One prevalent theme in this play is time. The play switches back and forth between past and present many times, and often with little or no clue to the reader. When we're in Willy's mind we're never quite sure what time it is, only that it is the past. Willy lives in the past, and when he sells his heirloom watch, it is symbolic of him selling his time for money. Willy is stuck in the past, and his giving up of the watch symbolizes his giving up his choice of what to do with his time; he will do nothing but work.
Another theme is success vs. failure. Willy seems to judge everyone immediately on whether or not they are a success at whatever they do. All of his relatives have succeeded, whether by hard work or cheating. Willy, however, has failed, and feels his family has failed as well. He understands this, but doesn't know how to change it, other than to just keep working. He gets sucks in this mindless circle of work with no progress. He feels a need to provide for his family, and when he can't, this is perhaps his biggest feeling of failure.
Things breaking and repairs are another theme. Willy feels the need to fix material things that are broken, such as the porch, or the house, because he judges success based on material possessions. However, it is the non material things in Willy's life that are truly broken; namely his family. Because Willy has spent his entire life working, he has failed to notice his sons growing apart from him, or his wife noticing his slip-ups. Building things also gives Willy a temporary feeling of success, because he feels that he has finished something, which is a principle he instilled in Happy and Biff. He, however, feels that he must keep working until he has "succeeded", or he has not finished his job.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
DOAS Homework...
1. He teaches them that it is more important to be well liked than successful, and that is is wrong to steal, but okay if you're well liked
2. I think these are worthwhile for a father to teach his sons, but not if he doesn't teach them the value of hard work too. To be well liked is important, especially as far as communicating effectively with other people. People skills are necessary in the professional world. However, if the boys don't have the values necessary to break into the professional world, they won't be able to put their people skills to use anyway.
3. The inconsistencies tell us that Willy is a very indecisive and confused person. This could be reflecting that his mind is going, and that he is progressing into a stage of life where he simply does not care what he says. Willy might say one thing because he is convinced he believes it in one minute, and then change his mind the next. His character isn't defined by any specific ideals because he really doesn't have any.
4. Linda reacts to him in a way similar to Ms. Green from the story we read last week. She is very conciliatory to him, and tells him he is always right, regardless of if he has just contradicted himself. Linda overall helps him, because all Willy wants is positive feedback in his life to counteract how miserable he feels about his progress, especially in work. At the same time, however, she nurtures his contradictory nature, and doesn't even attempt to propose to Willy that he might be incorrect, or mistaken about something.
2. I think these are worthwhile for a father to teach his sons, but not if he doesn't teach them the value of hard work too. To be well liked is important, especially as far as communicating effectively with other people. People skills are necessary in the professional world. However, if the boys don't have the values necessary to break into the professional world, they won't be able to put their people skills to use anyway.
3. The inconsistencies tell us that Willy is a very indecisive and confused person. This could be reflecting that his mind is going, and that he is progressing into a stage of life where he simply does not care what he says. Willy might say one thing because he is convinced he believes it in one minute, and then change his mind the next. His character isn't defined by any specific ideals because he really doesn't have any.
4. Linda reacts to him in a way similar to Ms. Green from the story we read last week. She is very conciliatory to him, and tells him he is always right, regardless of if he has just contradicted himself. Linda overall helps him, because all Willy wants is positive feedback in his life to counteract how miserable he feels about his progress, especially in work. At the same time, however, she nurtures his contradictory nature, and doesn't even attempt to propose to Willy that he might be incorrect, or mistaken about something.
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