The first time I read it I kept getting confused as to when it changed from present day to a flashback. To make it easier to follow try marking the end and begining of each of Willy's flashbacksQuote:
Originally Posted by Theshizznigg
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The first time I read it I kept getting confused as to when it changed from present day to a flashback. To make it easier to follow try marking the end and begining of each of Willy's flashbacksQuote:
Originally Posted by Theshizznigg
Yeah I completely agree with that. Linda is a woman who loves her husband and sons and will support them through anything. Even when Linda knows Willy is lying to her about how much money he made in New England she doesnt say anything. Also she doesnt confront Willy about the attempted suicide because she doesnt want to upset him.
Plays are definitely better when seen (except for Shakespeare, which does need to be studied thoroughly before being seen, especially with unwieldy tragedies like King Lear, in which everything simply goes too fast in a play for you to be able to keep up without having studied the text before). I saw DoaS with Brian Dennehee as Willy Loman and it was fantastic. Only annoying thing was that Biff was a British actor trying to put on an American accent and he ended up sounding like he had a speech impediment :D .Quote:
Originally Posted by Theshizznigg
I have an essay to write for my English class that I am having some serious trouble with.
"Choose a defining scene in 'Death of a Slaesman', a scene that is significant to the play's theme or significant to a character's development, self-discovery or self-revelation. Compose an essay in which you explain the scene's relevance in revealing those elements."
I have chosen the fight between Biff and Willy after the restaurant fiasco, but I'm fresh out of ideas as to what to write.
I have less than a day to do this - PLEASE HELP AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
What about the scene where Biff dicovers what Willy has been doing in Boston? I always thought that disallusionment was a theme from the play. He realizes that Willy is not the best person in the world and is only human.
I think another good one would be where Biff tells Happy that he wants to move out west and work with hands. He discovers that the western thing is his American Dream.
Well, if you mean the scene when Biff pulls out the pipe from the basement, the way to get more ideas is to go over the scene, step by step. Perhaps first list the steps, say, 1) Biff produces the pipe. 2) Willy looks away. 3) Linda gasps -- remember she's there too and is involved in the scene. 4) Biff pushes the pipe in his face. 5) Willy shakes his head no. 6) Biff starts that monologue about the pen, and how he realized he wasn't a businessman. 7) They hug each other.
I'm sure the above is not exact, and there are probably a dozen steps. But, by breaking the scene down into shifts in the action, that will give you ample things to write about.
Oh, I see it's too late. Hope you got a decent grade.
Yea, I kinda found out that I was too late after I posted the thing. Sorry. I also hope you pass.
I wish someone came sooner.
I have this essay to write on the following:
Willy Loman is both a victimizer and a victim. Show whom he victimizes and how, and how he in turn is victimized. Use specific references to the play to support your ideas. I have to accurately describe, how Willy hurts 3 characters and also how he himself is hurt by a person and a force.
Any ideas or suggestions to get me going in a certain direction would be very helpful! Thank you!
i'm not a great help but i will try.
the three characters i would say willy hurts are Linda, Biff and Happy.
In my opinion Linda is hurt emotionally through Willy's lack of enthusiasm for life, she is willing to help and continues to support him but knows she cannot help him. She wants so much to fix Willy but is scared to alter his fictionalised perception of himself for fear the realisation of his actual existance will destroy him. (seen in Linda's refusal to remove the pipe from the fire with which Willy is determined to kill himself). Therefore Linda is trapped within a role with Willy as an unaware oppressive force.
Biff is a victim of Willy's unwavering belief in the American Dream, as is his other son Happy. Happy is forced into a belief of the American Dream and the success of capitalism through his father's fictionalised account of his occupation. This belief in lies allows Happy to evolve into a duplicate of Willy, unable to see the reality that capitalism unwittingly fails many of its believers. Biff is a victim due to his wish to pursue an occupation not condoned by capitalism. His wish to be a farm hand upsets Willy and in his upset he brands Biff a failure, Biff is a failure to Willy because their dreams are not the same. Biff has the ability to pursue a decent occupation and only feels worthless when his dreams are examined through the rose-tinted glasses of the American dream.
In my opinion Willy is a victim of a society which represented the American Dream as a goal which all American men should strive to achieve without highlighting the inevitable failure that would accompany the pursuit of some. He is unable to abandon his belief and as such destroys the lives of those he cares about without any realisation.
i hope this helped, i tried my best!
Thank you liesl I agree with you, just needed some reassurance. This will help me out with the essay though.
Thanks again
Have I understood the ending of Miller's play?
At the graveside, Charlie says of Willie, “a salesman is got to dream” though his life had “no rock bottom”. Linda understands this and more.
In death, Willie came closest to his dream. He died elated and Linda, who wishes the best for Willie, knows it. He sees life after the suicide: for “Biff and I”. Thus Willie achieves success in the end!
Linda "can’t cry", since for Willie, it’s the best result possible in the circumstances. As Willie didn’t see suicide as final, she keeps expecting him but struggles to understand the cruel paradox: success through suicide, life within death. Hence her wistful repetition of “We’ve free…”
I think that perhaps, Willie's suicide came as a solution for Biff's situation. I agree with you. The insurance money would be a good start for his son, and perhaps Linda sees things through her late husband's spectrum, as well.
What I've always been wondering is whether Biff regarded this end as a solution. I think not.
This is puzzling since I though insurance companies do not pay out for suicide; but maybe they did back then. Willie has been beat up by life in so many ways that they just mount up and he seems to have nothing to live for. His self-image looks to be shot. Also, very lonely; no human connection. He forgets to be grateful for the things he has: a family, a house that's paid, a very modest but active business life, Linda's forgiveness. He hasn't mastered his temper and irritability, which can take many a man down.
For Willy, suicide becomes an upbeat solution to a shattered life. But solving life problems was never his forte! Instead of unlikely insurance money, Biff needs a dad; Linda, a husband; and Happy, a dream.
So nobody benefits from the suicide. Except maybe Willy himself, for which Linda seems grateful.
Hello.
I've been given an essay to write on Arthur Miller's "Death of A Salesman", but I'm a bit (well, a lot) stuck.
The question is:
Charley [of Willy Loman]: "Nobody dast blame this man." How far is it possible to agree with Charley?
I really can't think what to say.. any ideas?
Thanks :)