In Fences and Death of a Salesman, two main characters are presented, Troy Maxson and Willy Loman. These main characters cannot be portrayed as tragic characters because they are not men of noble stature. These characters cannot be considered tragic characters because they do not fit Aristotle's criteria of being a tragic hero. Aristotle's criteria gives a set of guidelines for deciphering whether a character can be considered a tragic hero or tragic character. First, Aristotle's guide states that in order for a character to be considered a tragic character, they must be of noble stature. It can be inferred from the dramas that neither of these characters are men of noble stature. From the guidelines, it can be inferred that Willy Loman and …show more content…
A man of noble stature would be content and grateful for having a job. Instead, Troy Maxson complains about the company not hiring any black drivers for the garbage trucks. Troy is offered a promotion as a garbage truck driver, but when he starts the job he is not happy with it. A noble man would be happy with the graces life has given him. Because of this, Troy cannot be considered a tragic character. Similarly, Willy Loman resembles Troy's business life. Willy lies about his social status in the business community. Another thing that makes these two characters similar would be that they disregard the feelings of others. For example, Willy and Biff's relationship when they were younger was stronger. Later in life, Willy starts to have his own ideals on what he wants for Biff. Biff would try to explain to his father how he feels, but his father would not pay attention. In a similar way, Troy wanted to live his life through his son Cory. When Troy found out that Cory lied to him about his job, Troy made him quit the football team. This angered Cory and made their bond deteriorate. All this information supports the claim that these characters are not tragic characters because these actions are not noble. By leading separate lives, Willy and Troy show that they are not tragic
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
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.
The characters Willy and Troy, from the plays “Death of a Salesman” and Fences,” share several qualities of personality and achievements. They are both fathers nearly at the twilight of their lives, suffering the consequences of decisions they made when they were younger. These men have worked for their whole lives to make money, as opposed to doing something for which they have passion. Willy and Troy spent their lives trying to achieve stability with money, only to come up with lives that constantly strive for payday, and families that begin to emulate their behaviors.
... morals and personality towards his goals and at the same time trying to pass those values onto his sons, making him lose their respect, which is one of the many reasons that ended up taking his life. For the most part one can see that issues like Willys cannot only be seen or heard of in a play but also in the real world. Everybody in general wants to conform and be liked in today's competitive society, which is one of the reasons why many people don't get to accomplish the things they want to accomplish because they are either to scared or don't have the courage to step out of the social norms and achieve what they what to achieve. If anyone learns anything from this tragic character, one can say that truly knowing ones-self can really help in the long run because if one doesn't know who they are, they can end up leading a miserable life, in a miserable world.
Fences, a low diction play by August Wilson, expresses the complex relationship between a father and his sons. Troy Maxson, once a baseball star on a Negro League, is now envious of his son Cory who dreams of having a successful football career. Troy also worries that Cory will be treated with the same disrespect that he (Troy) once was during his baseball career. Lyons, Troy's eldest son, is completely misunderstood by Troy, mostly because of his refusal to get a “real” job and his drive to become a musician. Wilson references stories from Troy's past to convey the reason behind Troy's frustration and actions toward his children.
Death Of A Salesman Vs. Hamlet & nbsp; & nbsp; Willy Loman and Hamlet, two characters so alike, though different. Both are perfect examples of tragedy in literature, though for separate reasons. reasons and by distinct methods. The definition of a tragedy, in a nutshell, states that for a character to be considered tragic, he/she must. be of high moral estate, fall to a level of catastrophe, induce sympathy.
Both Fences and Death of a Salesman occur in the late 1940’s to 1950’s. At this time after World War II, American women developed a role of homemakers. Many women acted as subordinate housewives within this time, and Linda and Rose are no exception. While the women do portray characters that are typical homemakers, they challenge this idea with each of their positions at the end of the plays. Each woman evolves from the stereotypical housewife to an independent, self relying woman throughout the story.
Elementary school taught everyone that to compare and contrast two things, the best way to go about doing that is with a Venn diagram. Truthfully, this is an effective method, but it is quite rudimentary under the circumstances. "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy and "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller are two books that can become victims of the dreaded Venn diagram. The two stories are accounts of the lives of two families, each living out its version of the American Dream. The focus of both stories is on the father and how he interacts with everyone and everything around him. Bull Meechum of "The Great Santini" is a marine, raising his children as "hogs" and expecting only the best, if not better, from his brood. Willy Loman of "Death of a Salesman" also expects great things from his children, to the point that he refuses to believe that either of his sons is a failure, even when it is clear that they are. Although the two men themselves have many similarities, there are also other similarities between the two stories. One similarity is the role of the first son in the two anecdotes. Also, there is the role of the second child. Finally, both stories involve characters that are realizing what it means to be a man and what responsibilities come with the title.
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history.The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and a situation is resolved is when Rose tells Troy that Alberta died having his baby, Raynell.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King Jr.” In the plays Death of a Salesman and Fences the setting takes place in the post-World War Two era of the United States. The main character in Death of a Salesman is a 63-year-old white man named Willy Loman, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He has worked as a traveling salesman for thirty-four years to provide for his wife, Linda, and his two sons, Biff and Happy. The main character of Fences is Troy Maxson a fifty-three-year-old African American man, who lives in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He works as a garbage collector to support his wife, Rose, and his son, Cory,
A tragic hero is a character who makes a judgment error that automatically leads to his/her own destruction. In the play Fences by August Wilson’s Troy Maxson, is a noble man with a tragic flaw that leads him down a path ending in ruin. Troy is a garbage collector, a husband to Rose who he cheated on with Alberta, who was an escape to his real problems, father to Lyons, Cory, and Raynell, and brother to Gabriel.Troy's flaw is his stubbornness and self-centeredness. Troys mistakes and failures greatly influence his perspective on his relationship with his son.
The play and movie Fences was set in 1957. Characters Troy Maxson and Jim Bono start off by telling each other personal stories. Later we find out Troy has many conflicts with his family in the play as we read. Troy does not allow his younger son, Cory, to play on the football team. He does not like to give his older son, Lyons, money when he needs it. We do see that Troy takes care of his brain damaged bother Gabriel. Then Troy going to prison for murder, he tries to keep his family going away from his pathway to help his children have a better future. The play ends with Troy dying and seeing that he goes to Heaven. The version of the film Fences altered, confused, or enhanced the text of play by scenes added or changed, the sets, costumes,
In the play Fences, August Wilson uses symbolism throughout the story to emphasis the physical and emotional barrier between the protagonist, Troy Maxon, and everyone around him. Troy loses his career as a professional baseball player because of his race. This causes him to be a bitter man and he eventually loses his friends and family because of it. Wilson uses both literal and figurative symbolism to express the themes in this play.
Willy Loman’s character is capable of making errors. He believes he is a very successful salesman and well liked. He also thinks that the company likes what he is doing. He once said, “I’m the New England man. I am vital in New England” (Miller pg. 32) Because of his false belief about his success Howard fired him. After he got fired charley offered him a job, but he refuses to accept, because he is too proud and jealous to work for Charley. His actions were wrong because at no time was a successful salesman. He is not a powerful character. Willy lives in his fantasies where he is the man. Who goes out to another place and comes out rich, he is love by everyone and admired by his family. In real life, he is lazy and does not live up to his own ideals. “As Aristotle explains, a tragic hero must be one of noble character and must fall from power and happiness.”(Www.ccd.rightchoice.org/lit115/poetics.html) but Willy neither has a noble characteristic nor does he fall from power because he does not have a position of power.
...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.