If possible, the characters in Death of a Salesman are frustrating me even more than the characters did in The American Dream. First off, the mom tries to pretend everything is okay and puts up with her husband's crap, and the sons are slackers who never grew up. By far and large, however, Willy is the person who I hate the most. I mean, HE FREAKING CHEATED ON HIS WIFE. There is no excuse for that. He's so fragile, and unable to accept the fact that he's not the most rich or successful person in America. It's like he never grew up, which is ridiculous. I mean, he turns down a job offer or two because he feels it's "beneath him." He needed to put his big-boy pants on and DEAL WITH IT. I don't view him as a victim; I believe what happened to Willy was his own fault.
Anyway, I noticed that this play is still very much focused on capitalism and the american dream, just like The American Dream. I guess this is different, though, because the Loman family is struggling financially and aren't tearing children apart. This coursework is starting to feel a little repetitive, though. Even the reading in our textbooks dealt with similar topics. I understand that I'm gaining different perspectives on capitalism, and this idea of the "american dream," but I would like to move on to a different issue, please.
I do agree that Willy can be frustrating sometimes, but you really couldn't sympathize with him at all? He is just a guy that has grown up with no father figure and is trying to find his way in our messed up society. I also think Biff did grow up a little! He did realize that this dream Willy has is fake and was destroying his family. I do get how the book can be frustrating though. I liked how you applied Death of a Salesman to American Dream because I also thought of how these two stories related. Maybe including more main ideas about Death of a Salesman would be a good idea and maybe you could apply the characters to people in your life? One thing I have trouble with is reprocessing the material and I think it is something most of us could work on!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Mackenzie on this one. I actually sympathized with Willy a lot. Even though I found his indiscretions against Linda disgusting and pretty creepy I still found my self feeling for him and his situation. I mean he used to have so much hope and his kids respected him so much and now his life is in shambles and he is realizing his whole idea of himself has been a lie. Maybe watching the movie and the amazing acting by Dustin Hoffman was what really got to me. I felt very bad for Willy. One thing I will say though is that as much as I wanted to like Willy since he was suffering and I felt bad for him I did not like his character very much at all. Every time I decided I did like him he would go and do something like yell at Linda and I began to hate him again. In spite of this how can you not feel bad for Willy in the part where he goes in asking for a raise and ends up getting fired from the company he has worked at for so long? Or the scene when Biff and Happy leave him at the restaurant by himself. I also have to disagree with you about Linda. I actually loved her character. Some would call her weak but I think she was a very strong woman. She took care of Willy and carried the whole household and was constantly bringing up Willy. Even though she allowed Willy to believe he had total control just because Willy would like think that she truly has a lot of power over him. She sets her sons straight and even though she is exhausted and aging she is still taking care of everyone in the house. A lot of her lines were very strong and interesting to me. I also really liked the character of Biff. I sympathized with him a lot. He was such an innocent boy who looked up to his father so much and then his innocence was shattered and so was his future. He could never live up to his fathers impossible expectations and was the only character with any sense of reality. One character who really bothered me though was Happy. I have to admit I enjoyed this play much much more than the American Dream it was realistic and had symbols but they were hidden and did not make the play confusing like in The American Dream. I do think we have been focusing on the idea of success in America a lot too but I also think its a relevant topic and I enjoy it!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with everything you said. While it's nice that our coursework has an overarching theme, it is really really grating to read two commentaries on 1950's America one right after the other. I also think it's interesting that you said the Loman family wasn't 'tearing children apart' because while they aren't literally dismembering anyone, I do think they are being incredibly destructive to Biff and Happy. I also can't stand any of the characters in the play- not even Biff, just because he has such a horrible attitude towards women.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think it would be nice to see, though, is just a little more from this response? It's concise and covers a lot, but not everything!