"I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. 'Willy Loman is here!' That's all they have to know, and I go right through." Act 1, Page 1561
Be warned, Mr. Costello. This is a hate blog, my personal reflection, on Willy.
Willy Loman. The man with no plan. The man who wastes his entire life and ruins the lives of his sons, all to prove in the end that he is worth more dead than alive. He is immature, selfish, rude, mean, and inconsiderate. We see Willy's true character first in his treatment of his wife. He cheats on her, despite her being entirely in love and dedicated to him. He tells her to shut up when she speaks. Next, to his sons. He tears them down and seconds later builds them up. He makes their inferiority complexes by always telling them if they are not the best, they are nothing. He was a terrible father to them. Personally, he does not get much better. He is too prideful to take the job Charley offers him, though he is not too prideful to take his money. He is just a fake, a phony, just as Biff called it all those years ago.
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Death of a Salesman: Protagonist & Antagonist
"BIFF: There will be no pity for you, you hear it? No pity!
WILLY: You hear the spite!" Act 2, Page 1624
As a reader, I found myself struggling to identify who the protagonist and antagonist were. They seemed to switch throughout the play. Technically, Willy is the protagonist. He is the main character around whom the story and its events revolve. This would make Biff the antagonist, since it is the two men's unceasing conflict that causes Willy's hallucinations and episodes. More than that, it is his mere presence that sets Willy off onto his self-destructive path. Yet Biff could also be the protagonist. He is a wanderer, who upon his return home finds no support or comfort from his family. His father is insensitive and rude to him, putting stresses and pressures upon him to become something he has no desire to be. This would make Willy the antagonist. It is up in the air. Either way it works. Although I still hate Willy.
WILLY: You hear the spite!" Act 2, Page 1624
As a reader, I found myself struggling to identify who the protagonist and antagonist were. They seemed to switch throughout the play. Technically, Willy is the protagonist. He is the main character around whom the story and its events revolve. This would make Biff the antagonist, since it is the two men's unceasing conflict that causes Willy's hallucinations and episodes. More than that, it is his mere presence that sets Willy off onto his self-destructive path. Yet Biff could also be the protagonist. He is a wanderer, who upon his return home finds no support or comfort from his family. His father is insensitive and rude to him, putting stresses and pressures upon him to become something he has no desire to be. This would make Willy the antagonist. It is up in the air. Either way it works. Although I still hate Willy.
Death of a Salesman: Social Commentary
"He cried! Cried to me. That boy- that boy is going to be magnificent!" Act 2, Page 1627
One of the questions following the play said that some critics view the play as a social commentary. I have a split stance on this take. On the one hand, this is indeed a social commentary on certain aspects of American life, the American dream, and family as a whole. This shows the brutal reality of competition in business, showing an example of a man simply not cut out for his job. He falls behind in sales. Consequently, even at the age of sixty, his salary is taken away from him for his poor performance. It also shows what hard work can do for an individual. Bernard, despite being ridiculed for his studious tendencies as a young man, grows up to be a very successful lawyer. Finally, it shows that all families are dysfunctional in one way or another. However, it certainly is not a social commentary on normal problems faced by the average American citizen, being as most Americans are not insane and excruciatingly immature.
One of the questions following the play said that some critics view the play as a social commentary. I have a split stance on this take. On the one hand, this is indeed a social commentary on certain aspects of American life, the American dream, and family as a whole. This shows the brutal reality of competition in business, showing an example of a man simply not cut out for his job. He falls behind in sales. Consequently, even at the age of sixty, his salary is taken away from him for his poor performance. It also shows what hard work can do for an individual. Bernard, despite being ridiculed for his studious tendencies as a young man, grows up to be a very successful lawyer. Finally, it shows that all families are dysfunctional in one way or another. However, it certainly is not a social commentary on normal problems faced by the average American citizen, being as most Americans are not insane and excruciatingly immature.
Sunday, February 26, 2012
The Glass Menagerie: Amanda
"Overcome selfishness! Self, self, self is all that you ever think of!" Scene 5
Amanda is perhaps one of the most whacked out characters I have ever had the displeasure of seeing in our plays. Tom and Amanda had constant arguments throughout the play, and I do not blame him. She is obsessed with the past. It seems that at least once in every scene she talks about her past, about her glory days as a young girl in the south. She has yet to move on to the present. What is more than her obsession with the past is her obsession with herself. Although she loves her children, she forgets her place. When Jim comes over for dinner, she talks and talks and talks and ends up being more annoying that gracious and welcoming. Also, she dresses up nicer than she should just for a boy to come over. What is the purpose of this? I feel as though she is trying to live through Laura's courting of a boy, since her days are over and gone.
Amanda is perhaps one of the most whacked out characters I have ever had the displeasure of seeing in our plays. Tom and Amanda had constant arguments throughout the play, and I do not blame him. She is obsessed with the past. It seems that at least once in every scene she talks about her past, about her glory days as a young girl in the south. She has yet to move on to the present. What is more than her obsession with the past is her obsession with herself. Although she loves her children, she forgets her place. When Jim comes over for dinner, she talks and talks and talks and ends up being more annoying that gracious and welcoming. Also, she dresses up nicer than she should just for a boy to come over. What is the purpose of this? I feel as though she is trying to live through Laura's courting of a boy, since her days are over and gone.
The Glass Menagerie: Irony of Abandonment
"I'm like my father. The bastard son of a bastard! See how he grins? And he's been absent going on sixteen years!" Scene 6
Fathers that walk out on their families can devastate the children. There is no doubt that growing up, Tom and Laura greatly felt his absence. If not necessarily out of want for a father, it would be because their mother constantly talks about him. Tom is forced to nearly give up his dreams to support the family. He is now the man of the house. However, it is ironic that despite everything his father's abandonment had caused him, Tom was willing to walk away as well. Did he ever worry about how Laura and his mother would survive? He surely must have felt a guilt. Yet he does not necessarily mention a heavy conscience. Perhaps the reason he walked out is because that is what he learned from the only male role model he ever had.
Fathers that walk out on their families can devastate the children. There is no doubt that growing up, Tom and Laura greatly felt his absence. If not necessarily out of want for a father, it would be because their mother constantly talks about him. Tom is forced to nearly give up his dreams to support the family. He is now the man of the house. However, it is ironic that despite everything his father's abandonment had caused him, Tom was willing to walk away as well. Did he ever worry about how Laura and his mother would survive? He surely must have felt a guilt. Yet he does not necessarily mention a heavy conscience. Perhaps the reason he walked out is because that is what he learned from the only male role model he ever had.
The Glass Menagerie: Symbolism
"Oh, be careful- if you breathe, it breaks!" Scene 7
The symbolism of Laura's glass collection is quite evident. Of course there is the physical aspect; the fragility of the glass is like Laura and her crippled condition. What is more, though, is how a simple thing like glass can become so pretty. This is like Laura. Throughout the beginning of the play she is an ordinary and old-fashioned girl. It just takes the right light- and circumstances, for her true beauty to shine through. As far as her favorite piece of her collection goes, it's parallelism to its owner is remarkable. At first, we see the unicorn as her favorite piece because, like her, it is different from all of the other pieces. It lives in its own world and existence, just like she does. Jim comes along and breaks the fragile piece. However, all he does is normalize the unicorn by knocking off its' horn so that it fits in with the rest of the selection. Jim also breaks Laura. It is true that he should not have kissed her. However, he did. Yet he gave her the potential confidence she needed to fit in with the rest of society.
The symbolism of Laura's glass collection is quite evident. Of course there is the physical aspect; the fragility of the glass is like Laura and her crippled condition. What is more, though, is how a simple thing like glass can become so pretty. This is like Laura. Throughout the beginning of the play she is an ordinary and old-fashioned girl. It just takes the right light- and circumstances, for her true beauty to shine through. As far as her favorite piece of her collection goes, it's parallelism to its owner is remarkable. At first, we see the unicorn as her favorite piece because, like her, it is different from all of the other pieces. It lives in its own world and existence, just like she does. Jim comes along and breaks the fragile piece. However, all he does is normalize the unicorn by knocking off its' horn so that it fits in with the rest of the selection. Jim also breaks Laura. It is true that he should not have kissed her. However, he did. Yet he gave her the potential confidence she needed to fit in with the rest of society.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
As you Like It: Antagonist and Protagonist
"I knew when seven justices could not take up a quarrel, but when the parties were met themselves, one of them thought but of an ‘if’, as ‘If you said so, then I said so’, and they shook hands and swore brothers. Your ‘if’ is the only peacemaker; much virtue in ‘if’." V.iv.92
Though this quote doesn't exactly fit with the theme, it is about arguments and brothers, both ideas in this blog post. Throughout this play, we see multiple antagonists and protagonists. Of course there are the main pair, Orlando and his evil older brother Oliver. However, throughout the play we see other pairs. Duke Frederick is the antagonist of his family while Duke Senior is the protagonist, the laid-back, go with the flow kind of guy. Yet again, the mean Duke acts as an antagonist of Rosalind, exiling her into the forest with her father. This, like the unusually common love theme, is unique in its frequent appearance throughout the play. Good versus evil is emphasized throughout. The irony in this, however, is that in the end, there ends up being no evil. Oliver has a change of heart after being saved by Orlando. Frederick has a conversion after meeting a religious man. Yet again, this is unusual being as normally the villain dies in Shakespeare's plays.
Though this quote doesn't exactly fit with the theme, it is about arguments and brothers, both ideas in this blog post. Throughout this play, we see multiple antagonists and protagonists. Of course there are the main pair, Orlando and his evil older brother Oliver. However, throughout the play we see other pairs. Duke Frederick is the antagonist of his family while Duke Senior is the protagonist, the laid-back, go with the flow kind of guy. Yet again, the mean Duke acts as an antagonist of Rosalind, exiling her into the forest with her father. This, like the unusually common love theme, is unique in its frequent appearance throughout the play. Good versus evil is emphasized throughout. The irony in this, however, is that in the end, there ends up being no evil. Oliver has a change of heart after being saved by Orlando. Frederick has a conversion after meeting a religious man. Yet again, this is unusual being as normally the villain dies in Shakespeare's plays.
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