Comparing Death Of A Salesman And Charlotte Perkins Stetson's The Yellow

In Arthur Miller's, “Death of a Salesman” and Charlotte Perkins Stetson’s, “The Yellow-Wallpaper” both struggle to maintain their own individual expectations in companion with Societies' input. Death of a salesman focused on how financial success plagues the family as they fail to meet the standards of the American Dream. The Yellow-Wallpaper focused on how society’s view of gender inhibits the narrators in functioning beyond her basic duties.

In, “Death of Salesman”, The society’s concept of the American Dream plagues the protagonist, Willie Lowman, through out the play. Society's standard of the financial success is owning your own house, being in control of a company and having a lovely family. The expectation of this “Dream” conflicts with Willie Lowman's reality. He had trouble maintaining their financially stability in how Willie sold their, “diamond watch fob?” This watch was special as it was from, “ Ben came from Africa that time? Didn’t he give me a watch fob with a diamond in it?”. A sign of financial instability is selling off prized possessions. This is relevant as Willie admire Ben for, “Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out. [He laughs] and by God I was rich!” Willie remarks to the boys that, “You see what I been talking about? The

greatest things can happen!”. His older brother became the example of financial success which Willie aspires to be, but fails in comparison. Willie Lowman has been working at the same company for over twenty of years, but has not climb up the chain. He much rather stay content within the city. Willie is taunted by his brother, Ben, for his decision to be passivise as “forest is dark, but full of diamonds”. In order to achieve the “Diamonds”, Willie has to take a risk into the “Dark forest”. In the End, Willie valued money to provide for the “Dream” more than his own life. He committed suicide by driving reckeleys in order to receive the insurance money. Near the End of the play, Linda said,”Willy. I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home... We’re free and clear. “ It has been over 20 years and they have not payed off all of their debts. Willie Lowman did marry a doting wife who constantly cooked and clean for him, but he cheated on the marriage by buying the other woman stockings. This other woman proclaimed, “Where’s my stockings? You promised me stockings, Willy!” and “You had two boxes of size nine sheers for me, and I want them!”. even though Linda had holes her stocking. Willie's expectations of a success marriage, job, and financial were crushed by the reality of society.
This concept of society's expectations affecting the individual pursuits not only affects Willie Lowmam, but his son, Biff. He, as an individual, doesn't meet the American dream as he works on a farm. The idea of working physical is often frowned upon, but no more than Willie Lowman who tried to force him to work for an old manager. Biff understood what he was a “Dime a dozen”, but once he saw, “the sky. I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and time time to sit and smoke. And I looked at the pen and said to myself, what the hell am I grabbing this for? Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am! Biff, in the final scene with his father, tore open the disillusionment that Willie had and, “Blown him full of hot air”. Though society has high expectations for success, The individual must do what is best for them. Biff personal happiness is outdoors-not in a corporate office.
In the “Yellow Wallpaper, “ The Narrator struggles to keep her individuality as the constricted society belittle for her gender and cause her mental downward spiral. John, her husband, acted more like her doctor than a husband as he remarks, “perfect rest and all the air I could get. "Your exercise depends on your strength, my dear," said he," and your food somewhat on your appetite”. The narrator believe herself to be ill, but her, “one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression - a slight hysterical tendency - what is one to do?” and even her own brother doesn't believe her to be sick. By dismissing her thoughts, It shows that Society doesn't value her opinion or input in her health matter or anything else.
The Narrator grows increasing worried as she starts to study the Wallpaper. She brought up her concerns to John, but “John laughs at me, of course, but one expects that in marriage. ” Even the Narrator is forced to hide it from her husband as, “he hates to have me write a word.” It shows that she is not allowed to express her opinion-written or verbally. It is no secret that woman are thought of as the inferior sex in literature or society’s point of view. As the Narrator continues, She notice a creature trapped inside of the wallpaper running around. The narrator notice that she can, “see her, she may be able to creep faster than I can turn ! I have watched her sometimes away off in the open country, creeping as fast as a cloud shadow in a high wind.” The conflict between herself and society resolves as she takes initiative and plans to release the woman trapped in the wallpaper by ripping apart the wallpaper. She realized that, “there are so many of those creeping women, and they creep so fast. I wonder if they all come out of that wall-paper as I did?”. She begins to see herself-trapped within the wallpaper. It is not just the narrator trapped underneath the expectation of Society, but all woman.
The Narrator, underneath the strain, become animal how she “creep over him every time!

”. It mirrors how society use to view woman as “stock animal” and only meant for breeding. The Yellow-Wallpaper exhibits how society's expectation can stifle and suffocate a person base upon her gender. It shows how the individual suffers underneath the weight of Societies expectation.

Both works demonstrates how individual conflict with the Society expectation of a happy life. In the end, The individual must find freedom and personal happiness above the expectation of society. The individual person must do what is best for them and not what society expects them to

accomplish.