Monday, April 21, 2008
Death of a Salesman Reader's Blogs- Acts 1 & 2
Post your reader's response to Death of a Salesman here. Label each- Act 1 blog is due on Wednesday, April 23rd, and Act 2 Blog will be due on Friday, April 25th. As you read, consider and comment on some of the following key ideas, themes, motifs, and symbols: The American Dream, abandonment, inadequacy, ignorance, pride, self-awareness, illusion vs. reality, betrayal, garden, moon and stars, woods and the jungle, mythic figures, the American West, dreams leading to denial, diamonds, women's stockings, and the rubber hose. You may choose to analyze one or more of these ideas, make predictions, ask questions, or include your own ideas/thoughts as you read.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
20 comments:
I was very suprised on how money was put into so much emphasis in this book. There is constant talk about bills, commision, and salary that it seems like that is the only thing that drives the house. I was also suprised in one of the scenes when Biff and Happy stole the lumbar from the watchman and Willy was not ashamed from them only because the wood was worth alot of money and it was a good deal to steal. Willy has even let go of his morals almost in denial and let money lead the way in his consideration for values. Also, Willy's American Dream is only validated by the success he is doing in his business, determiined by the number of sales her does. The problem is not mostly that many of his buyers do not admire him as much but that they stopped buying his products. Money plays a very important role in this book and seems to be the most important factor driving the morals and values of these characters.
Willy has complete faith in his American Dream, that a man doesn't have to be the smartest, just well-liked in order to be succesful. For example, Willy doesn't like Bernard because Bernard kept telling Biff that he wasn't going to graduate if he didn't study his math. I think that the American west, Alaska, and Africa symbolizes potential for wealth and success, because Ben became rich in Africa, Willy's father went to Alaska for wealth, and Biff and Happy want to head west to make their fortune.
I feel bad for Biff because everyone thinks that he is a failure. I thought it was strange to see how much Willy contradicts himself. First, he says that Biff is lazy and then a few moments later he claims that Biff is anything but lazy. Also, Willy says that he will be more successful than his neighbor Charlie because he is not as well liked like he is. Shortly after; he says to his wife that Charlie is much more well liked than he is. I thought it was odd that Willy got mad at his wife for wearing an old pair of stockings and then told her to throw them out, but he went out and bought a new pair for The Woman. I also thought it was sad that Willy's life was so bad that he tried to kill himself on numerous occasions.
This play is a little confusing sometimes. It gets confusing between Willy's imagination and his reality. Money and success seem like the most important things to Willy. All he talks about is how he wished he could've been as successful as his brother, and that he wants money and success to come to his sons. Willy is definitely going crazy. He is so mean to Linda, always telling her to shut up. She loves him so much, but sometimes it seems like she lets him walk all over her because of it. She won't even stick up for her sons. I also noticed that Willy is very hard on Biff. Happy can say one thing, and Willy talks about how great it is, and how great he is, but if Biff tries to say something good, Willy yells and gets mad at him and treats him like he's not good enough. Willy tries to live his dreams through Biff, which is not fair because Biff is his own person, and might not have the same dreams as his father. That's really sad that Willy is trying to kill himself. I'm interested to see what will happen since Willy is crazy, and the title is "The Death of a Salesman," so I wonder how he's going to physically (or mentally) die. I somehow predict a not-so-happy ending to the play.
I think this book like The Great Gatsby does focus a lot on The American Dream. It seems to me that Willy didn't succeed to fulfill his own American Dream by making it big in selling and starting his own business, so he then puts that burden upon his sons, particularly Biff. Also, while during the flashbacks, I think Willy made himself bigger than what he really was. He kept making excuses for himself why he wasn't selling a lot, and he would lie about how much he made that week to make himself feel successful. In a way, I think Linda is a bit ignorant. Biff seems to know Willy's true self and how he is a "fake" but when he mentions that to Linda, she acts like she has no idea what he is talking about and how that is an absurd idea. I think I am going to enjoy this book, although it gets a little confusing for me sometimes.
I agree with Kelsey that this play is confusing. Willy is living for the American Dream, which is, to be successful, all you have to be is well liked. Willy faces much abandonment throughout his life, first by his father, then by his brother Ben. I feel that the relationship between Linda and Willy is extremely unbalanced. Linda puts all the effort into the relationship. She consistantly diplays love and loyalty to her husband. However, Willy is mean to her, he even at one point has a mistress. Willy's multiple suicide attempts clearly show that he is depressed. I predict a down fall for Willy in Act2.
Talk about spastic! Willy needs to admit to his family that he needs help. He needs to accept that he is mentally troubled.Hopefully if he admitted that to Biff,Biff would warm up to his father again instead of arguing all the time.I realize that the family needs money and Biff could help with that but I truly hope he follows his own dream and finds what he wants in life. I think Biff is doing well with putting up with his father even if Happy says he can try better. Biff is striving to find himself and his Dad wants to live his own life through Biff's. I just hope every character will get on the right path that will lead them where they want to go.
I think Willy has a serious problem. He is constantly having flashbacks and going back to talk to people from the past. Apart from being strange, this is also very confusing when reading the play because it is easy to get lost and get confused on whether or not he is speaking in the present or the past. The socks seem to represent desire, perhaps desire for something he cannot attain or for something that is his main goal in life. The American dream is very alive in Willy. He is constantly fighting to make some money off of being a salseman and believes that he works hard. He thinks that being liked and respected is more important than actually having a lot of money or power. It confuses me when Willy allows his sons to steal because Willy always works so hard for what he has. I think that sometime in the near future, willy will lose it and his family will abandon him and his dreams will probably be crushed according to the title of the book.
I thought the novel was very confusing because of the flashbacks. I would be reading then realize that Willy was talking in the past. Besides that i thought that it was sad that Biff's father thinks of him as a failure. Willy sometimes says things like he is lazy and needs to get to workign and making more money. The real problem is that Willy is trying to gain success for himself Biff and he expects too much.
wow this end was really dramatic and exciting. from the beginning of the book, which i thought was rather bland and confusing to dramatic and even a death at the end is pretty impressive. I think Willy was pretty selfish in killing himself at the end, he just couldn't face reality. But what made it so he had to dream? Even in the past he was never the salesman he made himself out to be to others. His false aspirations for the future overall lead to his downfall. This tragic hero could not accept reality and over accept himself and his life. Everything about his life was insignificant to him, like his wife and children. He even has to cheat on his wife because she cannot live up to his expectations for his idea of the perfect family. Once Biff sees the truth behind his father's facade, he just stops chasing his dreams and literally becomes a bum. If his father would have never put such high expectations on him when he was a child, he maybe would have made something of himself in the future. I overall give this book at rating of a 7.
ACT 2 Blog
I was shocked to find out that Willy was cheating on Linda with The Woman even after knowing how much Linda loves and supports him. I felt bad for Willy when he got fired because he tries so hard to be successful and it just never seems to work out for him. His financial situation dosen't look to good either. I know that it must have been hard for him when he was forced to ask Charley for some money. I think it's sad that Biff wants to leave the entire family for good and for Willy to forget him. I was surprised at the end to find out that Biff was actually in prison for that three month period and that Happy was not as successful ass he was thought to be. I was gaald in the end that Willy ended up being happy.
Act 2
I definitly like Act 2 better than Act 1 because the second act had a lot more interesting/dramatic events taking place, like when Biff found out that Willy was cheating, and decided not to go to summer school for math, Willy getting fired, and of course the ending when Willy killed himself.
I felt bad for Willy, because it seems like he was abandoned his entire life. Both his brother and his fater abandon him while they go out to look for their fortunes in Alaska and the jungle, leaving Willy alone with his great vision of the maerican Dream. Later, Willy is abandoned by Howard, when Willy is fired. Biff also abandons Willy when he finds out that Willy is cheating, and Willy's son's also leave him in the bathroom at the resturaunt. I think Willy wanted a perfect family (like Howard's family on the tape recorder) because he was terrified of being alone. I think this play was really sad and depressing.
Act 2
Although the ending of this novel is depressing, it also leads one to wonder whether or not acheiving the American dream is essential to happiness. Willy believed that by being a salesman, he would achieve wealth, success, and in the process happines. However, he did not become wealthy or successful, and because did not truly love his job, he did not achieve happiness either. Willy would have made an excellent handyman or carpenter, as he was good with working with his hands. Manual labor would have made him happy, but he believed that he would be scorned for having a job that is not highpaying, he attempted to choose money over happiness, resulting in his downfall.
ACT 2
How depressing... After all of that buildup and hard work, Willy goes out to throw his life away. I am assuming he went out and commited sucide in his car when he sped off. He does this in the same fashion as a Raisin in the Sune because both Mama and Willy fought to give their children what they cold never have. I'm glad that Biff and Happy have a chance at going somewhere in life with the $20,000 insurance policy, but I don't think that this is how they should have gotten it. Willy's whole family loved him deeply and Biff admired him. I believe that the planting of the garden late at night had a symbolic meaning in that Willy sacraficed to "sew the seeds" of his sons' futures. I think that Biff and Happy will go far and will support their mother through the rest of her life because of the great love they all three share.
Act 2:
I actually enjoyed this book. I thought it was interesting to see the progression well actually regression of Willy's state of mind throughout the play. This is just my thought, but I think that Willy was finally at peace when he realizes that Biff really does love him. I think that he never killed himself before because he almost needed to have Biffs approval/know Biff loved and cared for him. When he found out, he got caught up in the illusion of Ben and kind of just went out in his car and I think swerved off the road and died. As of the whole who's happier, Biff or Happy? At first I thought it was Happy, but noooooo. Biff is definitely the happier one. He knows who he is, and finally isn't bogged down by the expectations of his father/false dream; he knows what he likes to do and he is going to do it. As of Happy, he is going down the path of Willy. He lies, acts upon fake dreams and is all about appearance still. To my surprise, I enjoyed this play!
I think the actual reality of Biff loving him was too much for Willy. He had this dream Biff all planned out in his mind,but when he actually realized that his son Biff did love him he new that the dream would be different than he thought.I think Biff did the right thing when he was about to leave. He should'nt have that pressure on him and remind his dad about how he isn't succeeding in life. Deep down Biff new they would never solve anything arguing all the time. When you think of it,it is a classic example of how far would you go for your family even if it meant leaving.
Act 2:
I really didn't like this play. It wasn't hard to read or anything, it was just confusing at times with the flashbacks and illusions. I thought that it was really stupid how there was this whole build-up to the end of the story, and Willy just ends up killing himself. I thought he'd be happy once everything with Biff happened. Maybe that was what Willy needed. Once he knew that Biff loved him, maybe he decided that was what mattered, and that his life was complete, so he could die now. If that was his reason though, that's pretty stupid. There's no reason to kill yourself because your life feels completed. You'd think that would make a person want to live for something then, not die. Not Willy, though. He's a psycho. I felt really bad for Biff in this act because he so badly wanted to please his father, but he always ends up failing in some way or another. I think it's terrible how Willy cheated!!! His wife loves him so much, and he cheated on her! What a horrible man! I wish that Biff would've never failed math. Then, he could've just went to college, been successful, and many of the problems in the play, especially Willy's, wouldn't have happened.
This book makes me sort of angry in a way. The way that Willy and the rest of the characters put such emphasis on money and reputation in accordance with success. Their "American Dream" is to be well liked and have money. It doesn't seem like they're very happy though. It's great to have money, but it's only great if you enjoy and have fun in making that money. I think "Death of a Salesman", the title itself, refers to the dying of the salesman persona becasue of the faulty "American Dream" these characters invision. With death it might be their souls as they become hollow and empty inside due to the shallowness of their dreams.
Post a Comment