At first glance, Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman appears to be a simple story of the tragic life of an ordinary man. Through a few flashbacks, it would seem that his whole dreary life is told and that is about it. However, this can not be the case, as we know that Arthur Miller is one of the greatest playwrights alive. After reading the play for the fourth or maybe fifth time, I became fully aware of the intricate structure, many themes, and different motifs that Miller used to make this play a classic.
In the case of this work, the title would just about sum it up. It is about a salesman, Willy Loman, who is quite ordinary and very unsuccessful. In the end, to no ones surprise he kills himself. The play takes place in the span of three days (including the funeral) and revolves around the return of Willy’s two sons who are grown up. He has worked for decades traveling all over New England selling goods for a firm and seems to think that because he is well liked (which really isn’t all that true), he is successful. He wishes that his sons too could be like him while they know that they will never be decent businessmen. This is a source of major conflict between the brothers, Biff and Hap, and Willy. Linda, Willy’s wife, is very naive and thinks that her husband is just an innocent confused old man and faithfully loves him. She can not stand to see her sons argue against their father even thought they often are right.
Through flashbacks and events in the play, it is apparent that Willy, at least subconsciously, believes his life has been terrible. He wishes he could have been as great as Uncle Ben, who made his fortunes in the African diamond mines and not on the rice patty. Willy was having an affair with another woman in Boston and Biff found out about it after his last year in high school. Incidentally, this event probably led to Biff’s failure to complete math in summer school, which led to him not graduating high school. Willy tried numerous times to commit suicide with his car and the gas furnace. In the end, the salesman became convinced that he was worth more dead than alive and finally succeeded at something, killing himself with his car.
Admissions Essay – Love Medicine
Admissions Essay – Love Medicine
Love Medicine is a compelling story of love, power, and pride. Its’ collection of characters all tell there own story offering different opinions and views. This variety makes the story very interesting. The reader gets to know each character very personally because of all the different views. Many of the same events are described differently by each character, as expected. But this variance allows the reader to draw his own conclusions and affords the opportunity to know the personality of everyone. The story is quite confusing, however, with the tremendously large and connected families. It seems, to the reader, that everyone is somehow related. This complexity can be extremely confusing and leaves the reader without a solid frame of reference when reading of other characters. The main character of the novel is difficult to identify. It appears to be June, but she is dead and, in fact, does not even come up very frequently in other conversation. One could argue that there are multiple main characters. They seem to be LuLu, Lipsha, and possibly Nector. All of theses characters come up very frequently and seem to be the most dynamic characters. LuLu is portrayed trying to gain power in every aspect of her life; at home, politically, and among her peers. And as it turns out, she does attain the level of power she aspires to. Lipsha seems secondary and passive until LuLu raises question of his ancestry. This uncertainty sends Lipsha on a journey to find the truth. And ultimately, he comes upon a satisfactory conclusion. Nector also stands out quite a bit, mostly because he is involved with so many people. Nector’s transition occurs when he decides to quit Marie and dedicate himself to LuLu. Although, his plan fails when he finds that he does not have the opportunity. Contrary to what the name implies, the main theme of the story seems to be power; power to women. The men in the story are controlled, manipulated, and at times degraded. The most powerful characters in the novel seem to be the elders and the women. They are respected and even feared. This topic is not hidden in any way. Many of the women attest to the fact that they want the men to be subservient to themselves. There is much allegory in the story. For instance, in the beginning, the egg is to symbolize June; hard on the outside, soft and smooth on the inside.