Although Death of a Salesman is mainly about a salesman named Willy Loman, the almost hidden presence of the women in the novel goes all too often unnoticed. Linda Loman seems to be the glue that holds the Loman clan together, as Willy, Biff, and Happy are all deluded in one way or another. Arthur Miller depicts Willy’s wife in a very specific way, and this is a very crucial part of the story. He depicts the other women in the story in ways that complement Linda’s distinct nature. Although Linda’s role as a woman in society is extremely limited, she is a heroic character, both wife and mother to some very sad and twisted characters.
Linda is technically the female lead in this play, but the roles of the other women are incredibly important in the development of Linda’s character. “The Woman” (Willy’s hotel room harlot), Miss Forsythe and Letta (Biff and Happy’s restaurant girls), Jenny (Charley’s secretary), the women that the brothers randomly discuss, and the voices of Howard’s daughter and wife are all crucial presences. Willy…
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… Helene Wickham, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of Death of a Salesman. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice, 1983.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature. Ed. Sylvan Bates New York: Longman, 1997.
Parker, Brian. “Point of View in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.” University of Toronto Quarterly 35 (1966): 144-47. Rpt. in Koon. 41-55
Stanton, Kay. “Women and the American Dream of Death of a Salesman.” Feminist Readings of American Drama. Ed. Judith Schlueter. Rutherford, New Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 1989. 67-102.
Faults of Standardized Tests
Faults of Standardized Tests
Throughout the United States, students are being held accountable for the scores they receive after taking a standardized test. These tests, many would argue, appear to be bias toward minorities, and especially Hispanic students. More specifically though, the SAT is apparently under great scrutiny since it has long lasting, controversial effects on these students.
History
The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test), created by Carl Brigham of Princeton University, was introduced in 1926 by the College Board [1]. The SAT is an attempt to predict how well a student will perform during their first year of college without measuring past academic achievement. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) was established in 1948 in order to strengthen the testing actions of the College Board [6]. While the ETS is “committed to producing tests and other products that acknowledge the multicultural nature of society and treat its diverse population with respect,” they also try to avoid any kind of language that can be racist [6]. By avoiding these things the ETS does not necessarily make the test fair or unbiased [6]. The ETS also administers the Test of English as a Foreign Language to test how foreign students will perform in the universities of the United States [6].
Local
An overwhelming majority of students in the Corpus Christi ISD are of the Hispanic origin, and should be aware that their socioeconomic status often determines the quality of education they are to receive. Socioeconomic differences in test performance, is another test bias. Because coaching schools are usually available to the wealthiest test takers, some regard the SAT as a “wealth test [3, pg. 5],” or claim “the only thing th…
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… to do so at colleges or universities in the United States. They too are subjected to taking the SAT, but more than that they first must prove themselves capable of comprehending English by mastering the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) [7]. While American colleges admit thousands of international students yearly, it is important to recall that international students are effected by the SAT as well.
Works Cited
The Rise and Fall of National Test Scores edited by Gilbert R. Austin