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A raisin in the sun the character analysis
Two contrasting characters in a raisin in the sun
Two contrasting characters in a raisin in the sun
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Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman and Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun are both classic dramas from the mid-20th century. Because of the time in which both plays take place, they both heavily feature themes reminiscent of the American Dream. The Loman family and the Younger family are similar in many ways, especially when you look at the individual members and their roles in their respective stories.
Willy and Walter Lee specifically have a lot in common. Aside from both having names that start with “W,” they also serve as the father figure in their families. Interestingly enough, both characters do not have a father themselves. Willy’s father left when he was only a few years old, and Walter’s father died presumably before the
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Walter Lee is at a point in his life where he feels like he needs to accomplish something great, but since he’s kind of delusional he ends up simply wasting the family’s money on a risky investment. Since Willy is older, this ambition manifests more in his vision for his children’s future. He feels like he has done great things in his life, but now only wishes that his kids will follow in his footsteps and allow him to retire. If anything, Walter is sort of the equivalent of a younger Willy, not quite middle-aged yet. This idea can be seen in how Walter talks to his son Travis, asking him what he wants to be when he grows up. When Travis responds the simple answer of “a bus driver,” Walter says, “What? Man, that ain't nothing to want to be! … 'Cause, man—it ain't big enough—you know what I mean” (Hansberry 546). Ironically, Travis is probably just trying to follow in the footsteps of his father, a chauffeur. This sounds exactly like a conversation that Willy would have with a young Biff Loman. Another thing to note is that both men are quick to anger when things do not quite go to …show more content…
They are both very rude to their wives, to say the least, and even border on abusive. Willy cheats on Linda, and Walter takes out his drunken anger on Ruth time and time again. Linda and Ruth just put up with this because there isn’t much else they could do. They both still express that they love their husbands despite the abuse, and constantly try to help and support them through the trying times. The wives both wish that their husbands would settle down and be content with the jobs they already have. This is very clear in A Raisin in the Sun, but in Death of a Salesman it is a little subtler. It can be seen when Linda says to Willy, “Enough to be happy right here, right now. Why must everybody conquer the world? You’re well liked, and the boys love you, and someday — why, old man Wagner told him just the other day that if he keeps it up he’ll be a member of the firm, didn’t he…” (Miller
Willy’s father, a “very great” and “wildhearted man,” made a living traveling and selling flutes, making “more in a week than a man like [Willy] could make in a lifetime” (Miller 34). Even though Willy barely knew his dad, he built him up in his head as an amazing person and role model, striving to be as “well liked” as him (Miller 34). Willy also idealizes his brother, Ben, as evidenced by his constant one-way conversations with him.... ... middle of paper ...
Found within the storyline, Willy implements features of a tragic hero as he shows the reversal of events in his life due to his own actions. Willy, through the downfall with his son, Biff, shows that his actions have caused a bridge between him and his son in which his son chooses to grow apart from his family. As seen at the beginning of the play, Willy represents a tragic hero as he is distressed and troubled as he comes home from another failed sales trip. Although Willy represents a tragic hero in many cases, there are also others found within Death of a Salesman that help implement the role of a profound hero. Willy’s wife, Linda, implements the heroine as she presents herself with many wise and understanding words for Willy has he faces his hardships. Throughout the story, it is seen that Linda represents herself as a put together woman for her husband but is often found distraught by her husband’s actions in which readers and audiences can empathize with
Willy Harris continues to encourage Walter to do business with him; he wants to take his money. This is evident when Walter mentions, “Old Willy Harris put everything on paper-” (Hansberry 70) and when Mama mentions, “You mean that liquor store that Willy Harris want him
Willy gets it from all sides; primarily his conflict is with Biff but also Charley, Howard, and Bernard. He is an average man who truly believes he is better than those around him, and that his sons, especially Biff, are better still, but people, he has very little respect for, are all more successful than he is. Biff starts out like Willy, perhaps, but comes to the realization that being an average man is okay. Willy never comes to that conclusion; in fact he decides he is more valuable dead than alive. Walter Lee probably has the best grasp on reality and the highest hill to climb of all the dreamers in these stories.
A Dream Deferred in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman Most everyone in America would like to achieve financial success. Sometimes living in a capitalistic society entices many to become too materialistic. Greed is the characteristic that many Americans attain. This is all in pursuit of the American dream. For most Americans, this high status is very difficult to achieve.
“The American dream is, in part, responsible for a great deal of crime and violence because people feel that the country owes them not only a living but a good living.” Said David Abrahansen. This is true and appropriate in the case of Willy Loman, and his son Biff Loman. Both are eager to obtain their American dream, even though both have completely different views of what that dream should be. The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller shows the typical lives of typical Americans in the 1940’s. Miller’s choice of a salesman to be the main character in this play was not a coincidence, since it represents the typical middle-class working American, some of which have no technical skills what so ever. Miller’s play gives us insides on the daily lives of many Americans, this through the eyes of Willy and Biff Loman, he also shows what kind of personalities, what dreams they have, and their different points of view of what the American dream means.
Disrespectfulness is the cause of personal tension in this play. There are many occurrences where a character is being disrespectful, which triggers emotional and physical conflicts. Throughout the movie, Willy is extremely disrespectful to his wife Linda. He loses his patience every time she talks during a conversation that he is having. When he talks to Biff at the table about his new job opportunities, Linda adds some remarks like, “I’ll make breakfast,” (1853) and Willy loses his control. He turns to her quickly and tells her to shut up. Sometimes he even puts his finger angrily to her face, screaming at her to shut her mouth, even though she is just adding relative comments.
During most father-son relationships, there are certain times where the father wants to become more of a "player" in his son’s life than his son believes is necessary. The reasons for this are numerous and can be demonstrated in different ways. Miller is able to give an example of this behavior through the actions of Willy Loman. When Biff comes home to recollect himself, Willy perceives it as failure. Since Willy desperately wants his oldest son, Biff, to succeed in every way possible, he tries to take matters into his own hands. "I’ll get him a job selling. He could be big in no time" (16). The reason that Biff came home is to find out what he wants in life. Because Willy gets in the way, matters become more complicated. Partly due to Willy’s persistence in Biff’s life, they have conflicting ideas as to what the American dream is. Willy believes that working on the road by selling is the greatest job a man could have (81). Biff, however, feels the most inspiring job a man could have is working outdoors (22).
Willy was never able to say he was a good father to his sons. He prioritized his job o...
...ather, not as a salesman? (Corrigon 105). Although he is not flawless, Willy ?accepts the responsibilities [his family?s] existence creates? unlike his brother Ben because he truly cares about them (Abbotson 44). Willy?s devotion to his family is sabotaged by his misconceived ideas on how love is conveyed, as he attempts to endow his sons with corrupt objectives.
Willy is a salesman. Willy believes that success comes from being well liked and popular and has tried desperately to instill his notions to his two boys Happy and Biff, Willy's biggest aspirations in life. His wife Linda is extremely supportive and is Willy's only connection to reality. While raising his boys and trying to instill his "American Dream", he fails to teach them any sense of morality, leading them down to what he feels is the wrong path. At one point, he defended Biff for stealing just because he was an amazing football player.
Willy Loman equates success as a human being with success in the business world. When Willy was a young man, he heard of a salesman who could "pick up his phone and call the buyers, and without ever leaving his room, at the age of eighty-four, make his living." (81) This salesman is Willy's inspiration; someday to be so respected and so well known that he can still provide for his family, even at an old age. Of course, Willy is no good at being a salesman because his heart isn't in it. The only time Willy puts his heart into anything is when he works with his hands, and his son, Biff, comes to realize this. "There's more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made." (138) Willy never comes to the realization that it is not being a salesman that he cares about, but rather being well known and, perhaps more importan...
Willy has worked hard his entire life and ought to be retiring by now, living a life of luxury and closing deals with contractors on the phoneespecially since increasing episodes of depersonalization and flashback are impairing his ability to drive. Instead, all of Willy's aspirations seem to have failed: he is fired from his jobwhich barely paid enough anywayby a man young enough to be his son and who, in fact, Willy himself named. Willy is now forced to rely on loans from his only real friend (and the word is used loosely at that), Charley, to make ends meet. None of Willy's old friends or previous customers remember him. Biff, his 34-year-old son, has been unable to 'find himself' as a result of his inability to settle down (caused by Willy drumming into him the need to 'make it big within two weeks'), and Happy, the younger son, lies shamelessly to make it look like he is a perfect Loman scion. In contrast, Charley (who, Willy tells his boys conspiratorially, is not well-liked), is now a successful businessman, and his son, Bernard, a former bespectacled bookworm, is now a brilliant lawyer. We are told how Willy had at least one affair while out on business trips, one particularly that was witnessed by Biff (which broke his faith in Willy). Finally, Willy is haunted by memories of his now-dead older brother,
Both Miller and Lorraine created a theme of achieving goals, Willy Loman just wanted to earn the respect of the people around him while Walter Younger wanted to get rich quick and support his family. American politician Reubin Askew once said, “We must stop talking about the American dream and start listening to the dreams of Americans.” What this means is people like Willy Loman and Walter Younger like to talk about the American dream and how it is their right, but they won’t go anywhere unless they actually go out and follow their own dreams. “Yes, [he is] a fine man—just couldn’t never catch up with his dreams that’s all.” (30). Both Willy and Walter think they have it all figured out, but they are sadly mistaken. Willy believes that to succeed in life all you need to do is be well liked, but all it got him was a lack of respect from coworkers even younger than he. Walter was sure he had found the answer to his families problems by investing in a liquor store; as a result one of his co investors and alleged friend ran off with all the money Walter had invested. Both Walter and Willy have the idea that all of the pressure in on their shoulders and no one else understands what its like. “Man, I’m a volcano, a giant surrounded by ants. Ants can’t understand ...
The struggle for the pursuit of happiness and prosperity has always been an extremely relevant American culture and society—most strive to be at the top (e.g. in some sort of alpha position). “The Death of a Salesman” and “A Raisin in the Sun” are two stories that delve into this struggle. Both are about two classic American families, specifically two men, between the 1940’s and 1960’s that portray the common way of life along with many tribulations that come with it. “The Death of a Salesman” is about a middle-class American white family living in New York, while, “A Raisin in the Sun” is a lower middle-class African American family living in Chicago. These families might seem normal, but they actually have many problems and differences that differentiate them from other families and themselves within their own family. Though, both families share a few similarities’, which makes these two stories relevant subjects for a comparative essay.