“I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime” Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. In the Plays Fences and Death of a Salesman we see the protagonists Willy Loman and Troy Maxson dealing with the consequences of their actions. Troy and Willy, aside from living completely different lives in completely different situations shared several similarities. Both characters made decisions in their life that came back to them with consequences more severe than they could have imagined. They both betrayed their families. A main consequence that Troy and Willy had to face was the love they lost from their families. All our actions have consequences Realizing …show more content…
The consequence being the demolition of his relationship with his beloved son. Throughout the play the playwright mentions a women’s voice being heard by Willy here and there. “From the Darkness is heard the laughter of a woman. Willy doesn’t turn to it” (Miller). For me as soon as I read this stage direction I immediately thought that maybe this woman is someone that Willy had a past relationship with or perhaps an affair. It isn’t until the early end of Act II that we find out that the Women’s voice is indeed of Willy’s mistress. Biff who is Willy’s oldest son knew about his father’s affair and ever since than in a way hated him. When Biff was in his High School days he and Willy had a very close and loving relationship. Biff was a hotshot star football player and was receiving scholarships from several colleges. Willy was very proud of his son’s looks and popularity in his school. Willy and Biff were so close that no matter what Biff did Willy ignored it. For instance, in one of Willy’s Flashbacks for Act 1 there is a conversation between Willy and his sons about the football that Biff got. Biff tells Willy that he borrowed a football from the locker room and Willy tells him to return it back. However, when Happy …show more content…
Even though they cheated on their wives they never showed any regret or apologized for their actions. Willy never even told Linda that he cheated on her. He always acted like it never happened and went on with his life. If Biff hadn’t caught him with the other Women, he might have gotten away with it. When Biff caught Willy instead of apologizing willy told him that he had done it because he was “lonely”. If at that moment Willy had apologized or didn’t make excuses for what he did maybe Biff would have forgiven him. After him getting caught Willy and Biff never talked about what happened and just went on with their lives. If willy tried talking about it and explain himself or even apologize to Biff again and again maybe Biff would have forgiven him. The apology would have made their relationship better and eventually over time everything would have been fine. For Troy when he told Linda he as well didn’t try to apologize or show any regret for his actions what so ever. He said he had an affair with another woman to escape reality and his responsibilities. Troy and Rose had somewhat of a perfect relationship in the beginning of the play. They seemed happy and it didn’t seem like anything could make them apart. However, when Troy told Rose about the affair they immediately tore apart. Troy didn’t apologize to Rose nor showed any regret for what he had done. He continued to see Alberta. He could have stopped seeing Alberta but still
According to Frye's definition, tragic heroes bring suffering upon themselves. Willy Loman is delusional and has a skewed view on the world he lives in. Willy asserts that he is young, popular, and respected among his family and workmates. Flashbacks of past memories, which interrupt the present day flow of time, prove that Willy is not everything he used to be in his younger years. This constant misconception of time is Willy Loman's main flaw, and he is the main victim in this suffering. Willy's misunderstanding of the world around him is shown in key scenes, such as his conversation with his brother Ben in the garden near the end of the play (Miller 99). The death of Willy Loman is also a consequence of his flaw: Willy's disorganized state of mind causes him to jump into a car and crash.
Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson have similar themes of conflicts between fathers and sons, conflicts between husbands and wives, and the need to focus on a small unit of space in order to achieve success. In the process of developing these themes throughout the two plays, three similar symbolic elements are used including the insecure father figure, the "other woman," and the garden. The fathers in the two plays are comparable because they both have conflicts with their sons as a result of living in the past, and they die in the end. Willy, in Death of a Salesman, is never respected for his occupational status, so he places very high expectations on his son, Biff. Willy lives in the memory of past events to such a large extent that he cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, and he passes this trait onto Biff.
At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his
One problem Willy has is that he does not take responsibility for his actions; this problem only gets worse because of his lies. Biff looks up to Willy, so when he finds out that Willy has an affair in Boston, Biff is petrified. Biff realizes his hero, dad, the one he wants to impress, is a phony and a liar. Willy destroys Biff's dream of playing football by saying he does not have to study for the math regents, he also Willy telling Bernard to give Biff the answers. When Biff fails the regents, he does not want to retake the test because he is so disgusted with his hero and does not want to succeed. Not only did Willy destroy Biff's dream, he also broke his vows and refused to admit it. Biff is a failure, in Willy's eye, in most part due to Willy and what happened in Boston. Willy refuses to take responsibility for what he did, so he lies about Biff. Willy tells Bernard that Biff has been doing great things out west, but decided to come back home to work on a "big deal". Willy knows that Biff is a bum who has not amounted to anything, but he refuses to take responsibility for what happened in Boston, so he changes the story of Biff's success. Throughout Willy's life he continued to lie. It might have stopped if Linda did not act the way as she did. Linda is afraid to confront Willy, so she goes along with his outlandish lies.
Loss of respect can ruin a relationship. Biff left town for many reasons, but one important one had to do with Willy cheating on his wife. During a flashback in the play, Willy is in a room with a woman when Biff knocks on the door. The woman was actually in the washroom as Biff came in, but came out before Biff left. Biff saw the woman and knew that his father was not being loyal to his mother.
Later Troy and Cory get into a big argument in the front yard and Troy kicks Cory out of the house and looses his son’s respect. In the last scene Troy dies and is sent to heaven with Gabriel’s trumpet, he is forgiven and is redeemed as a flawed hero. In August Wilson’s “Fences” Troy is viewed as a tragic hero, to be a tragic hero one must have dignity, something to fight for, and a downfall, Troy is the perfect example of a tragic hero because he possess all three of these qualities.
“I believe that we are solely responsible for our choices, and we have to accept the consequences of every deed, word, and thought throughout our lifetime.”
The characters Willy, from Death of a Salesman and Troy, from Fences, both face struggles with society. Willy is an aging salesman who no longer is able to keep up with the amount of work that is required for him to succeed. Willy says, "I know it when I walk in. They seem to laugh at me" (Miller 1702). Willy is starting to understand that he no longer is mentally and physically able to do his job and people are also starting to realize his weaknesses. Willy tells his wife, Linda, that other men at work laugh at him behind his back. The audience sees Willy's struggle with his career in the following:
When delving into Willy Loman’s character it is obvious that he has an obsession with the past, but like most humans he tends to idealize that life he once knew and rarely thinks in terms of the present in the play but when he does he is aware of how his life has fallen apart and it shows through his feud with Biff. Thinking in terms of what ruined Willy’s old life, you have to look to when Willy had cheated on Linda and how he “gave [the woman of the evening] Mama’s stockings!” With this betrayal Biff never forgives Willy for what he had done, which begins to spiral Willy’s life out of control and as a guilt mechanism he alludes himself into thinking of a time before Biff had resented him for his wrongdoings. Willy’s own worst enemy is himself, and he alone drives himself to his demise. The previously mentioned betrayal between Biff and Willy is the first in the timeframe of the play that you see Biff really question what his father is about. After the realization of what had happened Willy’s reply is subpar at best when he states “ She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terribly
...s the more sympathetic of the two. The struggles that Willie experienced got the better of him. Willie overworked himself and could not offer much because of his low income. In addition, Willie received no help from his two sons, and even lost his job. Willie’s constant hardship in maintaining his home caused him to end his life. On the other hand, Troy did not have it as difficult as Willie did. Troy received help in paying for his home, and unlike Willie, Troy received a promotion that further made him more financially successful. The relationship between father and son could be difficult. The struggles that both Willy and Troy experienced is what caused them to have expectations. Undoubtedly, Willie had to endure more hardships because of the lack of help.
Miller reveals a negative attitude towards Willy’s behavior by displaying Willy’s poor parenting skills. Being a father of Biff and Happy, Willy should teach Biff and Happy with correct moral values. When Biff steals football from the locker room, Willy first told Biff “to return that.”(30) This is the right thing to say to Biff as stealing is illegal. However, Willy then contradicts himself by saying, “Sure, he’s gotta practice with a regulation size ball, doesn’t he? … Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative!”(30) In this incident, Willy teaches Biff wrong moral ethics that stealing is acceptable. Besides stealing, Willy encourages Biff to play football instead studying. When Bernard, Biff’s friend, asks Biff to study, Willy argues that ‘’with scholarships to three universities they’re gonna flunk him?’’(33) As Biff is good at playing football, Willy is confident that Biff is able to get a scholarship and get accepted by the universities easily.
In the play Fences, by August Wilson, the main character, Troy Maxson is involved in numerous relationships with family members throughout the entire eight years that the story takes place. Troy is a father, husband, and brother to other characters in the play. Unfortunately for Troy, a strong-minded and aggressive man, he constantly complicates the relationships with his family members. Troy's hurtful actions and words make it nearly impossible for him to sustain healthy relationships with not only his two sons, but also his wife and brother.
A major part of the reader's animosity towards Willy stems from his responsibility for the ruin of his sons. Willy's affair ends up being the reason that Biff ends up a high-school failure and a football has-been. This blunder both disheartens and destroys his eldest son. It becomes the reason Biff refuses to go to summer school; it becomes the reason that Biff leaves home. Yet, this is all a result of Willy's need to be likeable. He cheats on his doting wife simply because it makes him feel special, because it gives him proof that women other that Linda are interested in him, because it makes him feel well liked. A woman "picked [him]"; a woman laughs when he makes jokes about keeping pores open; a woman pays him some attention (38).
...before something happens?” (Miller 133). Biff is getting frustrated with Willy because he is trying to turn his son into somebody that he does not want to be. Willy’s tragedy is due to the fact that the truth for him is far fetched, since he is always seeing life in a flashback, which leads to his demise.
The first comlication which occurs in Act I, is when the reader acknowledges that Willy put his whole life into his sons, Biff and Happy, and they turned their backs on him. Willy always believed that biff would be this great, successful businessman and it turned out that Biff is still searching to find himself, which disappoints Willy in the worst way. The conflicts between Willy and Biff are rooted very deep. It all started when Biff was younger and he had failed his math class. He traveled to Boston to visit Willy, who was on a business trip. He had told that he had let Willy down and comes to find out that Willy is with another woman. Biff leaves and never takes that math class over. Willy felt guilty about this and believes that deep inside that he is responsible for Biff's choices in life and his failure to be successful. This conflict makes Willy weak and tremendously guilty, which stays with him as a reminder.