Close Reading - (12/17/2012)

The Total Agony of Family Time

By: Ethan Hauser 

  In this is article, Ethan Hauser sheds light on his dissatisfaction of routine family holiday reunion. His feelings during the holiday season and family time is represented through his pessimistic imagery, diction and syntax. 

  Usually articles during the holiday bring pleasant thought and images to mind. However, Hauser decides to take a different route. I found his following comment to bring out his true feelings as he describes what he sees, "At Penn Station everyone gets on with too many bags, all those meticulously wrapped presents, all the desperate sons- and daughters-in-law trying to impress intractable, tribal New England parents" (Hauser). This is a typically holiday event as families rush to the airports and train stations to pick up their loved one. He description of hustle and bustle of the holiday season supports his negative outlook for family time. 

  The reader is able to pick up on his frustration right from the start when he use "agony" in the title. But there are many examples throughout the article, the one I found to stand out the most was when he said "Once home, I honor a different kind of tradition: regressing into a petulant teenager, coughing up monosyllabic answers to innocent parental questions…" (Hauser). In this, the word petulant stood out as it described the immature, unpleasant characteristics of a teenager. 

  His whole article reflects the frustration that he is feeling about this time of year and family get togethers. He states his yearly family routine with the various by saying how "You can take the dog for more and longer walks. You can explore the many pharmaceutical choices modern medicine provides. Or you can just lie wedged in a bed that’s lumpy and too small and stare at the ceiling…" (Hauser). Hauser's use of short sentences ultimately shows his irritation as well as giving the reader a feel for how he truly feels about getting together with the family. It adds some personal quality to what he says even though it may not be in the most meaningful way. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/the-total-agony-of-family-time.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

Open Prompt - (12/09/12)

2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.

In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the daily challenges that Willy Loman faces as his past haunts him. He struggles to find his place in the present since his past becomes so involved in his life. Evidently, his past causes some turbulence with his family and even himself which may have lead him to his death. 

  Throughout the novel, the laughter and background conversation of Willy and some Woman can be observed. The guilt of cheating on his wife, Linda and being caught by his, Biff added to a lot of weight on his shoulders. A constant reminder from Linda was were stockings that she was repairing. The guilt become so much for Willy to handle that his temper began to rise every time he laid eyes on those stockings. The stockings took him back to that night in Boston when he gave the Woman a pair of stockings. Incidentally, his actions took a significant toll on Biff's attitude for his education and future. The consequences of Biff's actions led Willy to suffer with fear of an unstable future. Biff always showed some hostility towards Willy that was a price Willy had to pay for his insensitive actions. Willy's past seemed to be a hinderance in his life leading him to life of disappoint and uncertainty. 

  Constant reminder of his past led to Willy taking his own life. His adamant behavior to move on from the past and live in the future cost him his life. Everyday, his past caught up to him and affected his mental state and decision making skills. His previous actions had an important role of who Willy was and impact they had on life and family. 

Summary and Analysis of Death of a Salesman - (12/03/12)

Summary: 

  In Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman returns home after a failed trip to his wife Linda. After some loud conversation between Linda and Willy, their songs, Biff and Happy got up. Biff's life has become a total mess with no direction. Although Happy is successful, he is still lacking something in life. It's ironic that he is named Happy but his life does not reflect that. Biff offers Happy a chance to move out west with him. However chooses to decline. 

Willy taught his songs that in life, it is very important to be liked and not just "well liked". Willy always looked down upon Charley and how he was raising his son, Bernard. Many times throughout the play, Willy talked to Ben for advice about life and becomes rich. Willy has long been carrying the burden of money, cheating on Linda and the question of what Biff and Happy will do. In essence, all the facts drove Willy to his own death. 

Author:

  Arthur Miller grew up in New York with a well respected family. Miller uses his life story to explain Death of a Salesman. He is well-known American play and essay writer. One of the most well known play is The Crucible. 

Setting: 

  This play takes place in Willy Loman's house New York about the 1930s-1940s. It is important to note that their house is surrounded by tall apartments which blocks the light from entering the backyard. 

Characters:

  Willy Loman- Linda's husband who struggles in society to be liked by all that he encounters. He sadly fails to reach his desired destination because of the lack of knowing who he is in combination with Linda's directions. He seems to live his life in the past leading to an unstable mindset. 

Linda Loman- Willy's wife who can seen as a hinderance to Willy dreams. At times, she almost seems like a mother to Willy instead of wife as she caters to all his needs. She blames Willy's suicidal thoughts on Biff since he always fights with Willy. 

Biff Loman- The oldest son of Willy and Linda. He realizes that his whole life and has been a failure however he attempts to find himself and turn his life around. He is favored by Willy over Happy. In a way, Willy's false advice lead him down a path of failure. 

Happy Loman- The younger son always tries to get his parents attention especially Willy's. He tries to please his father but doesn't seem to be happy himself. 

Charley- Willy's neighbor and true friend. Charley is a successful businessman who earned his way with hard work. He has always been ridiculed by Willy in the way he raised Bernard. 

Bernard: He is Biff's foil. He showed a great amount of concern in his future and Biff's. However he was often teased and made fun because of how studious he was. 

Ben- This is Willy's dead brother. Willy always looked to memories of Ben for advice on what Willy should do to become rich and successful. 

Author's Style/ Point of View

I found this play to have a very somber tone. The scenes help deep meanings with important themes to consider. The tone also added to how I felt about development of the characters in this play. It shows Willy to have a weak personality. 

Symbols/ Motifs 

  Directions- North and East: Success and fortune, South: the unknown and self discovery, West: place of opportunity 

Seeds- The respect that Willy wants for the work that he has done

Money- Willy's point of view about the American dream. 

Stockings- Dishonesty in Willy's family and societal class that is       represented with silk stockings. 

Important Quotes

"Don't be so modest. You always started too low. Walk in with a big laugh. Don't look worried. Start off with a couple of your good stories to lighten things up. It's not what you say, it's how you say it- because personality always wins the day" (Miller 65).

I think this quote really represents Willy and what his purpose in life is. Even through all that has happened, he does not realize what is important in his life. After all the years that have passed, Willy still guides Biff down the wrong path and seems like he just sets him up for failure. This also shows the faults in Willy that holds him back from achieving success. 

"But you didn't rest your mind. Your mind is over active, and the mind is what counts, dear" (Miller 13).

This shows Linda motherly side towards Willy. She always tries to defend him and make him feel better. Since she has made such a contribution into Willy's life, it seems like she was a reason that Willy was not able to reach his own potential. In a way, she hindered in ability to move forward. 

Theme

Through honesty and hard work, one must work to earn a place in society. 

This is supported by Willy's lack of importance that is given to honesty and ethics. He believe that being liked and popularity will give him the spot at the top. However, Charley and Bernard earned their way to the top with hard work and morals. This is something Willy should have considered changing his ways of life and teaching his sons to be the right thing. 

Response to Course Material - (12/02/2012)

          Over the course of the past few weeks, we discussed the various motifs, symbols and the deeper meaning hidden in Arthur Millers, "Death of a Salesman". We then moved on to talking about tragedies which "Death of a Salesman" put a modern twist on. At first I was not whether I felt bad for Willy or resented him because of his outlook on life. But in the end I realized that the things Willy valued was something that almost lead to his death. He failed to see the good life he had made with Linda. The relationship that Willy had with Biff and Happy was the complete opposite of Bernard and Charley. I think Willy's focus on life was not in the right place. 

          Since then, we started to read "Hamlet" by Shakespeare. "Hamlet" is also a tragedy so I wonder how it will compare to "Death of a Salesman". I got assigned the part of Marcellus, which at first I was a bit hesitant about since I am not a fan of reading out loud. But to my surprise, it was not as bad as I thought. Personally, I find Shakespearean English to be a bit challenging so reading out loud as a class really helps me understand what is going on in the play. I find it especially helpful when Ms. Holmes explains the scenes or even adds some background details. I hope to keep up with the annotation for Hamlet so that way I won't have to worry about them when it gets close to the due date.