The article of Debra Brunch is characterized by a properly organized structure and clear analysis of the characters from different literary works. This author introduces the characters, which need to be analyzed, and presents enough powerful reasons of why this attention to physiological characteristics is important.
This article turns out to be helpful because the main characters of Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie are not only properly defined but also characterized according to their emotional state. For example, one of the main characters in Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is identified as a “mentally and emotionally confused” person (Bruch 8); the male character of The Glass Menagerie is under a threat of “his consciousness of his wants” (Brunch 7).
In this article, the author pays her attention to such important details as characters’ clothes and the ways of how they speak. To represent a proper analysis of the characters, it is necessary to evaluate emotional, physical, and psychological state of the characters. The article under discussion may become a good example of how male characters may be represented to the reader and what literary techniques and writing tools are better to use to achieve the necessary success and understanding.
A definite structure of the article helps to comprehend what aspect is analyzed and what features should be mentioned at first. This article is not only an educative source for future writers and those, who want to improve their understanding of the plays by Tennessee and Williams, but also a reliable structure according to which it is possible to represent the analysis.
Analysis of Female Characters
King, Kimball. “Tennessee Williams: A Southern Writer.” The Mississippi Quarterly 48.4. Fall 1995: 627-647.
The article by Kimball King is mostly focused on the works and achievements of Tennessee Williams and the impact of his works into the world of literature, and The Glass Menagerie is one of the plays under consideration. The creation of male characters takes an important place in Williams works, this is why the author of the article decides to analyze not only Williams’ approaches to plays’ development but also compare his methods with the other not less popular works like Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
The peculiar feature of this article is the concentration on one particular writer and the ability to evaluate other representatives of Southern literature.
The author of the article admits that Williams’ works as well as the works of other significant writers are characterized by a perfect reflection of “the characteristics of Southern writers noted by literary critics in the modernist era, beginning in the twenties and thirties, and they anticipate the postmodern dilemma in an era begun by integration and the growth of the formerly despised middle classes” (King 627).
In this article, certain attention is paid to family relations, which are described by Williams and Miller in peculiar ways. The universal significance of these plays is investigated by Kimball King; he underlines that the role of women in society is represented by Tennessee and Williams in different ways. Miller always restricts female duties and rights; and Williams, in his turn, tries to present his women as complex and powerful beings, who make numerous attempts to achieve the necessary control over situations and their bodies.
A Doll’s House by Henrik IIbsen and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are popular plays written in 1879 and 1949 respectively. Both literary works have received wide critical acclaim and are studied by scholars worldwide due to the relevance of the works to the issues of the present time. Despite being written in different centuries and different countries, the plays explore similar issues affecting middle-class families, such as financial struggles, intergenerational conflict, gender inequality, and many others.
Summary
Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House follows the story of a Norwegian family on a Christmas Eve. Torvald Helmer, a bank manager who has recently earned a promotion, and his wife Nora Helmer are visited by family friends, Kristine Linde and Dr. Rank. Their presence, as well as the appearance of Torvald’s employee Nils Krogstad, reveal many hidden truths about the Helmer family and uncover an entire cycle of complex relationships between the characters as they try to resolve their problems and conflicts. At the core of the conflict in A Doll’s House is the loan that Nora Helmer borrowed from Krogstad, fabricating her father’s signature on the document. Krogstad threatens Nora to reveal the information about the debt to her husband, who is unaware of the arrangement, in case he is fired. Nora asks Kristine to pacify Krogstad, who used to be the latter woman’s lover in the past; however, the truth is still revealed, forever changing the relationship between the Helmers.
Similarly, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is focused on the life of Willy Loman, a middle-aged salesman who struggles both to succeed at work and to maintain good relationships with his wife Linda and two sons. He revels in illusions where he is younger and more successful, with a happy family that conforms to his high expectations; when these illusions are confronted by the much darker reality, he becomes upset and contemplates suicide, while his loving wife and the younger son are trying to help him. The main conflict of the play is thoroughly intergenerational and lies in Willy’s inability to accept the decision of his older son Biff, as the latter is willing to leave town to go to farmland in the West instead of pursuing a business career like his father. In the end, Willy’s death by suicide becomes the only way to set his family free.
Financial Problems
Financial problems are present in both plays. Right from the start of A Doll’s House, the author states that the Helmer family has been living in rough financial conditions for many years: “Torvald, this year we really can let ourselves go a little. This is the first Christmas that we have not needed to economise” (Ibsen, 2004, p. 3). It is later explained that ever since Nora and Torvald got married, they both had to work long hours to sustain their family’s life (Ibsen, 2004, p. 12). Due to his exhaustion, Torvald developed an illness and required a trip to Italy to correct his health. Having no money to pay for the trip, Nora arranged a loan with Krogstad and told her husband that the money came from her father, who was ill at that time. Financial problems fuel family conflict when Torvald finds out about Nora’s debt and the fact that she fabricated her father’s signature to obtain it.
In Death of a Salesman, on the other hand, Miller pays less attention to money. Willy’s lack of success at work is more important emotionally than financially, as it drives the main character further into depression. Similarly to A Doll’s House, however, financial issues – specifically, problems at work and unemployment – are one of the key causes of the conflict between Willy, deeply invested in his dream of successful lineage, and his sons, who did not fulfill his expectations: “[Willy] deceived himself into thinking that the values of the family he cherishes are inextricably linked with the values of the business in which he works (Centola, 2007, p. 27).
Gender Inequality
Both of the plays also use financial situations of the families to define the terms of gender inequality in the text. Thus, in Death of a Salesman, Linda has no additional income and depends solely on the success of her husband. Seing financial struggles as an obstacle to her freedom, she is concerned about the lack of sales and acts as Willy’s conscience by trying to help him solve both family troubles and work issues (Centola, 2007, p. 30). However, she has a smaller influence than her husband on both issues due to her traditional gender role: unable to openly confront her husband about his conflict with Biff or his lack of stable income, she influences Willy discreetly, whereas her visible role is limited to household duties.
In a similar way, A Doll’s House establishes women’s inferiority to men: “As exposed in A Doll’s House, men are in a financially and ideologically superior position over women while women are kept in a subordinate position and are confined to their homes as they are not economically independent and have to rely on their husbands for support” (Yuehua, 2009, pp. 80-81). Indeed, Nora depends on Torvald both financially and socially. Similarly to Linda, she is confined to a certain set of ‘feminine’ duties, such as housekeeping and taking care of children, which is one of the reasons for Torvald’s indignation when he finds out about his wife’s debt.
It is not the fact that she kept it secret from him, but a blow to his dignity that causes such a reaction; Yuehua (2009) argues that by searching for money elsewhere, Nora implied his financial impotency and thus challenged his role as the head of the household: “It is Torvald’s assumption that it is men’s duty to guarantee that material wealth will render his wife ‘free from care,’ allowing her to play with her children, keep the house beautiful, and do everything the way that he likes” (p. 81). Despite her seemingly passive position throughout the play, Nora is the one character who controls its entire plot. Her position challenges the patriarchal setting of the play and, eventually, she is relieved of her husband’s control as she finally decides to leave him, after accusing Torvald of treating her like a “doll-wife” (Ibsen, 2004, p. 109), and openly defying his authority: “Torvald, you are not the man to educate me into being a proper wife for you” (Ibsen, 2004, p. 110).
Resolution
Contrary to the similarities between the families portrayed in these works, the means by which the characters arrive at a conclusion differ a lot between the two plays. For instance, in A Doll’s House, Kristine and Nora are the two characters who drive the plot to its resolution: Kristine facilitates the revelation of Nora’s debt to Torvald, whereas Nora makes the final decision to leave her husband in order to reach her happiness. In Death of a Salesman, on the other hand, it is not a gender struggle, but the intergenerational conflict that has to be resolved for the play to arrive at its conclusion. Thus, the main drivers of the resolution are Will and Biff, the father and the son who finally make peace with each other. Biff forces Willy to realize that he will never conform to his high expectations: “I’m not bringing home any prizes anymore, and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home!” (Miller, 1994, p. 101), which, surprisingly, causes Willy to admit that his son is not as hopeless as he had thought: “That boy—that boy is going to be magnificent!” (Miller, 1994, p. 102). Having reached the resolution of his central conflict, Willy decides to commit suicide – not out of desperation, but out of the desire to free his family (Centola, 2007, pp. 32-33).
Conclusion
Overall, both playwrights pay significant attention to the issues of family and marriage in their works. However, despite the fundamental similarity of the portrayals of family conflicts in the works and, to some extent, the reasons for these conflicts, their resolutions give the two plays different symbolic meanings and outcomes. A Doll’s House challenges the patriarchal family setting, which was prevalent in the society of that time, whereas Miller combats the issue of misunderstanding that has always undermined the relationship between generations. The plays, therefore, explore two different aspects of family conflicts and provide a solution for both of them, effectively conveying the authors’ views on family structure and communication to the audience.
References
Centola, S. R. (2007). Family Values in Death of a Salesman. In H. Bloom (Ed.), Bloom’s Modern Critical Interpretations (25-34). New York, NY: Chelsea House Publishiners.
Ibsen, H. (2004).A Doll’s House (W. Archer, Trans.). Web.
Miller, A. (1994). Death of a Salesman. Oxford: Heinemann.
Yuehua, G. (2009). Gender Struggle over Ideological Power in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. Canadian Social Science, 5(1), 79-87.
The play Death of a salesman is indeed an anatomy of the American dream especially because the plot of the story revolves around some of the basic material gains that individuals in the American society yearn for. This is evident from the onset of the play when the lead character Willy Loman arrives home after a failed work mission and immediately embarks on blaming some of his woes on his under-achieving son Biff.
From the flashback Willy is disappointed that Biff was a representation of a bright future when he was much younger but turned out completely different on growing up (Miller 1-3). This is definitely what happens to most families in the American society where individuals get into life hoping to have all the best in terms of material wealth as well as have families that would be the envy of most of their neighbors (G.Perkins, B. Perkins and Phelan 1928).
Fathers and mothers have dreams of how their children would be even more successful and they (the parents) tend to bend their children towards growing up in this direction which is sometime informed by the parents’ failure to achieve certain goals in their own childhoods. Unfortunately, in most cases, the children tend to have their own wishes and aims and in the process of trying to fulfill the desires of their hearts they end up disappointing their parents.
The rant by Willy about not taking the opportunity to accompany his brother on his mission to Alaska and Africa, and therefore missing on the chance to become as wealthy as Ben is a complete revelation of how individuals in the American society fail to appreciate the little blessings they have in their wish to have everything. This desire for all the best of things in the world is the guiding principle of the American dream and figuratively speaking it is the primary fuel that keeps the fire burning.
In society most people would not appreciate the fact that they are lucky to have three square meals a day and even the potential to bear children just because they can see other individuals living better than them. If the sons that Willy found a failure were to be taken out of his life by him not being given the ability for procreation, it is definitely predictable that Willy would start complaining about his inadequacy as a man.
It is Willy’s inability to attain most of his heart’s desires that leads him to committing suicide. His son, Biff, also responds to his own inability to achieving the American dream by resorting to theft. He regards his kleptomaniac state as a way of rebelling against the corporate world which he could not penetrate. In the American society, most individuals would resort to inappropriate ways of dealing with their frustrations and Biff’s case is not unusual.
The American dream leads individuals to always want appreciation from other people in society. Almost everybody would do anything to become popular and when they fail to do so, they enter into a realm of self-pity. This is evident by Linda’s disappointment at the small attendance of Willy’s funeral. Ideally Linda should be saddened by the loss of a life partner to notice such a small thing as they number of people at the funeral.
It should actually not matter whether it is only the direct family members who show up at the burial but as a person wishing to achieve significance in society, Linda’s hope is that her social network is big enough for people to appreciate her pain.
Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. Death of a salesman: A play in two acts. New York City: Dramatists Play Service, 1952. Print.
Perkins, George, Barbara Perkins & James Phelan. The American Tradition in Literature, Volume II. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Print.
In his intriguing play the death of a salesman, Arthur miller highlights the conflicts that ensued between families immediately after the First World War. Contextually, his drama politely condemns the materialistic nature of the Americans. Most people practice capitalism as a mentality, which promotes unrealistic personalities among them. Critical analysis of the writing shows that Miller’s play falls under the group of modern literature. Written immediately after the First World War, in 1915, Miller uses artistic skills to call for a reformation in the social lives of the Americans. Characteristically, modernism literature presents a specific writing style and literary techniques a fact, which Miller emphasizes as expounded next.
The first feature of modernism that miller applies in his play is the use of literary techniques like symbols. For instance, he symbolically refers to diamond, which represents wealth, power, and lavish lifestyle. In act II Willy laments, “A diamond is hard and rough to the touch” (Miller 75), which shows his anguish. Diamond also represents Willy’s failure while to Ben it portrays success. Acquisition of wealth was one of the aims of most people’s dreams in the postwar era. Therefore, Miller directly expresses dissatisfaction in the American people who are materialistic (Reeves 17). Authentically, after the war, most countries in Europe struggled to acquire wealth by exploring minerals from Africa. Thus, Miller tries to compel Americans (who existed during his contemporary times) to live within their means. In addition, seeds are a symbol of Willy’s failure to meet the American dream. Besides, being unable to offer his family the lavish style the Americans wish for, his son Biff seems to be following in his footsteps. Willy says, “Nothing’s planted. I don’t have a thing in the ground (Miller 70), which proves his regrets for living in poverty. Therefore, through symbolism, Miller’s play falls in the class of modernism writings.
The second feature of modernism portrayed in the play is the critical connection of the events in contemporary times with literature to propel the Americans to learn from the thematic elements. Due to greediness and dissatisfaction in life, most Americans were not only dishonest but also failed in life. Most writers in the modern era used language to condemn both social and political vices that prevailed. Willy struggles to leave a legacy behind before his death but all his efforts end up fruitless. Sadly, he dreams about being successful in life yet characteristically, he is dishonest. He lies to his family that his famous while in reality he has failed in his career. If Willy had concentrated fully on his career, accepted his position in society, and motivated his children by not picking fights with Biff every time, then everything in his life would have run smoothly. Caught between the American dream and commercial industry Willy’s life falls apart, which constantly frustrates him. To confirm his frustrations, Miller writes, “I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money (Miller 40), which proves that Willy achieved nothing during his lifetime. Therefore, as a modern writer, Miller uses his writing skills to compel American society to practice honesty and live in reality.
Furthermore, Miller uses his literary skills to explore the negative effects of capitalism, a phenomenon, which was common after the First World War. After the war, Americans had high economic expectations that led them to adopt the American dream. Willy dreams of becoming rich yet he is old and he has a stable job, which he neglects. Consequently, he wastes most of his time daydreaming about wealth and not specializing in his career. Moreover, he often scolds his son, Biff, as a failure because he thinks that he will end up in misery like him. Influenced with capitalism Willy asserts, “after all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive” (Miller 76). Characteristically, modern writers used their literary skills to condemn a vice in society. On the contrary, the postmodern writers leave the reader/audience to interpret their writing and connect them with contemporary society.
In brief, most literary books fall under either the modernism or postmodernism category. Authentically, literary works were written in the early 20th century. Miller’s play is modern literature that besides, the playwright fully expressing his emotions and social experiences, he condemns the issue of capitalism an aspect, which was common in his era. In addition, he uses characters like Willy to express reality. Intuitively, the features of modernism include the use of symbolism, imagery, and other literary techniques. Diamonds represent capitalism as a major feature of the American dream. Most of these modernism features blend perfectly with Miller’s play. Finally, Willy the main character in the play represents the Americans in the society who promote capitalism. Therefore, modern literature directly focused on the social, political, and economic changes in contemporary times.
Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. West port, CT: Penguin publishers, 1949. Print.
Reeves, Alison. Teachers pack: Death of a Salesman. Scotland: Royal Lyceum Theater Company, 2005. Print.
This essay will start with the analysis of August Wilson’s Fences which was performed less than ten years after Death of a Salesman debuted. The film is often seen as a Black American play that is about the downfall of a white salesman who goes by the name of Willy Lowman. In all the two plays, there is a similar pattern observed where there is a decline of a patriarch of a single family. There are interesting father-son dynamics where these family members are entangled in melodramatic activities that culminate to entertain viewers. The two fathers of the different plays both commit adultery. Furthermore, the two characters try hard to achieve the American Dream. It became clear that the protagonist’s idea of the American dream takes center stage in both plays. The two characters, Willy Lowman and Troy Maxon, can get a lot of challenges and fences in their quest to achieve the American Dream.
One common idea in the two plays, Fences and the Death of a Salesman is the father-son relationship. The true characters of the fathers and sons are seen in the actions that they undertake in their quest. Troy Maxson and WillyLoman have different methods which they want their sons to follow to achieve the American Dream. However, it becomes apparent that the fathers have tailored their values and beliefs in a poor way that hinders success. An illustration is this is seen when Willy Loman, who is the father of Biff, encourages his son to excel at football as opposed to getting good at his studies in school. This idea is ignorant and stupid, as his poor grades end up costing him his scholarship. In the other film, their background Death of a Salesman, Troy tells his son to drop football and leave his dream of an athletic scholarship so that he can work at the A&P store (pg 236). He loses his opportunity to study at a premium university for a low-paying job. This is nothing less than being ignorant and not seeing the bigger picture.
It becomes clear from the start that Fences is a play that questions the legitimacy of achieving the American Dream. There is the general notion that everyone in America, regardless of their background, can achieve success. However, in the case of Fences, the patriarchal family has the perception and ambitions to go places, but the world is not in their favor as they face a plethora of challenges as they go about their business. First, the fathers of both children miss the mark of communicating this objective to their sons.
According to Willy Loman, the success of the American dream can be done in specific ways by taking shortcuts. He believes that it can be achieved by personal attractiveness and by establishing certain types of connections. He was completely mistaken when he believed that one of the successful businessmen he knew could grant his son Biff a loan (pg 955). He believes that because he encouraged Biff once when he was in high school. Taking shortcuts does not work in the real world, and this speaks a lot about determination and level of ignorance. Similarly, Troy Maxson does not believe in achieving dreams and goals through hard work and diligence. In his mind, he believes that the only way his son could make it in life is by obtaining a football scholarship. It is surprising that after an investor began to show interest in his son’s football career, he decided to let him off football and limit his dream. There is a huge irony in these two modes of thinking where the American dream is not likely to be achieved as the patriarchs do not consider the variability of success in America which is often a product of serendipity, hard work, and taking advantage of opportunities.
References
Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is on pages 221-286. August Wilson’s play Fences is on 921-967. Both are in “Volume E: Literature Since 1945,” the third of our three textbooks.
Although he appears visionary and hardworking, Willy Loman fails to teach his sons the lessons of becoming successful in life because of his beliefs. Willy survives with a misconstrued ambition of becoming wealthy and inculcates this idea into his sons, Happy and Biff, even though he did not know how to achieve it. He trained his sons on his approach to life and hoped they would follow and achieve his dream of success.
He has no plan for his life and concentrates on his past failures, and his children seem perched to being successful, primed on his world hypotheses. Salesmanship has given Willy a feeling of greatness and merit. He believes that the present world has dishonored them by taking away the personality of salesmen.
Willy has taught this notion to his sons, who are very receptive and obedient to their father. However, these believes have caused him disappointment as they end up turning down his principles and goals. Willy Loman fails to guide his sons to greatness in their lives because of his personal and cultural beliefs.
Personal failure
Willy has an insensitive personality. He does not realize that his capabilities and aspirations are different from those of his sons. While Biff wanted an outdoors job, his father wanted a white collar job for him. Willy does not admit failure nor consider the opinion of his sons. This has led to rebellion from his sons, when they discover what is right for them.
For example, Biff disliked the business life recommended by his father and opted a life on the farms after realizing that success means an enjoyable life and not money. Willy believed that Biff would be successful in business because of his attractiveness, and his past splendor in high school soccer. However, this notion was wrong as Biff failed to graduate from high school and join college because of his arrogance.
He later recognizes his true personality and decides to work on a farm, where he would enjoy and feel comfortable. Willy is very upset in him and is discontented in all that he does. Contrary to his believe that popularity and fame lead to success; Willy never earned handsome wealth despite his claim for fame, and many years of experience.
This is made unsound when his boss demotes him, and he merely earns a commission before he finally gets fired, despite his friendship with Wagner’s father. His claim for connections fails him again. Willy’s idea of connecting Biff with important people at Penn State would be futile as football does not seem to be the best career for him. To Biff, having the right connections does not always help.
The expectations of Willy that his requiem would be fully packed due to his well connection and popularity failed to turn out as he thought since only the family members were present. Willy had inculcated a sense of superiority in Biff Loman that made him arrogant. This made him unsuccessful in graduating from high school and advance to college.
Cultural failure
Willy’s melancholy originates from the misconceptions he had about the American dream and his incapability to connect how the world works with how he thinks it should work. The American dream stated that: through the established qualities of determination, creativity, hard work, and resilience, one may get contentment through riches and that a good-looking and loved man will no doubt attain the comforts of modern life.
This dream can be divided into two significances; the traditional dream and the business achievement dream. When one owns a house, has a good paying job, and lives a secure life, then h/she has accomplished the traditional dream. Willy Loman has accomplished this vision as he has an occupation, a vehicle, a residence, and a family, but he did not appreciate it.
He was so preoccupied with the business dream that he dismantles his family in the end. This dream made him sacrifice going to Alaska in search of his father where he came across the successful salesman, Dave. He decides to follow the same career path as Dave and hopes to get the same success as Dave. It is not until thirty five years of his career when he realizes he had not achieved the prosperity he had hoped to achieve.
What Willy fails to know is that even Dave Singleman, who is his epitome of prosperity, has not fulfilled the American dream. This is because at the age of eighty-four, Dave has not retired, lives in a hotel room, and has no family. His illusion about life and his mental disarray about the real American dream make him fail his sons as he does not know what is really needed of them to succeed.
Conclusion
Willy’s life was a disappointment as he had the wrong ambitions and failed to teach his sons the lessons for victory in life. He deluded himself that he could be a wealthy salesman, when he knew that he would be excellent at operating with hands. If Willy had faced his capabilities in a rational and sincere way, his life would not have ended this way.
It is evident that the top secret to success is a fortune in possessing ordinary talents and aptitude, and readiness to take chances in the corporate world, in addition to being industrious, devoid of taking shortcuts with friends. Cultural believes, such as the American dream, should help to instill values in individuals to put efforts in everything that they do.
In the work “Suicide. A study in sociology” Émile Durkheim expressed the opinion that suicide depends on social conditions for the first time (Giddens, 2006). This view supported the idea of the double nature of the man that exists “because social man superimposes himself upon physical man” (Durkheim, 2006, p. 171).
It appears that the suicide of the main character of the play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller can be described within the framework suggested by Durkheim. This story becomes an illustration of society conditions influencing suicidal decisions in the modern world.
Durkheim’s Theory. Types of Suicide and Social Conditions
According to Durkheim (2006), the “term suicide is applied to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself, which he knows will produce this result” (p. 17). By relating suicide to different social conditions, Durkheim (2006) defined four types that can be described with the help of two social conditions: social integration and social regulation (Alexander & Smith, 2005, p. 71; Giddens, 2006, p. 15). Apart from that, the author suggested that all the types are not exactly isolated and may be combined (p. 252).
One of the important points of the study claims that “suicide varies inversely with the degree of integration” (Durkheim, 2006, p. 167). The social integration can be defined as the “ties” that an individual has with the society. The “strength” of these ties is what defines the egoistic and altruistic types of suicide (Douglas, 2015, p. 39). In case of egoistic suicide, the social ties of the person are weakened, and his or her integration into society is weak (Giddens, 2006). In this respect, Durkheim (2006) mentions religion and marriage as a kind of integration mechanisms that tend to decrease the chances of egoistic suicide. Alternatively, in case the integration of a person into the society is so high that the value of individual life is denied, altruistic suicide may take place. This kind of suicide is connected to faith and patriotism that border on fanatism.
The intensity of social regulations is connected to anomic and fatalistic suicide types that are the exact opposites of each other. The lack of regulation (caused, for example, by the changes in society or personal life) upsets the balance between a person’s wishes and capabilities which can lead to anomic suicide. On the other hand, when the control is excessive, fatalistic suicide can take place. In “Suicide”, fatalistic type description appears as a footnote, which shows that Durkheim did not consider this type especially relevant (Riley, 2014, p. 191; Alexander & Smith, 2005, p. 72; Giddens, 2006, p. 15). Still, the existence of the fourth type makes the system of the suicide forms more complete and consistent.
Apart from that, Durkheim (2006) pointed out that individual characteristics of a person (including mental diseases) may also contribute to the process of making the fatal decision (pp. 241). Therefore, while insisting on the importance of social factors, the author did not deny the role of the victim’s individuality. The emotional state of the victims was also described as a significant part of the types’ definition (Riley, 2014, pp. 191-121). Durkheim (2006) found that particular emotional states correlate with different types of suicide. For example, egoistic suicide presupposes depression, altruistic is associated with “violent emotion”, and anomic suicide involves the feelings of anger and disappointment (Durkheim, 2006, pp. 246-247).
Society Functional Requirements and Durkheim’s Suicide Theory
The functional requirements of systems (including society) suggested within the functionalism theory include four points: adaptation, goal attainment (ability to identify goals and achieve them), integration, and the maintenance of the latent patterns that presuppose values in the context of society system (Appelrouth & Edles, 2008, p. 361). It is not difficult to perceive that the suicide theory by Durkheim (2006) pays particular attention to the integration of the system, which has been shown above (Appelrouth & Edles, 2008, p. 90). According to functionalism, in order to survive, a system needs to manage the named requirements, maintain their levels.
The elements that fail to meet the requirements are not functional and are, therefore, disposed of. The people who lose the ties with the society, therefore, fail to meet the requirement of integrity, and consequently, are not entirely functional and cannot support the system while the system cannot support them (Appelrouth & Edles, 2008). Therefore, the suicide theory of Durkheim (2006) appears to emphasize the integrity requirement of the social system, and, possibly, points at a mechanism of its regulation.
Willy’s Case
The story of William Loman, the central character of the play “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller includes an example of suicide caused by the lack of both integration and regulation.
Willy Loman is a very ambitious but not very successful man, which indicates the conflict between his desires and capabilities. Willy seems to have had thoughts of suicide, which is suggested by the “accidents” that Linda mentions (Miller, 1998, p. 42). Apart from that, Willy seems to have invented a number of facts from his biography, for example, the “big year” he claims to have had despite the protests of Howard (Miller, 1998, p. 62). These facts prove his dissatisfaction with his life.
As a result, Willy wants his son, Biff to become a businessman, that is, to achieve the success his father never managed to. Willy tends to believe that his son should share his dream. The salesman is convinced that both himself and his elder son are exceptional: “I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!” (Miller, 1998, p. 105). However, Biff does not share his father’s ideas. In fact, the lack of social integration of the salesman can be demonstrated by his weakening ties with Biff.
The misunderstanding between the son and the father is especially vividly illustrated at the end of the play when Willy seems to misjudge his son’s behavior, believing that Biff is going to start a business which is not true. Apart from that, Willy is in the situation of changing environment: he has been fired, and this process also accounts for the decrease of his social integration and regulation.
The suicide that Willy commits seems to have a purpose: he believes that the insurance money that Biff is going to receive will help him in his career. He also seems to have committed suicide in a strange state of elation connected to his dreams about Biff achieving success. Willy appears to deny the importance of his own life in favor of helping his son achieve the goals the latter does not have. From this point of view, Willy’s suicide acquires some features of the altruistic kind. Therefore, it can be concluded that the type of Willy’s suicide is a mixed one.
Conclusion
The theory suggested by Durkheim (2006) demonstrates the correlation between social integration and regulation and suicide. The type of Willy’s suicide appears to be a mixed one. Still, the underlying reason for the suicide consists in the deep dissatisfaction that Willy experiences due to the differences between his expectations and capabilities, which is characteristic of anomic suicide. Apart from that, Willy Loman’s story seems to demonstrate the high level of individualism in the modern society.
References
Alexander, J., & Smith, P. (2005). The Cambridge companion to Durkheim. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Web.
Appelrouth, S., & Edles, L. (2008). Classical and contemporary sociological theory. Los Angeles, Calif.: Pine Forge Press. Web.
Douglas, J. (2015). The social meanings of suicide. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Web.
Durkheim, E. (2006). Suicide. London, UK: Routledge. Web.
Giddens, A. (2006). Sociology. Cambridge, UK: Polity. Web.
Miller, A. (1998). Death of a salesman. New York, NY: Penguin. Web.
Riley, A. (2014). The social thought of Émile Durkheim. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications. Web.
The twentieth century for the world and America, in particular, was a period of eternal upheavals, crises, and the resulting hopes for the best. Many authors of those times tried to present reality positively, hoping for an early improvement in both their own lives and the state of the society in which they lived. However, the overwhelming majority of creative people created works that categorically, with the force of a hammer striking an anvil, declared the deplorable state of the world around them. The most laconic in the depiction and criticism of the society of his time was Arthur Miller, who presented the world with two significant works: “Death of a Salesman” and “Incident at Vichy.” Of these two plays, the most interesting is the story of the failed salesman Willy Loman, who lives in a small house between the two skyscrapers. By analyzing Willy’s life path, his relationship with his family, and the end of his long but poor life, one can understand why his desire to please everyone ultimately led him to failure in everything.
The Childhood Trauma
It is worth starting with the very plot of the play, which takes place directly in New York during the protracted depression and economic crisis that befell the United States in the 1930s. The life of ordinary workers and small entrepreneurs, as Willy Loman is, is entirely hopeless and gloomy. However, to the surprise of any viewer and reader, the work’s main character is surprisingly optimistic and, at least outwardly, cheerful. This is due to the nature, or rather psychotrauma, of the protagonist, who was a boy who grew up without a father figure. The only close candidate for this role was his older brother, Ben. However, he also leaves home at the age of seventeen. Later, Willy often sees Ben in visions – at the age of seventeen, he left home, and by the time he was twenty, he became fabulously rich in the diamond mines of Africa. For the broken and deeply saddened Willy, the brother is the living embodiment of such a dear hero of the American dream. He wants his sons, especially the eldest, Biff, to succeed in life, getting rich and becoming worthy.
At a certain point in the play, Happy speaks to his brother the words that his father repeats all the time. For example, he declares: “You’re well-liked, Biff. That’s why I say to come back here, and we both have the apartment” (Miller 14). However, the eldest son of a salesman is not as convinced of his father’s words as his brother Happy, and for several reasons. One of the very first and foremost betrayals of his father in childhood, because for Biff, his well-liked father was an idol. However, being guided by his father in the direction of becoming a charming guy, Biff kicks off his studies, gets a low score in math, and ends up being denied a diploma.
The Obsessive Thoughts
The very idea that the main thing in a person’s success is his decent appearance and charisma grew out of Willy’s childhood trauma when he was still a child and despair when he was a grown man. In the future, the trauma and pain of the hero only worsened, intensifying with time. In reality, the hero’s obsession with the idea that a well-liked man, respected in society and pleasant to those around him, is simply an attempt to grab a straw, to find a remedy for the oppressive and cruel reality. It is also worthwhile to understand that the hero reflects an already existing pattern, discovered by Freud, the way of a man without a father and replacing it with an obsession (Noras). The tragedy of the work is that Willy passes on this pattern to his sons, seeking to instill the importance of moral behavior and appearance for continued success. The main character is insane and obsessed with obsessive thoughts, expressed in the image of his older brother, who disappeared when Willy was a child. This is also confirmed in Willy’s conversation with his sons:
“What’s the mystery? The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich! The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress” (Miller 28).
The Disillusionment
In an attempt to get a job with his former boss, Oliver, Biff takes an even more brutal blow to his convictions because he is not just denied. The chief walks past Biff without even noticing him leaving his office. Biff is broken and crushed because he was discouraged by the boss’s indifference, so rude and absolute. Biff and Happy had already booked a table in advance at the restaurant where they and their father would celebrate their older brother’s hiring. However, upon meeting his brother, Biff tells him everything and shows his shock. Such strong emotions in the protagonist are caused not so much by the refusal of an important person and not even by the loss of hope of finding a regular job. He realizes that a significant person does not waste his time on everyone. At the same time, the timid and broken Biff, like his father, constantly strives to please everyone and receives blows of fate over and over again and failures in endeavors.
As a result, while waiting for his father at the restaurant, he tells Happy that he will say to him everything as it is. Let the father, at least once in his life, face the truth and understand that his son was not created for commerce. Having learned a lesson in fate, Biff tells his brother that his father did not teach them business acumen and what is essential. The owners always laughed at their father: this romantic of business, which prioritizes human relationships and not self-interest, for this very reason, was often the loser. Biff does not want to live among deceptive illusions like a father but hopes to find his place in the world indeed. For him, the big smile of a salesman and polished shoes are not a symbol of happiness.
Happy scares his brother’s attitude because he has also achieved little and, although he proudly calls himself the deputy boss, in fact, he is only the assistant of one of the assistants. Brother Biff seems to be repeating the fate of his father – he builds castles in the air, hoping that optimism and a white-toothed smile will lead to wealth and success thanks to a human attitude. Happy asks Biff to lie to his father, to say that Oliver recognized him, received him well, and was delighted that the man was returning to his work. And on that, both brothers agree, thereby symbolizing Biff’s attempt now to try to imitate his old, not completely broken with self-deception, personality. For a while, Biff succeeds, and he plays in front of his father, a successful applicant for a job in a commercial enterprise. But, in the end, the father’s cheap optimism and a set of standard phrases that his son achieved this because he was well-liked by a man enrage Biff. He yells at his father and speaks the truth, confessing that a significant and severe person ignored him, a worthless person.
After that, Willy breaks down and slaps his son in the face, accusing him of constantly disappointing him. Biff runs away, Happy tries to catch up with him and talk to him, and Willy experiences something akin to a seizure, subconsciously trying to find another straw in his memory. As a result, he buys seeds, and returns home at night, ignoring his sons, goes to the backyard, and, surrounded by skyscrapers that surround him and symbolize oppressive reality, sows plants. Then Willy speaks to his brother and, in a sense, admits that he was wrong all his life and was weak, which he says to himself through the subconscious image of Ben. As a result, Willy gets into the car and tries to commit suicide one last time, hoping that his family will receive insurance after his death.
Conclusion
Thus, Oliver’s character, or rather his indifference to people uninteresting to him, is essential for understanding the fallacy of Willy’s views. Oliver is a decent person, a relatively successful businessman and boss, who at the same time ignores unimportant and uninteresting people. All of this goes against the convictions of well-liked Willy, so poor and broken in his aspiration to be liked by everyone, and this becomes the end of his self-deception for Biff, just as death is the end for his father. For Biff, this may be the beginning of a new life without the burden of his father’s trauma, and for Willy, it is the total of a boy’s life without a father and without a brother whom he had hoped for. A naive search for the meaning of life in dreams and self-deception could be found in the play about the death of a salesman, a small ship that was looking for a quiet haven.
Works Cited
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem. Penguin Classics, 1998.
Noras, Maya. “The Role of Defense Mechanisms in Willy Loman’s Character: A Freudian and Marxist Analysis of Death of a Salesman.” Akademin För Utbildning Och Ekonomi, 2020, Web.
The play ‘Death of a Salesman’ has many themes and conflicts. This essay will briefly discuss the main ideas and conflicts depicted in the play.
The Theme of Confusion
This is a theme that Miller exploited so well. There is confusion all over the play; the main characters are engulfed in turmoil. It is not hard to point out the kind of awful mess that the Lomans are in. Willy is entirely unable to differentiate reality from illusion. Will is so disillusioned that he believes that he and his sons have everything to propel them to success. Willy and his sons in a real sense do not have anything that can enable them to be successful.
It is a significant confusion that Willy has thought that for one to be successful, he has to be well-liked by people. Willy quite often falls back to thinking about circumstances which occurred in the past. At the end Willy is seen more confused than ever; he claims that a person can be “worth more dead than alive” (Miller 2007, p. 77).
Death of a Dream
Willy had a vast dream of living the American life. He looked up to Ben as his model and wished he could live his way of life, “The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich” (Miller 2007, p. 32). Willy wanted his sons to be successful and live largely.
Willy used a wrong approach in trying to achieve the American dream. He wished more than he worked and as a result could not reach his goals. He is also seen using some facts in the wrong way, for example, he claims that if people like you well then you are going to successful; people liking can be used tactfully, but we do not see Willy doing that.
Conflicts in the Story
The death of a salesman is full of conflicts which are evident all over the play. Willy is living a conflicting lifestyle. He has a deep desire for recognition and profoundly wants to live as a successful businessman with a lot of money which is hard to achieve because he does not have the cash to sustain such a lifestyle.
His life generally is a significant conflict to that of his brother Ben who is rich. Willy and his sons more often than not are in conflicts. Willy wants them to adapt to his way of thinking, but his sons are not of his opinions. I view it as a significant conflict that Biff after realizing the mistakes committed by Willy he went ahead to declare that:
I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have–to come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him. (Miller 2007, p. 131)
It is evident that instead of learning from the mistakes of his father Biff instead chooses the very same path that his father walked. Most likely Biff will end up failing contrary to what his father wanted him to be – a successful man.
References
Miller, A. (2007). Death of a Salesman. India: Pearson Education.
It is believed that each passing night, this play is staged at a certain place in the world. It has found a place in the hearts and thoughts of individuals everywhere. As critics go on debating whether the play should be a tragedy or not, a moving social documentary, a confirmation of the spirit of Americans, or a conveyance of the salesman’s life, people in the entire glove remain emotionally connected and intellectually perturbed by this drama’s emotional description of human beings in their totality.
Author Miller, the playwright, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for this particular production that debuted in 1949. It also got a Tony award as well as the New York Drama Critics Circle award. The original production was converted into a film later on in 1951. It has also been done in 29 different languages and remains a common production in the range of professional movie production firms in the world. The director of the film is Volker Schlondoff, and he initially released it on CBS television way back in 1985.
The number of times one watches this film does not matter. It goes on to generate new kinds of meanings. In this film version of it, Willy, Biff, Linda, and Happy are all characters who contend heavily with change. Willy, for instance, does too much to gain acceptance from other people. This makes him also advise his child to be very keen about how he appears and should strive to always make an impressive view of himself. However, this tactic fails to work and is a big disappointment for both of them. In the end, Willy pictures himself a having failed in life and even believes he is a stranger in his own home.