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Impact of culture on society
Impact of culture on society
Impact of culture on society
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The Tragedy of EveryMan in Death of a Salesman
"Will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?"
"I don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money; his name was never in the paper; he's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid ... Attention, attention, must be finally paid to such a person." from Death of a Salesman
Only in America. The American Dream. Much is made in our society of the "pursuit of the American Dream." But just what is that dream? And is it one worth pursuing? This is part of what Miller is asking us to look at in Death of a Salesman. But it manages to succeed on levels much deeper than just the social and political. It is actually rather amazing to consider how powerfully, what is perhaps our most American of plays, speaks to countries of different economic systems all over the world. It has been said that the play has been "played before a native audience in a small Arctic village with the same villagers returning night after night to witness the performance in a language they did not understand." Clearly more is at work than simply a challenging look at the dark underbelly of the capitalistic system. In fact, it succeeds on three distinct levels - the individual, the societal, and the universal. Much like rings of concentric circles - starting with Willy at its center, which opens and connects to his family, which open and connects to society and ultimately all of mankind.
In terms of American society the play asks us to take a deeper look at some of the myths we honor and hold dear. On the surface nothing could seem wrong with valuing the pr...
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...s. "Death of a Salesman: Arthur Miller's Tragedy of an Ordinary Man." New York Times. 20, February 1949.
Broussard, Louis. American Drama. University of Oklahoma Press, 1962. pp. 116-121.
Downer, Alan S. American Drama and Its Critics. Chicago, University of Chicago Press [1965]. pp. 218-239.
Houghton, Norris The Exploding Stage. New York, Weybright and Talley [1971]. pp. 59-67.
Laufe, Abe. Anatomy of a Hit. New York, Hawthorn Books, 1966. pp. 185-189.
Leaska, Mitchell A. The Voice of Tragedy. New York, R. Speller [1964, c1963]. pp. 273-278.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Viking, 1965.
Martin, Robert A., ed. Arthur Miller. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1982.
Vogel, Dan The Three Masks of American Tragedy. Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press [1974]. pp. 91-102.
Studies in American Fiction 17 (1989): 33-50.
America is a country built on the idea of The American dream; an idea that any person, white, black, brown, or even purple can achieve economic freedom and upward social mobility through hard work and determination. There are few men who hold this idea more dear than Willy Loman. Mistakenly, Willy focuses more on the ideals of wealth than the laborious journey it takes to become a successful business man. The American capitalistic society is competitive and people like Willy, who do not understand the environment they are in, will habitually have problems climbing the economic totem pole. Death of Salesman admits to a flaw in the American system, not everybody will be successful, but through characters, flashbacks, and the resolution it is clear that Willy’s lack of success is result of his own choices, and not society.
Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, Americans have idealized the journey towards economic success. One thing people do not realize, however, is that journey is not the same for every individual. Media often leads its viewers toward a “one size fits all” version of success that may help themselves, but will rarely help the viewers. This is seen in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Miller includes multiple instances of symbolism and personification to reveal to the reader the situational irony in Willy’s life, underlining the theme of self-deception in regard to the American Dream. This American Dream, fueled by money, is the main source of anxiety in Willy’s life. The anxiety of income is reflected today in the issue of minimum wage. James Sherk, a writer of the Tribune News Service, plots thoughtful points against raising the minimum wage. However, his use of over-exaggeration and odd comparisons leave his argument less than convincing.
Neale, Thomas H., CRS Web. CRS Report For Congress. The Electoral College: How It Works in Contemporary Presidential Elections. 28 September, 2004. http://fpc.state.gov/documents/organization/36762.pdf
Understanding the factors that warranted the creation of the system is essential. When the constitution was being created, the framers wanted to avoid creating a strong executive branch. One idea the framers created was to have congress directly choose the president. However, the idea was rejected because some felt that making this choice would be too divisive and leave animosity in congress. Others felt that such a procedure would invite unseemly political bargaining, corruption, and perhaps even interference from foreign powers. An alternative reason why this idea was rejected is, “others felt that such an arrangement would upset the balance of power between the legislative and executive branches of the federal government” (Kimberling 2). This idea was also rejected because many felt that it would ruin balance between the legislative and executive powers. A second idea for presidential elections was to have the president elected by the popular vote. The idea was discarded because the framers feared that the citizens would not have sufficient knowledge of candidate outside one’s state. T...
Downer, Alan S. American Drama and Its Critics. Chicago, University of Chicago Press [1965]. pp. 218-239.
Analysis of the Electoral College Many people argue that the Electoral College is an outdated system. After all, many things have changed in the last two centuries. For one, technology is much more advanced now than it was two hundred years ago. With the internet and television, we can now learn everything about a candidate regardless of where the come from in the nation. It is feasible to have direct election of a president because of these improved methods of communication and the evolution of technology in general.
"After all the highways, and the trains, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive," (Miller, 98). This quote was spoken by the main character of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman. This tragedy takes place in Connecticut during the late 1940s. It is the story of a salesman, Willy Loman, and his family’s struggles with the American Dream, betrayal, and abandonment. Willy Loman is a failing salesman recently demoted to commission and unable to pay his bills. He is married to a woman by the name of Linda and has two sons, Biff and Happy. Throughout this play Willy is plagued incessantly with his and his son’s inability to succeed in life. Willy believes that any “well-liked” and “personally attractive man” should be able to rise to the top of the business world. However, despite his strong attempts at raising perfect sons and being the perfect salesman, his attempts were futile. Willy’s only consistent supporter has been his wife Linda. Although Willy continually treats her unfairly and does not pay attention to her, she displays an unceasing almost obsessive loyalty towards her husband: Even when that loyalty was not returned. This family’s discord is centered on the broken relationship between Biff and Willy. This rift began after Biff failed math class senior year and found his father cheating on Linda. This confrontation marks the start of Biff’s “failures” in Willy’s eyes and Biff’s estrangement of Willy’s lofty goals for him. This estrangement is just one of many abandonments Willy suffered throughout his tragic life. These abandonments only made Willy cling faster to his desire to mold his family into the American Dream. They began with the departure of his father leaving him and...
Poetry and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 9nd ed. New York: Longman, 2005. Pgs 389-392
Works Cited “American Literature 1865-1914.” Baym 1271. Baym, Nina et al. Ed. The Norton Anthology of American Literature.
Failure of the American Dream in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a story about the dark side of the "American Dream. " Willy Loman's obsession with the dream directly causes his failure in life, which, in turn, leads to his eventual suicide. The pursuit of the dream also destroys the lives of Willy's family, as well. Through the Lomans, Arthur Miller attempts to create a typical American family of the time, and, in doing so, the reader can relate to the crises that the family is faced with and realize that everyone has problems.
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Essay date 1935." Twentieth-Century Litirary Criticism 9. Ed. Dennis Poupond. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. 316-317
Eisinger, Chester E. "Focus on Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman': The Wrong Dreams," in American Dreams, American Nightmares,
"Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller ." Goodreads . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
As Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Character is made up of principles and values that give one’s life direction, meaning and depth. Famous figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson have believed that one can only experience true success and happiness by making character the foundation of our lives. However, in the play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the last days of a tired old salesman who throughout his life, believed that personality will make one successful. However, this salesman, who goes by the name of Willy Loman, was not granted happiness and fulfillment. These come from developing character. Thus, Willy’s failures as a businessman, husband, and father stem from his failure of character.