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. Biff says, "How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that I'd been a salesman for him!...We've been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk" (1760). Willy's high demands of Biff cause Biff to experience the same difficulties of living in the present and the desire to live in a fantasy world. This conflict is only resolved in Biff's mind when he releases himself from his father's dominance and establishes his own identity. At his father's funeral, Biff has compassion for his father and remembers that "there were a lot of nice days;" his father did have good intentions but "had the wrong dreams" (1778). He realizes the futility of trying to live up to his father's unrealistic expectations, and Cory has the same realization in Fences. ...
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...oy learns very late in life when he tries to build a fence around all that he holds valuable. He begins to build the fence only after confessing the truth to Rose; by then it is too late to protect his valuables because he has already lost his most precious one, his relationship with his wife.
The similar symbols of the father figure, the "other woman," and the garden, in Death of a Salesman and Fences, are used to develop the similar themes of father-son conflicts, marital conflicts, and the need to leave one's mark of success on the world. The main difference is that while Willy plants seeds by himself to see them grow, Troy's garden is planted by Raynell, his "seed." By bringing Raynell into the world, Troy plants a seed that will grow to live out his dreams; the tragedy is that both Willy and Troy die before having a chance to see their seeds grow.
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
Fences was published in 1983 but the setting was the 1950s in August Wilsons home town. Wilson’s main purpose of this play is to show how the separation of humans into racial groups can create social and finance instability and can have a huge effect on African Americans and whites. The 1950s was the middle of the civil rights era. The Maxsons Family is African American, In the 1950s there was not many jobs for African Americans; most people believed that this is what pushed Troy to steal things in order to provide for his family. Troy went to prison for murder and when he got out he was determined to do good deeds and to turn his life around; shortly after he got out of prison he got a job as a Garbage man. Troy is a tragic figure and a villain; he is a tragic figure because he made great effort to do good deeds for his family, but he allowed his imperfections to get in his way which led to a horrible death. Troy is a villain because of what he did to his wife Rose. (Shmoop; Editorial Team)
Just as a seed germinates and grows, the same process can be shown among Biff as he shows love upon his father in which helps Willy regain faith in himself and among his
This aspect of the time period greatly influences the main characters in each of the plays. The fathers and sons both treat women as objects for sex, tending to house chores, and taking care of kids. These characteristics of toxic masculinity create both similar and conflicting tendencies throughout Death of a Salesman and Fences.
We all lead lives filled with anxiety over certain issues, and with dread of the inevitable day of our death. In this play, Fences which was written by the well known playwright, August Wilson, we have the story of Troy Maxson and his family. Fences is about Troy Maxson, an aggressive man who has on going, imaginary battle with death. His life is based on supporting his family well and making sure they have the comforts that he did not have in his own childhood. Also, influenced by his own abusive childhood, he becomes an abusive father who rules his younger son, Cory?s life based on his own past experiences. When the issue comes up of Cory having a bright future ahead of him if he joins the football team, Troy refuses to allow him. The root of this decision lies in his own experience of not being allowed to join the baseball team due to the racial prejudices of his time. He does not realize that times have changed and because of his own past, he ruins his son?s life too. His wife, Rose, also plays a big part in the way the story develops. Troy has an affair with another woman called Alberta. When Rose finds out about the affair, she is devastated. In this situation we find out what her own hopes and dreams were. All she wanted was a happy home and family life because of her unstable past. The theme of this story is how a black family, in the late fifties to early sixties, faces the problems that many families are faced with, but in their own...
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...
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.
Wilson uses the character of Troy, his family, and his friends in Fences to pour out his life, his
The similar philosophies of life residing in both Willy Loman and Mr. Webb are present in both plays as they progress. Their strong belief in themselves gives them the ability to influence others by giving them advice. The advice which Mr. Webb provided to George was “start out early by showing who’s boss” (Wilder IIi 58). The confidence to tell a strong willed son-in-law shows his aptitude in his belief. Similarly, Willy was often dictating the actions of people around him. Usually his interferences would be contradictory to what others had in mind such as “No, you finish first” (Miller 1.3). His constant dictations most often cause contradictory with his dictations! At first, Willy referred to Biff as “a lazy bum” (Miller 1.2), but then later called him “such a hard worker” (Miller 1.2). This exhibits Willy’s faith in his ideas, but shows a confusion within those ideas. Mr. Webb also inherits the same weakness that Willy has. Descri...
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.
August Wilson’s Fences was centered on the life of Troy Maxson, an African American man full of bitterness towards the world because of the cards he was dealt in life amidst the 1950’s. In the play Troy was raised by an unloving and abusive father, when he wanted to become a Major League Baseball player he was rejected because of his race. Troy even served time in prison because he was impoverished and needed money so he robbed a bank and ended up killing a man. Troy’s life was anything but easy. In the play Troy and his son Cory were told to build a fence around their home by Rose. It is common knowledge that fences are used in one of two ways: to keep things outside or to keep things inside. In the same way that fences are used to keep things inside or outside Troy used the fence he was building to keep out death, his family, and his disappointments in life while Rose used the fence to keep those she cared about inside and help them bond.
Another occasion where fences are symbolized in the play is by Rose and Troy?s relationship. One of the most major ways Troy and Rose?s relationship is symbolized is by the cakes Rose makes for the church.
Biff never kept a steady job during his young adult life, and did not possess a healthy relationship with anyone that was in his life. As the play progresses the reader sees how much Biff becomes more self- aware. An online source states, “Unlike the other members of his family, Biff grows to recognize that he and his family members consistently deceive themselves, and he fights to escape the vicious cycles of lies.” When Biff returns home it becomes a struggle to keep a healthy relationship with his parents. Once Willy and Biff decide together that Biff will go and ask Bill Oliver for a loan is when the differences between the two characters are truly seen. Biff accepts reality for the first time in his life, and realizes how ridiculous it is to ask Bill Oliver for a loan, when he barely knows the man and worked for him about ten years ago. When Biff meets up with Willy after the ‘meeting’ Biff is talking to his Father and says, “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!” This quote reveals that Biff recently has just experienced an epiphany, and realizes that what he was doing was making no sense. Biff is escaping the self- deception he was caught in with the rest of his
That kind of favoritism has a profound effect on a child, in order to be acknowledged by his father, Happy believes he must become Willy’s version of success by acquiring wealth and popularity. Happy has been living his entire life in a way that he believes will bring him attention from his father, yet his father ignores him and he becomes more miserable that if he had gone his own way. When a father chooses to favor upon one son over another, the father-son relationship occurs as well as in the son’s life. Within this relationship, the responsibility of the father is to provide values, a role model and leadership for his sons. In almost every family, the sons will look to their father as role model and a hero, which in this case Biff does but Happy does not. It is in the father’s best interest to use this opportunity to give these qualities and allow his sons to become responsible
August Wilson created many themes throughout his famous play, Fences, but the most prominent one is the relationship between fathers and sons. The three father-son relationships introduced in this play seem to be complicated or difficult to understand. However, it is clear that the relationships built between Troy Maxson and his son Cory, Troy and his other son Lyons, and Troy and his own father are not love-driven. The parallelism of actions, events, and tension amongst each of the father-son relationships in the play illustrate how the sons try to break free from the constraints the father has set, yet in the end, these attempts seem to be pointless as the father leaves an everlasting effect on the sons, ultimately creating a cycle of actions