2007. In many works of literature, past events can affect, positively or negatively, the present activities, attitudes, or values of a character. Choose a novel or play in which a character must contend with some aspect of the past, either personal or societal. Then write an essay in which you show how the character's relationship to the past contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
The longevity of human memory is bittersweet; nostalgic memories of the past can bring great pleasure, while terrible experiences can haunt one forever. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman must deal with the ramifications of his extramarital affair. Willy's struggle with his past mistake is a vehicle through which Miller explores Willy's role in Biff's failure to succeed and the fallacy of Willy's ideas regarding success, revealing his criticisms of the society responsible for creating Willy.
Miller makes it clear that the discovery of Willy's extramarital affair by Biff is the direct cause of Biff's failure in life, however, Willy refuses to accept his responsibility. Bernard notes that after Biff visits Willy in Boston, the drive that Biff had to complete high school vanishes, a comment that angers Willy greatly and that he denies. Biff's discovery of Willy's affair exposes his father as a "fake", and leads him to see through the fallacy of the ideals and dreams that his father has for him. This leads to his disillusionment and feeling of loss that haunts him in the years following the incident. Willy blames Biff's laziness for his failures in life, but deep down, Willy recognizes that he is to blame. Willy recognizes, beneath his surface pomp and pride, that his ideals and dreams truly are fake.
Willy is Miller's symbol for the American way and the products of American society, and exposing Willy's life as a lie displays Miller's criticism of them. Biff's attitude towards life stems from Willy's constant preaching of his ideas on success, under the pretense that he is indeed a successful man. However, after Biff's discovery of his affair with The Woman, Willy can no longer deny the fact that his way of life and aspirations are lies, a fact that causes him to be as utterly lost as Biff is. He turns to memories of his brother, Ben, for the "right answer" to the question of how to succeed in the world, yet finds no concrete answer. This question haunts Willy, until eventually he resorts to the only option that he feels will redeem himself to his family and the world for his failures:death.
Willy is haunted by the questions and self-realization of the fake life that he leads, after Biff discovers his affair. Miller exposes the fallacy of the American way by exposing its product, Willy, as a lie.
I really like your opening sentence—It is true and you use some great words. I understand what you mean about society “creating” Willy, but it would be helpful if you explained yourself a little more.
ReplyDeleteYou give great examples and clearly show that you know what is going on in the play and behind the scenes, but I don’t think that you really answer the prompt well. Though you do mention in the second body paragraph that Miller is criticizing the American way, you don’t get the specifics. Furthermore, I would have liked to see a second connection to the meaning at the end of the second body and in the conclusion. This would have made your thesis much clearer. Speaking of your thesis, from what I understand it is that Miller is criticizing American society through Willy. I think this too broad of a thesis, though you support it well. Maybe by telling the reader exactly what Miller is criticizing ex. Consumerism, religion, corruption, you could have a stronger thesis. This would also allow you to have a few paragraphs that focus on a few specific details that support one criticism, a new paragraph for another criticism, and so on.
I like your essay, I think it is written well for how you are explaining the work, but I would have liked to see a clearer connection to the prompt and a more narrow thesis.