in King Lear seems to be very realistic since the characteristic of greed is one that can be found in every day life situations in the real world. This is because there is always going to be something somebody else has that somebody else wants that causes persons to be greedy and want what others have instead of trying to be content with what they already have.
The emphasis in Death of a Salesman is also very realistic since it seems to show a dream that a lot of people want to have but some do not usually get.
4)Most definitely. Both aspects do show life as it really is.
In King Lear, various aspects such as greed, want of flattery, betrayal, jealousy and other themes are shown through out the drama, which are seen in every day life in many situations. As a result, the audience can seemingly relate to the situations and the different scenes within the drama which keeps them interested while learning a lesson in the end.
In Death of a Salesman, the concept of the "American Dream" which meant that you must be liked and have the perfect job and easy success without achieving it is something that some people want to have in real life. They figure that putting effort in something is just too hard and they rather wish and hope for it to come to them without the effort. Some people also feel that others get success easily and wish to be like them or have what they want but really and truly they did work hard for what they have. This concept is one that a lot of people can relate to and is seen in society today.
5) In King Lear, the emphasis on greed as well as other concepts do present problems of human relationship. This is because greed is a sin that is found within most of not all of us at some point in our lives that causes conflict between individuals. Greed causes persons to dislike others, to steal from others, hurt them for our own personal gain, as well as many other things. Therefore relationships are broken or destroyed. For example, in the drama, greed caused King Lear to damage his close relationship with his daughter Cordelia for a short period and to lose his relationship with his other daughters Goneril and Regan.
In Death of a Salesman, the emphasis of the "American Dream" does present problems of human relationship since it causes Individuals to want what other people have which also causes jealousy and puts pressure on people. The individual's relationships become weaker and they are no longer close. For example, in the drama, Willy grows apart from his sons because of his want of the "American Dream" and pushing Biff too much.
6) Neither drama glamorizes life or presents an artificial ending. Both drama's show a very realistic scenario that depicts real traits within the characters and even lessons that can be learned in the end.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
The Issue of Hurt in Clear Light of Day
In Clear Light of Day, most if not all of the characters seemed to have experienced hurt in some form at some point within the book.
The Family- The family on a whole was hurt when the cow they had died as a result of it drowning in the well one night. A smaller section of the family, namely the children, were hurt by the fact that their parents were rarely ever around in the house since they were always at the club and playing cards with their friends.
Mr. Das- He seemed to be hurt by the fact that his wife had diabetes and she was in so much pain all the time and had to take injections of insulin all the time. He was also even more hurt when she died.
Aunt Mira- There were quite a few instances when Aunt Mira was found to be hurt. Firstly, she was hurt because her husband died shortly after they got married when she was about 13 years old. This was a very sad time in her life, and her new family, (husband's parents) didn't make it any easier for her since they blamed her for his death. As a result they gave her a lot of work to do and did not appreciate her at all. Aunt Mira was also hurt that she was not that pretty and was unable to have her own children. When Tara left her in the house with Bim and the others it appeared as though she was hurt since her and Tara seemed to share a special bond when she stepped foot into the house and was always there for her when Bim and Raja would exclude her.
Raja- He seemed to be hurt because Hyder Ali left and did not tell him anything about his departure. He was also very hurt when his mother died as well as not being able to go to Jamia Millia and did not care to play games or have fun for a while. When he got sick in bed with tuberculosis, he felt helpless that he could not do much or go anywhere and felt hurt in the end.
Bim- Bim was hurt by the mere fact that all her siblings, except Baba that could not really leave, left her in the house to take care of the house, Baba and Aunt Mira on her own. She was hurt when Tara left because she was now married to Bakul, and she was hurt that Raja left to go to live in Hyderabad. In addition, the letter Raja sent Bim hurt her a lot, since she could not believe that Raja would still let her pay rent for the same house they both lived in and she nursed him in when he was sick. Even though the book does not make this point very evident, one can argue that Bim was also very hurt at the fact that she was the one who stayed in the home and did not move on much with her own life in terms of having a family and new experiences that she could not have while staying at home and taking care of everyone. It seems as though she was hurt and disappointed with the specific path that she chose for herself.
Tara- She felt hurt when Bim and Raja made fun of her for wanting to become a mother when she grew up instead of becoming a heroine like Bim. Tara was also hurt when Bim and Raja did not include her in the games and other activities they would do together. In addition, when Baba was born, Tara felt hurt that she was not getting much attention since she was not the "baby" of the family anymore.
Baba- Baba was feeling very hurt when his records stopped playing on the gramophone and when Bim shouted at him and seemed to threaten him by saying that she will send him to live with Raja. Even though the book did not really mention it, it is posited that Baba was hurt that he had such a disability and was restricted from doing certain things because of his disability.
Dr. Biswas- He was hurt at the fact that he was putting so much effort in trying to get Bim to like him and go out with him and she was not paying much attention to him or trying to see if it could possibly work. She was more concerned with taking care of her family and not having much fun. He felt hurt for Bim as well since she seemed to be burdening herself with her family's problems and not doing what she wants to do but what she thinks she has to do.
The Family- The family on a whole was hurt when the cow they had died as a result of it drowning in the well one night. A smaller section of the family, namely the children, were hurt by the fact that their parents were rarely ever around in the house since they were always at the club and playing cards with their friends.
Mr. Das- He seemed to be hurt by the fact that his wife had diabetes and she was in so much pain all the time and had to take injections of insulin all the time. He was also even more hurt when she died.
Aunt Mira- There were quite a few instances when Aunt Mira was found to be hurt. Firstly, she was hurt because her husband died shortly after they got married when she was about 13 years old. This was a very sad time in her life, and her new family, (husband's parents) didn't make it any easier for her since they blamed her for his death. As a result they gave her a lot of work to do and did not appreciate her at all. Aunt Mira was also hurt that she was not that pretty and was unable to have her own children. When Tara left her in the house with Bim and the others it appeared as though she was hurt since her and Tara seemed to share a special bond when she stepped foot into the house and was always there for her when Bim and Raja would exclude her.
Raja- He seemed to be hurt because Hyder Ali left and did not tell him anything about his departure. He was also very hurt when his mother died as well as not being able to go to Jamia Millia and did not care to play games or have fun for a while. When he got sick in bed with tuberculosis, he felt helpless that he could not do much or go anywhere and felt hurt in the end.
Bim- Bim was hurt by the mere fact that all her siblings, except Baba that could not really leave, left her in the house to take care of the house, Baba and Aunt Mira on her own. She was hurt when Tara left because she was now married to Bakul, and she was hurt that Raja left to go to live in Hyderabad. In addition, the letter Raja sent Bim hurt her a lot, since she could not believe that Raja would still let her pay rent for the same house they both lived in and she nursed him in when he was sick. Even though the book does not make this point very evident, one can argue that Bim was also very hurt at the fact that she was the one who stayed in the home and did not move on much with her own life in terms of having a family and new experiences that she could not have while staying at home and taking care of everyone. It seems as though she was hurt and disappointed with the specific path that she chose for herself.
Tara- She felt hurt when Bim and Raja made fun of her for wanting to become a mother when she grew up instead of becoming a heroine like Bim. Tara was also hurt when Bim and Raja did not include her in the games and other activities they would do together. In addition, when Baba was born, Tara felt hurt that she was not getting much attention since she was not the "baby" of the family anymore.
Baba- Baba was feeling very hurt when his records stopped playing on the gramophone and when Bim shouted at him and seemed to threaten him by saying that she will send him to live with Raja. Even though the book did not really mention it, it is posited that Baba was hurt that he had such a disability and was restricted from doing certain things because of his disability.
Dr. Biswas- He was hurt at the fact that he was putting so much effort in trying to get Bim to like him and go out with him and she was not paying much attention to him or trying to see if it could possibly work. She was more concerned with taking care of her family and not having much fun. He felt hurt for Bim as well since she seemed to be burdening herself with her family's problems and not doing what she wants to do but what she thinks she has to do.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Baba's Significance in Clear Light of Day
In Clear Light of Day, all the characters seem to have their own character traits that make them different and significant in the book, whether there part is considered to be small or big. Amongst the Das family siblings, Baba Das is the youngest of the four children and the one who is not the smartest or most active person because of his disability. At first he is not able to do much of anything, but when Aunt Mira comes to take care of him, she teaches him how to do certain things for himself. For example, feed himself pieces of bread and play marbles. This is made eveident on pp.106-07 in the book.
Throughout the book, one notcies that Baba is seemingly an unchanging person in the novel. This none changing aspect of Baba's character is rather significant since Baba himself may be seen as a symbol of the unchaging nature of Old Delhi and the fact that everything in the house seemed to stay the same.
In addition, Baba's use of his gramophone from the time him and Bim took it out of the Hyder Ali's abadoned house, to present,evidently shows that Baba did not change at all, since he continued to listen to his gramophone, playing the same records all the time. The use of the gramophone was also a way of making his presence known within the house, since he did speak much at all. It was a way for the family and others to know that Baba was at home and awake.
Furthermore, along with being a symbol of the unchanging nature of Old Delhi and the hoouse they lived in, Baba, in his earlier years, seemed to be a person unt Mira thought appreciated her and thus made her feel wanted. This is because Baba really needed someone to take care of him and would encourage him and teach him to do certain activities. Aunt Mira was this person, and Baba seemed to appreciate all the things she did for him and taught him how to do. Aunt Mira was the only one who seemed to push Baba to show some of his potential that she was sure he had, and as a result Baba was grateful for everything she did for him and made her feel appreciated.
In conclusion, it may be said that Baba is significant in Clear Light of Day since he may be seen as a symbol of no change as well as making Aunt Mira feel appreciated and wanted.
Throughout the book, one notcies that Baba is seemingly an unchanging person in the novel. This none changing aspect of Baba's character is rather significant since Baba himself may be seen as a symbol of the unchaging nature of Old Delhi and the fact that everything in the house seemed to stay the same.
In addition, Baba's use of his gramophone from the time him and Bim took it out of the Hyder Ali's abadoned house, to present,evidently shows that Baba did not change at all, since he continued to listen to his gramophone, playing the same records all the time. The use of the gramophone was also a way of making his presence known within the house, since he did speak much at all. It was a way for the family and others to know that Baba was at home and awake.
Furthermore, along with being a symbol of the unchanging nature of Old Delhi and the hoouse they lived in, Baba, in his earlier years, seemed to be a person unt Mira thought appreciated her and thus made her feel wanted. This is because Baba really needed someone to take care of him and would encourage him and teach him to do certain activities. Aunt Mira was this person, and Baba seemed to appreciate all the things she did for him and taught him how to do. Aunt Mira was the only one who seemed to push Baba to show some of his potential that she was sure he had, and as a result Baba was grateful for everything she did for him and made her feel appreciated.
In conclusion, it may be said that Baba is significant in Clear Light of Day since he may be seen as a symbol of no change as well as making Aunt Mira feel appreciated and wanted.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Pages 50- 100 !
In this section of the book, Raja wants to go to Jamia Millia for college, but his father disapproves of this decision because of the war at the time. A few days later, their mother quietly fell into a coma and was unconscious for a number of days until she sadly died.
Raja ended up going to a Hindu College to study English Literature, where his want to be a poet was made more evident in the book. It was also found that Raja wanted to be a Hero and Bim a Herioine, but Tara wanted to be a mother.
Raja's friends did not approve of him accepting the idea of Pakistan as feasible, and as a result changed from being his friends to his enemies. Later down, Raja got infected with Tuberculosis and Bim took care of him since Tara was always out and Aunt Mira was getting older.
Their father, Mr. Das, died suddenly on his way back from the club, where the car had bumped slightly against the curb of a traffic roundabout on a deserted street on the Ridge.
After not hearing from his friends, the Hyder Ali's, Raja finally got a letter from them. Bim and Baba went to the deserted Hyder Ali's house and found their dog and servant, along with a gramophone and brought them back to the house.
Aunt Mira began to get sick as a result of her constant drinking of alcohol and soon died
Tara got married to Bakul and left with him to go to Ceylon.
Dr. Biswas, the doctor who would come by to see how Raja and Aunt Mira were doing, started to have feelings for Bim, but she did not entertain hi feelings since she had so many other things on her plate, such as taking care of everyone in the house.
Raja ended up going to a Hindu College to study English Literature, where his want to be a poet was made more evident in the book. It was also found that Raja wanted to be a Hero and Bim a Herioine, but Tara wanted to be a mother.
Raja's friends did not approve of him accepting the idea of Pakistan as feasible, and as a result changed from being his friends to his enemies. Later down, Raja got infected with Tuberculosis and Bim took care of him since Tara was always out and Aunt Mira was getting older.
Their father, Mr. Das, died suddenly on his way back from the club, where the car had bumped slightly against the curb of a traffic roundabout on a deserted street on the Ridge.
After not hearing from his friends, the Hyder Ali's, Raja finally got a letter from them. Bim and Baba went to the deserted Hyder Ali's house and found their dog and servant, along with a gramophone and brought them back to the house.
Aunt Mira began to get sick as a result of her constant drinking of alcohol and soon died
Tara got married to Bakul and left with him to go to Ceylon.
Dr. Biswas, the doctor who would come by to see how Raja and Aunt Mira were doing, started to have feelings for Bim, but she did not entertain hi feelings since she had so many other things on her plate, such as taking care of everyone in the house.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Pages 1-50 !
In these few pages, the first thing that is seemingly established is the setting, which was a bright early morning, and included the first of many mentions of "the rose walk". The characters are also established in these few pages. They include Tara, Bimla, Bakul, Raja, Baba and Aunt Mira along with a few others. Tara was the oldest of the Daw family, followed by Raja, Tara and Baba who was the youngest.
Here is it seen that Tara and her husband, Bakul, who have two daughters, have come to visit Old Delhi, where Tara realises that nothing has changed since she left. For example, the fact that all the rooms and the veranda look the same, as well as the fact that Baba continues to play the same old records every day.
Bim and Tara tried to get Baba to go to the office that he ha not gone to in years. He eventually got dressed and stood by the road and contemplated on if to cross or not. Reminiscing on all the bad times he had tried to cross the road and this present encounter with horses and carts made him run back to the house stumbling a few times looking scared.
It was found that Bim was a history teacher who was firm, rough, aggressive and authoritative, whereas Tara was gentle, weak-willed and quiet.
Further on, Bim remembers the fun times she and Raja had in the dunes playing in the sand and getting ferry rides and now that Raja married Hyder Ali's daughter they barely ever talked at all.
Pages 44-50 show the introduction of the partition as a flashback, where there were fires that lit up the city in flames one summer when Raja was sick. Raja had studied Urdu since Hindi was not considered a language of good pedigree, and the Hyder Ali's would invite him to visit the house regularly to read in the library and spend time with them.
Here is it seen that Tara and her husband, Bakul, who have two daughters, have come to visit Old Delhi, where Tara realises that nothing has changed since she left. For example, the fact that all the rooms and the veranda look the same, as well as the fact that Baba continues to play the same old records every day.
Bim and Tara tried to get Baba to go to the office that he ha not gone to in years. He eventually got dressed and stood by the road and contemplated on if to cross or not. Reminiscing on all the bad times he had tried to cross the road and this present encounter with horses and carts made him run back to the house stumbling a few times looking scared.
It was found that Bim was a history teacher who was firm, rough, aggressive and authoritative, whereas Tara was gentle, weak-willed and quiet.
Further on, Bim remembers the fun times she and Raja had in the dunes playing in the sand and getting ferry rides and now that Raja married Hyder Ali's daughter they barely ever talked at all.
Pages 44-50 show the introduction of the partition as a flashback, where there were fires that lit up the city in flames one summer when Raja was sick. Raja had studied Urdu since Hindi was not considered a language of good pedigree, and the Hyder Ali's would invite him to visit the house regularly to read in the library and spend time with them.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Comments and significance of the video
The video clip of the last scene in Death of a Salesman was one that contained a lot of emotions in it. By viewing the scene, one could actually see all of the emotions of Willy and Biff Loman coming out clearer than if it was only read.
The dramamtic significance of this scene seems to be to show that Biff finally realised that the " American Dream" was not the best dream to follow or believe in. The scene further showed the audience that Biff came to understand that all of them, Willy, Biff and Happy have been lying there way in every situation for just about their entire life since it always seemed like the right way to go about doing things since that is what Willy believed, and decided to instill in Biff and Happy from their early childhood lives.
This drastic change in Biff's look on life seems to be a turning point for the drama and somewhat an ease off of Biff's life since he now knows that he has to work hard for what he wants to accomplish, and being well liked won't necessarily get him anywhere if he does not have anything of substance to be well liked or looked up to for. In addition, this change seems to catch Willy off guard and as a result he does not seem like he wants to listen to what Biff has to say since he thinks he' talking out of spite. In the end Biff forces Willy to listen and Biff cries because of the emotional conversation they are having.
This is seemingly the most powerful and emotional part of the drama and shows how strong Biff is in the end for finding out that the "American Dream" i not going to get him anywhere and that what he has been following for his entire life was not the best on look on life and how to live it successfully.
The dramamtic significance of this scene seems to be to show that Biff finally realised that the " American Dream" was not the best dream to follow or believe in. The scene further showed the audience that Biff came to understand that all of them, Willy, Biff and Happy have been lying there way in every situation for just about their entire life since it always seemed like the right way to go about doing things since that is what Willy believed, and decided to instill in Biff and Happy from their early childhood lives.
This drastic change in Biff's look on life seems to be a turning point for the drama and somewhat an ease off of Biff's life since he now knows that he has to work hard for what he wants to accomplish, and being well liked won't necessarily get him anywhere if he does not have anything of substance to be well liked or looked up to for. In addition, this change seems to catch Willy off guard and as a result he does not seem like he wants to listen to what Biff has to say since he thinks he' talking out of spite. In the end Biff forces Willy to listen and Biff cries because of the emotional conversation they are having.
This is seemingly the most powerful and emotional part of the drama and shows how strong Biff is in the end for finding out that the "American Dream" i not going to get him anywhere and that what he has been following for his entire life was not the best on look on life and how to live it successfully.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Was Willy Loman's family responsible for his demise?
I think that Willy's family contributed to his demise, but they should not be considered fully responsible for his demise. This is because Willy, himself had a great impact on him dying at the end of the novel.
Firstly, it may be said that his family played a part in his demise, but they were not fully responsible. Willy's relationship with his sons Biff and Happy seemed to break down, which consequently added to Willy's demise. This is made evident by the way in which his relationship with Biff started going downhill when he walked in on his dad and another woman in the hotel room in Boston, giving off the impression that he was having an affair with "The Woman". The relationship gradually got worse as Biff got older and went away, where Willy and Linda did not hear from him in a long time but when Biff came back the relationship continued to crack until it broke in the end. This happened when Biff went to his old manager, so to speak, only to find out that he never really worked for him and all the things he thought were true really were false. That was when Biff truly realised that the American Dream his father instilled in him and his brother from the beginning really did not make sense at all and was not going to get him anywhere. He thus broke away from his father's aspirations and Willy was hurt and thought that he did not do a good job as a father. This is made evident when Biff tells Willy at the restaurant what really happened at the meeting, as well as when Biff ran out to his father that same evening when he was in garden and they both felt like they had let down one another. Thus adding to him wanting to kill himself for letting Biff end up with a bad life and he himself being fired from the job, so he ended his worries and troubles by doing just that.
In addition, the fact that Happy was neglected from his father from such an early age, since Willy always seemed to be more concerned with Biff, Happy adopted from an early age to be less concerned with his father, and accept his position as the years went by. This caused Willy to have less love and concern from one of his family members that he should have had, but because Will never really paid much attention to him, Happy seemed not to bother to try sometimes since he knew he was not going to get the attention he wanted or deserved. As a result Willy was not able to have the love he could have gotten from Happy and Happy continued to be less concerned with him. This is made evident when Biff and Happy invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table.
Furthermore, it may also be said that Linda was considered to be a loving and caring wife to Willy, but it may also be argued that instead of always trying not to aggravate him and say the wrong thing, she should have helped him by taking to him to see a doctor when she realised he was getting crazy in his head. For example, the hose she saw in the back by the gas tank should have told her that something was wrong.
More than anything, it may be stated that Willy was the main cause of his death since he had the American Dream trapped in the depths of his mind, that he would stick with that dream even if it was not working out. Willy stuck to this dream and tried to influence his children from an early age that this dream was the way to go and the way to make things happen. He was right about one thing. It did make things happen. It made him slowly go crazy as a result of being obsessed with the dream and eventually led him to kill himself.
Firstly, it may be said that his family played a part in his demise, but they were not fully responsible. Willy's relationship with his sons Biff and Happy seemed to break down, which consequently added to Willy's demise. This is made evident by the way in which his relationship with Biff started going downhill when he walked in on his dad and another woman in the hotel room in Boston, giving off the impression that he was having an affair with "The Woman". The relationship gradually got worse as Biff got older and went away, where Willy and Linda did not hear from him in a long time but when Biff came back the relationship continued to crack until it broke in the end. This happened when Biff went to his old manager, so to speak, only to find out that he never really worked for him and all the things he thought were true really were false. That was when Biff truly realised that the American Dream his father instilled in him and his brother from the beginning really did not make sense at all and was not going to get him anywhere. He thus broke away from his father's aspirations and Willy was hurt and thought that he did not do a good job as a father. This is made evident when Biff tells Willy at the restaurant what really happened at the meeting, as well as when Biff ran out to his father that same evening when he was in garden and they both felt like they had let down one another. Thus adding to him wanting to kill himself for letting Biff end up with a bad life and he himself being fired from the job, so he ended his worries and troubles by doing just that.
In addition, the fact that Happy was neglected from his father from such an early age, since Willy always seemed to be more concerned with Biff, Happy adopted from an early age to be less concerned with his father, and accept his position as the years went by. This caused Willy to have less love and concern from one of his family members that he should have had, but because Will never really paid much attention to him, Happy seemed not to bother to try sometimes since he knew he was not going to get the attention he wanted or deserved. As a result Willy was not able to have the love he could have gotten from Happy and Happy continued to be less concerned with him. This is made evident when Biff and Happy invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table.
Furthermore, it may also be said that Linda was considered to be a loving and caring wife to Willy, but it may also be argued that instead of always trying not to aggravate him and say the wrong thing, she should have helped him by taking to him to see a doctor when she realised he was getting crazy in his head. For example, the hose she saw in the back by the gas tank should have told her that something was wrong.
More than anything, it may be stated that Willy was the main cause of his death since he had the American Dream trapped in the depths of his mind, that he would stick with that dream even if it was not working out. Willy stuck to this dream and tried to influence his children from an early age that this dream was the way to go and the way to make things happen. He was right about one thing. It did make things happen. It made him slowly go crazy as a result of being obsessed with the dream and eventually led him to kill himself.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Willy Loman and King Lear: Tragic characters? Or not?
Yes, Willy Loman and King Lear can be seen as tragic characters. This is because they both seem to br trying to make the right decisions, but in the end their tragic flaws get the better of them and they end changing in different ways, and make the wrong decisions as a result.
When examining King Lear, it may be said that his tragic flaw of always wanting to be flattered, led him to be gullible and mentally blind to the obvious events that were taking place in front of him. For example, in Act 1 scene 1 when King Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan used all sorts of flattering statements to make him believe that they loved him as much as they said they did, when in truth, they just wanted the riches and portion of the kingdom that was being granted to them.
In addition, his crave for flattery led him to shun his favourtite daughter, Cordelia, just because she was unable to profess her love for him with flattering words like her sisters.
Slowly but surely King Lear's tragic flaw of want for flattery led him to turn crazy and eventually die in the end. Leading him to have a seemingly tragic death because of all the situations he went through and caused him to go so crazy.
Furthermore, Willy Loman may also be seen as a tragic character because Willy has a lot of pride and is very ambitious. Even though being ambitious is a good quality to have, Willy seemed to be ambitious for all the wrong reasons. This would mostly have to deal with Willy's ambition to achieve the " American Dream" which causes him to lose sight of what he should really be doing, which is trying to make money to keep his family financially stable, and working hard to do so. He thinks that being well liked and seemingly known will help him attain the perfect job and family along with wealth he hopes to get, instead of working hard for it like his friend Charley. In the end, all the wrong decisions and thoughts of what he hoped to have and would have wanted to come true, comes back to haunt him as delusions in his head, and shortly causes him to end his life when he killed himself at the end of the book.
In conclusion,it may be said that Willy Loman and King Lear are considered to be tragic characters based on the various tragic flaws each character poses which leads them to go crazy and end their life in the process.
When examining King Lear, it may be said that his tragic flaw of always wanting to be flattered, led him to be gullible and mentally blind to the obvious events that were taking place in front of him. For example, in Act 1 scene 1 when King Lear's daughters Goneril and Regan used all sorts of flattering statements to make him believe that they loved him as much as they said they did, when in truth, they just wanted the riches and portion of the kingdom that was being granted to them.
In addition, his crave for flattery led him to shun his favourtite daughter, Cordelia, just because she was unable to profess her love for him with flattering words like her sisters.
Slowly but surely King Lear's tragic flaw of want for flattery led him to turn crazy and eventually die in the end. Leading him to have a seemingly tragic death because of all the situations he went through and caused him to go so crazy.
Furthermore, Willy Loman may also be seen as a tragic character because Willy has a lot of pride and is very ambitious. Even though being ambitious is a good quality to have, Willy seemed to be ambitious for all the wrong reasons. This would mostly have to deal with Willy's ambition to achieve the " American Dream" which causes him to lose sight of what he should really be doing, which is trying to make money to keep his family financially stable, and working hard to do so. He thinks that being well liked and seemingly known will help him attain the perfect job and family along with wealth he hopes to get, instead of working hard for it like his friend Charley. In the end, all the wrong decisions and thoughts of what he hoped to have and would have wanted to come true, comes back to haunt him as delusions in his head, and shortly causes him to end his life when he killed himself at the end of the book.
In conclusion,it may be said that Willy Loman and King Lear are considered to be tragic characters based on the various tragic flaws each character poses which leads them to go crazy and end their life in the process.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
The cause of Willy and his sons relationship to break down
In the drama Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, in the beginning of the book, seemed to have a fairly good relationship with his sons Biff and Happy. They all spent time together making fun of Charley's son Bernard because he was not very well liked and always seemed to be into his books. In addition, Willy got along with his son Biff because Biff was well liked and had male friends, was favoured by the girls in his high school amongst other places and he was a star football athlete for teh school. Willy as well as Biff believed that he had quite a future ahead of him and were working towards that together, which seemed like they were quite close. Even though Willy did not seem to pay much attention to Happy at times, and was more concerned with Biff, Happy never really seemed to mind, but instead went with the flow. But this was just the way it was before things seemed to go downhill for the seemingly content family.
Firstly, Willy's relationship between his son Biff seemed to be going downhill slowly but surely as he got older. This damage in the relationship first started out with Biff seeing his father with another woman in a hotel, giving off the impression that they were having an affair and he was cheating on his mother. This never recking sight caused Biff to change his mind about going to summer school to enhance his math grade and thus ruined his chances of attending the university of his dreams- University of Virgina.
In addition, after Biff left the house and was not heard from in a while, his absence led to even further damage to the relationship especially when he came back and lied about what he was doing and where he has been why he couldn't keep in contact. He was not really goign from job to job and always on the go in the way that Willy and Linda thought, but instead he was stealing and spent time in jail why they could not get through to him.
Moreover, the factor that really seemed to end the relationship between Willy and his son Biff was the mere fact that in the end Biff realised that lying to people, setaling and being well liked by people was not getting him anywhere and the idea of the "American Dream" that his father instilled in him and Happy from an early age was not going to get him anywhere. Biff thus broke away from what his father's aspirations for him were, and wanted to work hard and get somewhere in his life on his own by making an effort instead of being like his father and waiting for this big job offer to come and make his life a lot better. Biff was no longer clouded by the idea of such a dream.
When it comes to Willy's youngest son Happpy, their relationship it one that was quite interesting from the start. In the beginning Willy never really seemed to be concerned with Happy as much as he was concerned with Biff. Happy was therefore never really pressured or expected to do much since Willy was not focused on him as much and just went with the flow in life. This lack of attention from the beginning started making their relationship go down hill.
Furthermore, even though it may be said that Happy continued to have similar views as his father when it came to being well liked and making people think that you were doing well in the specific job that you were in, the lack of attention from early caused Happy to be even less concerned with his father as the years went by. This is made evident in the late stages of Scene 2 when Biff and Happty invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the lovely ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table. The lack of attention from the beginning ended up to be a major cause in the break down of Willy's relationship with Happy.
in addition, when focusing on Willy alone, it may also be argued that Willy's tragic flaw of have delusions and believing in the "American Dream" also had a part to play in the break down os the relationship between him and his sons. For him having delusions led to him slowly breaking down emotionally now and then and caused him not to think straight at times, and only hear what he wanted to hear. This caused problems for his relationships with his sons. For example, when Biff was trying to tell Willy the truth about him not being known by Oliver and not getting a job deal from him, Willy persisted to make it harder for him by telling him all the things he thought Oliver would have done when he saw him, instead of istening to what Biff had to say.
In conclusion, it may be submitted that there were many causes of the break down of the relationship between Willy and his sons. Willy's high expectations for Biff as well as him seeing his dad cheating on his mom and later realising that the "American Dream" was not the way to make it in life caused the relationship between Biff and Willy to breakdown. Secondly, the lack of attention from Willy to Happy played a part in breaking down their relationship, and lastly, Willy's tragic flaw of having delusions and believing whole heartedly in the "American Dream" also added to the break down of the relationship between him and his sons.
Firstly, Willy's relationship between his son Biff seemed to be going downhill slowly but surely as he got older. This damage in the relationship first started out with Biff seeing his father with another woman in a hotel, giving off the impression that they were having an affair and he was cheating on his mother. This never recking sight caused Biff to change his mind about going to summer school to enhance his math grade and thus ruined his chances of attending the university of his dreams- University of Virgina.
In addition, after Biff left the house and was not heard from in a while, his absence led to even further damage to the relationship especially when he came back and lied about what he was doing and where he has been why he couldn't keep in contact. He was not really goign from job to job and always on the go in the way that Willy and Linda thought, but instead he was stealing and spent time in jail why they could not get through to him.
Moreover, the factor that really seemed to end the relationship between Willy and his son Biff was the mere fact that in the end Biff realised that lying to people, setaling and being well liked by people was not getting him anywhere and the idea of the "American Dream" that his father instilled in him and Happy from an early age was not going to get him anywhere. Biff thus broke away from what his father's aspirations for him were, and wanted to work hard and get somewhere in his life on his own by making an effort instead of being like his father and waiting for this big job offer to come and make his life a lot better. Biff was no longer clouded by the idea of such a dream.
When it comes to Willy's youngest son Happpy, their relationship it one that was quite interesting from the start. In the beginning Willy never really seemed to be concerned with Happy as much as he was concerned with Biff. Happy was therefore never really pressured or expected to do much since Willy was not focused on him as much and just went with the flow in life. This lack of attention from the beginning started making their relationship go down hill.
Furthermore, even though it may be said that Happy continued to have similar views as his father when it came to being well liked and making people think that you were doing well in the specific job that you were in, the lack of attention from early caused Happy to be even less concerned with his father as the years went by. This is made evident in the late stages of Scene 2 when Biff and Happty invited their father for lunch at a restaurant and Happy was not the least bit concerned that they left him there by himself while he was in the bathroom. Happy was more concerned with the lovely ladies he invited to sit down with them at the table. The lack of attention from the beginning ended up to be a major cause in the break down of Willy's relationship with Happy.
in addition, when focusing on Willy alone, it may also be argued that Willy's tragic flaw of have delusions and believing in the "American Dream" also had a part to play in the break down os the relationship between him and his sons. For him having delusions led to him slowly breaking down emotionally now and then and caused him not to think straight at times, and only hear what he wanted to hear. This caused problems for his relationships with his sons. For example, when Biff was trying to tell Willy the truth about him not being known by Oliver and not getting a job deal from him, Willy persisted to make it harder for him by telling him all the things he thought Oliver would have done when he saw him, instead of istening to what Biff had to say.
In conclusion, it may be submitted that there were many causes of the break down of the relationship between Willy and his sons. Willy's high expectations for Biff as well as him seeing his dad cheating on his mom and later realising that the "American Dream" was not the way to make it in life caused the relationship between Biff and Willy to breakdown. Secondly, the lack of attention from Willy to Happy played a part in breaking down their relationship, and lastly, Willy's tragic flaw of having delusions and believing whole heartedly in the "American Dream" also added to the break down of the relationship between him and his sons.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Analysis of Willy's character to King Lear
The character Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and the character King Lear in the book King Lear may be said to poses both similar and different qualities when looked at in a critical manner.
Firstly, when it comes to similarities, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy seem to be arrogant and pride themselves quite a bit. King Lear seemed to think very highly of himself and felt that he should be flattered a lot by people which is made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when he asks his three daughters to profess their love for him in the best way that they could. He also never seemed like he wanted to be told that he was wrong or making the wrong decisions. This was made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when Kent was trying to let King Lear realise that he was making some wrong choices and maybe he should reconsider his decision and Lear instead of taking what Kent said into consideration, banished him from the kingdom instead. Similarly, Willy seemed to believe that he was well liked by many and had too much pride in himself that he did not even want to take the job his friend and neighbour, Charley, had offered him. He felt as though he was not suppose to ask his friend for a job or work for his friend because he had a job of his own. Even if that present job was not giving him money for him to fairly live.
Secondly,it may also be said that Willy and King Lear were slowly going crazy in their old age. King Lear was getting older and was also being tormented by his daughters Goneril and Regan which added to him slowly getting crazy. With his old age and all the overwhelming situations and changes to deal with, he slowly lost his mind. Willy Loman was also slowly going crazy since he continuous had delusions about the past and tended to hear things that he wanted to hear, and not what was really being said. Among other things, he kept trying to kill himself, which is made evident in numerous parts of the book, until he actually does kill himself in the end.
In addition, Willy and King Lear seemed to be mentally blind. King Lear was mentally blinded by the flattering words he craved and received from his daughters Goneril and Regan. Because of these flattering words, he was unable to see their true personalities clearly and ended up doing something he regretted in the end. Willy Loman was also mentally blind. He was blinded by the reality of what achieving true success was, and failed to realise that he had to work hard for what he hoped for and wanted. The idea of the American Dream- that you have to be well liked with a good job and easy success- clouded him from realising that he had to work towards getting where he wanted to be, and yes it had to do with knowing people, but it deals more with helping yourself to move forward the best way you can with effort.
Lastly, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy Loman died as a result of their own faults. Lear's tragic flaw can be considered to play a part in his death. For since his flaw was being arrogant and seemingly conceited since he liked to be flattered, that resulted in him being gullible and prevented him from growing mentally. His want for flattery led him to believe the sweet but false words of his daughters Goneril and Regan and caused him to gradually get into a crazy state, leading to death. Willy let his delusions and the American Dream get to him which combined put too much strain on him and resulted in him losing his reasonable mental state and eventually led to him killing himself.
On the other hand, even though there were quite a few similarities, a few differences maybe also be found. Firstly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman's character had a wife named Linda who was mentioned in the book and also played a significant role within the drama. In King Lear, Lear did not seem to have a wife, since knowledge of him having a wife was never mentioned, so it was assumed that a wife was not present.
Furthermore, another difference was that Willy Loman was quite poor, which was made evident several times in the book. For example, when Willy was unable to pay his bills and had to ask Charley for $50 a week just so that he could get the essentials for his family, and when he was not getting any money in the job that he had and eventually lost his job. Even the name Lo-man, hints that Willy was of low class standards. King Lear on the other hand was rich and because he was in the upper class, held a high status in the kingdom because he was "King". King Lear was by far more well off and better equipped when it came to wealth, riches and status than Willy Loman was.
In conclusion, it may be respectfully submitted that King Lear and Willy Loman's Characters have similar traits, such as them being arrogant and having too much pride and well as both of them slowly going crazy and being mentally blind. On the other hand, they did have a few differences which involved King Lear being very rich and Willy Loman being poor and King Lear not having a known wife and Willy having a loving wife named Linda. These two characters are crucial people within their various books and help to make the drama just a little bit more interesting.
Firstly, when it comes to similarities, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy seem to be arrogant and pride themselves quite a bit. King Lear seemed to think very highly of himself and felt that he should be flattered a lot by people which is made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when he asks his three daughters to profess their love for him in the best way that they could. He also never seemed like he wanted to be told that he was wrong or making the wrong decisions. This was made evident in Act 1 scene 1 when Kent was trying to let King Lear realise that he was making some wrong choices and maybe he should reconsider his decision and Lear instead of taking what Kent said into consideration, banished him from the kingdom instead. Similarly, Willy seemed to believe that he was well liked by many and had too much pride in himself that he did not even want to take the job his friend and neighbour, Charley, had offered him. He felt as though he was not suppose to ask his friend for a job or work for his friend because he had a job of his own. Even if that present job was not giving him money for him to fairly live.
Secondly,it may also be said that Willy and King Lear were slowly going crazy in their old age. King Lear was getting older and was also being tormented by his daughters Goneril and Regan which added to him slowly getting crazy. With his old age and all the overwhelming situations and changes to deal with, he slowly lost his mind. Willy Loman was also slowly going crazy since he continuous had delusions about the past and tended to hear things that he wanted to hear, and not what was really being said. Among other things, he kept trying to kill himself, which is made evident in numerous parts of the book, until he actually does kill himself in the end.
In addition, Willy and King Lear seemed to be mentally blind. King Lear was mentally blinded by the flattering words he craved and received from his daughters Goneril and Regan. Because of these flattering words, he was unable to see their true personalities clearly and ended up doing something he regretted in the end. Willy Loman was also mentally blind. He was blinded by the reality of what achieving true success was, and failed to realise that he had to work hard for what he hoped for and wanted. The idea of the American Dream- that you have to be well liked with a good job and easy success- clouded him from realising that he had to work towards getting where he wanted to be, and yes it had to do with knowing people, but it deals more with helping yourself to move forward the best way you can with effort.
Lastly, it may be said that both King Lear and Willy Loman died as a result of their own faults. Lear's tragic flaw can be considered to play a part in his death. For since his flaw was being arrogant and seemingly conceited since he liked to be flattered, that resulted in him being gullible and prevented him from growing mentally. His want for flattery led him to believe the sweet but false words of his daughters Goneril and Regan and caused him to gradually get into a crazy state, leading to death. Willy let his delusions and the American Dream get to him which combined put too much strain on him and resulted in him losing his reasonable mental state and eventually led to him killing himself.
On the other hand, even though there were quite a few similarities, a few differences maybe also be found. Firstly, in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman's character had a wife named Linda who was mentioned in the book and also played a significant role within the drama. In King Lear, Lear did not seem to have a wife, since knowledge of him having a wife was never mentioned, so it was assumed that a wife was not present.
Furthermore, another difference was that Willy Loman was quite poor, which was made evident several times in the book. For example, when Willy was unable to pay his bills and had to ask Charley for $50 a week just so that he could get the essentials for his family, and when he was not getting any money in the job that he had and eventually lost his job. Even the name Lo-man, hints that Willy was of low class standards. King Lear on the other hand was rich and because he was in the upper class, held a high status in the kingdom because he was "King". King Lear was by far more well off and better equipped when it came to wealth, riches and status than Willy Loman was.
In conclusion, it may be respectfully submitted that King Lear and Willy Loman's Characters have similar traits, such as them being arrogant and having too much pride and well as both of them slowly going crazy and being mentally blind. On the other hand, they did have a few differences which involved King Lear being very rich and Willy Loman being poor and King Lear not having a known wife and Willy having a loving wife named Linda. These two characters are crucial people within their various books and help to make the drama just a little bit more interesting.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Character Sketch on the characters in Death of a Salesman
There are many characters within the drama, Death of a Salesman, where different character traits are found. Some of these characters and their traits include:
Willy- This is the main character within the play who seems to be losing his mind and tends to contradict himself quite a lot. For example, when he first says that his son Biff is a lazy bum, and a couple minutes later, he contradicts that statement by saying that one thing about his son Biff is he's not lazy. It is also evident in the book that Willy starts having dillusions and is not able to focus well. He is always distracted by remembering passed events or saying things that he expected or wished to happen, that in the end never really happened as how he pictured it. Above other things, Willy Loman is a man if big dreams, or more specifically, the "American Dream". He wants the finer things in life and believed that for him to gain great opportunities and move up the ladder of success, he had to be liked and known by the big shots in society. Willy is slowly losing himself, when in the end he kills himself because he doesn't want to go through anymore of the stress.
This character is very significant within the book because he seems to depict what some persons believe the "American Dream" is, which would be the perfect family and job and to be liked and known by many persons. Willy's character seems to show how a person suffers as they fail to realise the reality and understand that anything one gets in life has to be achieved especially if you are a poor person, as the name " Loman" suggests, making his name symbolic since it shows that he is poor.
Linda - She is Willy's loving and devoted wife who seems to be an easy going woman that just goes with the flow and tries to calm down Willy whenever he gets upset. Even though she is a loyal and loving wife, Linda seems to take a lot of yelling and bad treatment from Willy at times. For example in the book where Linda would say something and Willy would automatically stop her from talking and tell her to be quiet. One might argue that she does not get upset with him for doing so because she loves him and realises that he is slowly breaking down emotionally, or she might be afraid of Willy and this does not answer back when he interrupts her speech.
Linda seems to have a significant role within the book because she seems to represent some what of an emotional core in the Loman family. This is because Linda is the one who always seems to try to keep everyone together in the family and avoids conflict. She is also more realistic and levelheaded than the others in the family where she keeps her emotional life in tact and tries to reason situations out.
Charley- This is Willy's bestfriend, next door neighbour and rather successful business man. He has a son named Bernard that Willy and his sons Happy and Biff tend to make fun of from time to time since he is always in his school books and is not well liked. Despite Willy making fun of Charlie and his son all the time, Charlie shows that he is a true friend by helping Willy out when he has financial problems later down in the book and even offers Willy a job that he refuses on numerous occasions.
Charley is significant within the drama because he seems to represent hard work and achievement as a result of that hard work. Willy envies and is jealous of Charley's success but fails to realise that Charley achieved such a position by working hard for it and not just being well liked. Charley's character seems to show success that is achieved.
Ben- This is Willy's wealthy older brother who lived in Africa for a couple years and after searching for a long time found diamonds and treasures. Even though Ben is now dead, he appears in Willy's "day dreams" where Willy speaks to him freely as though he was really there.
Ben seems to be significant within the drama because he represents riches and wealth as well as the dream that Willy is trying to achieve. He is the opposite to Willy when it comes to wealth and success and Willy is desperately craving what his brother has achieved for both himself and his sons.
The Woman- This character only comes up a few times within the book and seems to be a girl Willy has an affair with while still married to Linda. This is made evident on pages 91-94 where Willy is seen with her in a hotel room and Biff intrudes and see's them in their frolic.
She is significant within Death of a Salesman because she seems to represent both confidence and loss of faith. In Willy's eyes, she is someone who boosts his ego by telling him sweet things and giving him a lot of attention which as a result excites him and builds up his ego. When Biff see's her on the other hand, he is crushed and loses all faith in his dad and what he says, as well as losing faith in himself and passing math which kills his enthusiasm for attending a college.
Biff- This is Willy's favorite son who seems to be frustrated and pressured by the high expectations of his father. Biff, in his younger years, was a great football player who had scholarship prospects and was well liked, so he had good male friends and many female admirers. His life started to go down hill when he failed math and was unable to graduate this leaving him without any grades to attend the college of his dreams- University of Virginia.
Biff is very significant within Death of a Salesman because he represents the truth about life and is the exact opposite of his brother Happy and his father. For they believe in being well liked and lying to get their way into and out of everything but Biff realises after a while that lying and stealing won't get him anywhere and tries to change as a result. This happens after he visits Billy Oliver's office where he now tries to break awa from all the lies and wants to come to realistic terms with himself and his life. Biff acknowledges his failures and tries to confront them instead of lying about them and making situations worse. He wants to make something out of himself and unlike his brother and father who WILLfully and HAPpily delude themselves Biff realises self- deception.
Happy- This is Willy Loman's younger son who has lived in Biff's shadow all of his life. He is not as pressured as Biff is to succeed since Willy does not seem to be too concerned with his whereabouts. This is made evident in the book where Happy mentions on several occasions that he is going to get married to Willy but Willy just brushes it off as though he did not hear a word Happy said. In his older years, he is an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store and a very big flirt with the ladies who lies about quite a number of things and does not seem to think doing so is wrong. He is one who seems to enjoy himself no matter what atmosphere he's in or the manner in which he is having his fun.
This character in Death of a Salesman is significant because Biff represents Willy's sense of importance, ambition and blind servitude to societies expectations which thus makes him trapped in Willy's worst character traits. He is static throughout the entire book and as a result remains trapped in an unrealistic world where he believes, like his father, that being liked will get him far, as well as lying through his teeth about everything will make things better in the end.
Willy- This is the main character within the play who seems to be losing his mind and tends to contradict himself quite a lot. For example, when he first says that his son Biff is a lazy bum, and a couple minutes later, he contradicts that statement by saying that one thing about his son Biff is he's not lazy. It is also evident in the book that Willy starts having dillusions and is not able to focus well. He is always distracted by remembering passed events or saying things that he expected or wished to happen, that in the end never really happened as how he pictured it. Above other things, Willy Loman is a man if big dreams, or more specifically, the "American Dream". He wants the finer things in life and believed that for him to gain great opportunities and move up the ladder of success, he had to be liked and known by the big shots in society. Willy is slowly losing himself, when in the end he kills himself because he doesn't want to go through anymore of the stress.
This character is very significant within the book because he seems to depict what some persons believe the "American Dream" is, which would be the perfect family and job and to be liked and known by many persons. Willy's character seems to show how a person suffers as they fail to realise the reality and understand that anything one gets in life has to be achieved especially if you are a poor person, as the name " Loman" suggests, making his name symbolic since it shows that he is poor.
Linda - She is Willy's loving and devoted wife who seems to be an easy going woman that just goes with the flow and tries to calm down Willy whenever he gets upset. Even though she is a loyal and loving wife, Linda seems to take a lot of yelling and bad treatment from Willy at times. For example in the book where Linda would say something and Willy would automatically stop her from talking and tell her to be quiet. One might argue that she does not get upset with him for doing so because she loves him and realises that he is slowly breaking down emotionally, or she might be afraid of Willy and this does not answer back when he interrupts her speech.
Linda seems to have a significant role within the book because she seems to represent some what of an emotional core in the Loman family. This is because Linda is the one who always seems to try to keep everyone together in the family and avoids conflict. She is also more realistic and levelheaded than the others in the family where she keeps her emotional life in tact and tries to reason situations out.
Charley- This is Willy's bestfriend, next door neighbour and rather successful business man. He has a son named Bernard that Willy and his sons Happy and Biff tend to make fun of from time to time since he is always in his school books and is not well liked. Despite Willy making fun of Charlie and his son all the time, Charlie shows that he is a true friend by helping Willy out when he has financial problems later down in the book and even offers Willy a job that he refuses on numerous occasions.
Charley is significant within the drama because he seems to represent hard work and achievement as a result of that hard work. Willy envies and is jealous of Charley's success but fails to realise that Charley achieved such a position by working hard for it and not just being well liked. Charley's character seems to show success that is achieved.
Ben- This is Willy's wealthy older brother who lived in Africa for a couple years and after searching for a long time found diamonds and treasures. Even though Ben is now dead, he appears in Willy's "day dreams" where Willy speaks to him freely as though he was really there.
Ben seems to be significant within the drama because he represents riches and wealth as well as the dream that Willy is trying to achieve. He is the opposite to Willy when it comes to wealth and success and Willy is desperately craving what his brother has achieved for both himself and his sons.
The Woman- This character only comes up a few times within the book and seems to be a girl Willy has an affair with while still married to Linda. This is made evident on pages 91-94 where Willy is seen with her in a hotel room and Biff intrudes and see's them in their frolic.
She is significant within Death of a Salesman because she seems to represent both confidence and loss of faith. In Willy's eyes, she is someone who boosts his ego by telling him sweet things and giving him a lot of attention which as a result excites him and builds up his ego. When Biff see's her on the other hand, he is crushed and loses all faith in his dad and what he says, as well as losing faith in himself and passing math which kills his enthusiasm for attending a college.
Biff- This is Willy's favorite son who seems to be frustrated and pressured by the high expectations of his father. Biff, in his younger years, was a great football player who had scholarship prospects and was well liked, so he had good male friends and many female admirers. His life started to go down hill when he failed math and was unable to graduate this leaving him without any grades to attend the college of his dreams- University of Virginia.
Biff is very significant within Death of a Salesman because he represents the truth about life and is the exact opposite of his brother Happy and his father. For they believe in being well liked and lying to get their way into and out of everything but Biff realises after a while that lying and stealing won't get him anywhere and tries to change as a result. This happens after he visits Billy Oliver's office where he now tries to break awa from all the lies and wants to come to realistic terms with himself and his life. Biff acknowledges his failures and tries to confront them instead of lying about them and making situations worse. He wants to make something out of himself and unlike his brother and father who WILLfully and HAPpily delude themselves Biff realises self- deception.
Happy- This is Willy Loman's younger son who has lived in Biff's shadow all of his life. He is not as pressured as Biff is to succeed since Willy does not seem to be too concerned with his whereabouts. This is made evident in the book where Happy mentions on several occasions that he is going to get married to Willy but Willy just brushes it off as though he did not hear a word Happy said. In his older years, he is an assistant to an assistant buyer in a department store and a very big flirt with the ladies who lies about quite a number of things and does not seem to think doing so is wrong. He is one who seems to enjoy himself no matter what atmosphere he's in or the manner in which he is having his fun.
This character in Death of a Salesman is significant because Biff represents Willy's sense of importance, ambition and blind servitude to societies expectations which thus makes him trapped in Willy's worst character traits. He is static throughout the entire book and as a result remains trapped in an unrealistic world where he believes, like his father, that being liked will get him far, as well as lying through his teeth about everything will make things better in the end.
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