“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. – Martin Luther King Jr.” In the plays Death of a Salesman and Fences the setting takes place in the post-World War Two era of the United States. The main character in Death of a Salesman is a 63-year-old white man named Willy Loman, who lives in Brooklyn, New York. He has worked as a traveling salesman for thirty-four years to provide for his wife, Linda, and his two sons, Biff and Happy. The main character of Fences is Troy Maxson a fifty-three-year-old African American man, who lives in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He works as a garbage collector to support his wife, Rose, and his son, Cory, …show more content…
This aspect of the time period greatly influences the main characters in each of the plays. The fathers and sons both treat women as objects for sex, tending to house chores, and taking care of kids. These characteristics of toxic masculinity create both similar and conflicting tendencies throughout Death of a Salesman and Fences. Troy and Willy both run their homes in a patriarchal way, but not in exactly the same way. They both have the attitude of “I make the money, so I make the rules”. One instance Willy represents this mentality is when he says “ I won’t have you mending stockings in my house! Now throw them out! (pg. 26) ”. He is yelling at Linda because she is mending stockings which makes him mad because it makes him feel like they don’t have enough money to get new stockings. Troy blatantly says “ I’m the boss around here. I do the only saying what counts.(pg 19)”. Troy is telling Corey that Corey has to listen to him, because he is the man of the house and makes the money. Willy is only the boss when he is home from work which is not very often since he is a traveling …show more content…
Both men expect some of the same things from their women including food, housekeeping, and sex. Willy demonstrates his sexual frustrations when he is on the road when he says “On the road, I want to grab you sometimes and kiss the life out of you.(pg 25)”. Troy represents this ideal when he says “We go upstairs in that room at night and I fall down on you and try to blast a whole into forever. That’s all I got, Rose.(pg 21)”. Willy is always working, so his wife has to stay home and take care of the kids and the house. Biff says “Where’s you go this time, dad? Gee we were lonesome for you.(pg 19)”. Troy gets what he wants from Rose and does what he has to do, then does whatever he pleases. Rose shows this when she says “You ain’t been home from work, but time enough to change your clothes and run out, and that’s the best you can do?(pg 36)”. She feels very lonely with Troy never being home she wants to try to rebuild their broken relationship, but he just wants to be running around having fun. Both of these men treat their women like they are so much less then them and yet both woman poor their hopes and dreams into Willy and Troy. In the end Willy and Troy both take their marriage vows and throw them down the drain and have sex with other
Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson have similar themes of conflicts between fathers and sons, conflicts between husbands and wives, and the need to focus on a small unit of space in order to achieve success. In the process of developing these themes throughout the two plays, three similar symbolic elements are used including the insecure father figure, the "other woman," and the garden. The fathers in the two plays are comparable because they both have conflicts with their sons as a result of living in the past, and they die in the end. Willy, in Death of a Salesman, is never respected for his occupational status, so he places very high expectations on his son, Biff. Willy lives in the memory of past events to such a large extent that he cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, and he passes this trait onto Biff.
At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his
In Arthur Miller's, “Death of a Salesman” and Charlotte Perkins Stetson’s, “The Yellow-Wallpaper” both struggle to maintain their own individual expectations in companion with Societies' input. Death of a salesman focused on how financial success plagues the family as they fail to meet the standards of the American Dream. The Yellow-Wallpaper focused on how society’s view of gender inhibits the narrators in functioning beyond her basic duties.
In Death of a Salesman as well as in American Beauty, the main conflicts revolve around a great basic problem, which is the "appearance" as a way of life and expression to the outside. Following this, they will all problems relating to the relationships between the characters, and the lack of communication in the families. It could also be seen in both works that the characters go through great efforts pretending to be happy with themselves.
Elementary school taught everyone that to compare and contrast two things, the best way to go about doing that is with a Venn diagram. Truthfully, this is an effective method, but it is quite rudimentary under the circumstances. "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy and "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller are two books that can become victims of the dreaded Venn diagram. The two stories are accounts of the lives of two families, each living out its version of the American Dream. The focus of both stories is on the father and how he interacts with everyone and everything around him. Bull Meechum of "The Great Santini" is a marine, raising his children as "hogs" and expecting only the best, if not better, from his brood. Willy Loman of "Death of a Salesman" also expects great things from his children, to the point that he refuses to believe that either of his sons is a failure, even when it is clear that they are. Although the two men themselves have many similarities, there are also other similarities between the two stories. One similarity is the role of the first son in the two anecdotes. Also, there is the role of the second child. Finally, both stories involve characters that are realizing what it means to be a man and what responsibilities come with the title.
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history.The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and a situation is resolved is when Rose tells Troy that Alberta died having his baby, Raynell.
In August Wilson’s drama, “Fences,” a man named Troy struggles with feelings of unfulfilled dreams and extreme pride. Troy is unable to come to terms with his own fallacies throughout the play, and he fails to see the world through other points of view. He becomes prideful and arrogant because he feels he knows exactly how the world works, or should work, and he inadvertently destroys the lives of everyone around him. Troy’s pride causes him to believe dreams and hopes are useless in the real world. This belief causes him to ruin his own son’s dreams and causes his wife to despise him for the rest of his life. Pride is a harmful thing. Being too prideful can ruin one’s own life and the lives of his or her loved ones.
Loss of respect can ruin a relationship. Biff left town for many reasons, but one important one had to do with Willy cheating on his wife. During a flashback in the play, Willy is in a room with a woman when Biff knocks on the door. The woman was actually in the washroom as Biff came in, but came out before Biff left. Biff saw the woman and knew that his father was not being loyal to his mother.
Troy Maxson is portrayed as a big man with a very big personality and a lot of dignity. He is a bitter guy who believes that he owes his family absolutely everything, from his money down to even his own soul. He is the type of man who wants more than what he can get and that is what drives him but it is also that very “want” that leads him into a very tragic life. Writing on the idea of Troy being a tragic hero, Martin says “Troy’s strengths are found in his willingness to fulfill his duty at all times. He also speaks directly to his dignity regarding his position of work and his career in baseball) Martin, 2) “Fences” Troy has many
The theme of August Wilson’s play “Fences” is the coming of age in the life of a broken black man. Wilson wrote about the black experience in different decades and the struggle that many blacks faced, and that is seen in “Fences” because there are two different generations portrayed in Troy and Cory. Troy plays the part of the protagonist who has been disillusioned throughout his life by everyone he has been close to. He was forced to leave home at an early age because his father beat him so dramatically. Troy never learned how to treat people close to him and he never gave any one a chance to prove themselves because he was selfish. This makes Troy the antagonist in the story because he is not only hitting up against everyone in the play, but he is also hitting up against himself and ultimately making his life more complicated. The discrimination that Troy faced while playing baseball and the torment he endures as a child shape him into one of the most dynamic characters in literary history. The central conflict is the relationship between Troy and Cory. The two of them have conflicting views about Cory’s future and, as the play goes on, this rocky relationship crumbles because Troy will not let Cory play collegiate football. The relationship becomes even more destructive when Troy admits to his relationship with Alberta and he admits Gabriel to a mental institution by accident. The complication begins in Troy’s youth, when his father beat him unconscious. At that moment, Troy leaves home and begins a troubled life on his own, and gaining a self-destructive outlook on life. “Fences” has many instances that can be considered the climax, but the one point in the story where the highest point of tension occurs, insight is gained and...
Conflicts and tensions between family members and friends are key elements in August Wilson's play, Fences. The main character, Troy Maxon, has struggled his whole life to be a responsible person and fulfill his duties in any role that he is meant to play. In turn, however, he has created conflict through his forbidding manner. The author illustrates how the effects of Troy's stern upbringing cause him to pass along a legacy of bitterness and anger which creates tension and conflict in his relationships with his family.
In comparing Willy and Troy, as fathers, one could feel more sympathy in Willy for his everlasting struggle to maintain a home. Furthermore Willy is alone when it comes to making necessary payments, because Willy’s two sons, Happy and Biff, cannot hold a job. “How can he find himself? Is that a life? A farmhand? In the beginning, when he was young, I thought, well, a young man, it’s good for him to tramp around, take a lot of different jobs. But its’ more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week!” (Gioia, 2010) It is evident that Biff cannot hold a job, and has not produced money well; therefore, Willy’s struggle to make payments for the house has been difficult. On the other hand, Troy, the protagonist in the narrative, “Fences” also has the responsibility of maintaining a home. However, unlike Willy, Troy received help in paying his home when he received a check from the government. Troy received the check when his brother Gabriel, was injured at war. “…and they gave him a lousy three-th...
A major part of the reader's animosity towards Willy stems from his responsibility for the ruin of his sons. Willy's affair ends up being the reason that Biff ends up a high-school failure and a football has-been. This blunder both disheartens and destroys his eldest son. It becomes the reason Biff refuses to go to summer school; it becomes the reason that Biff leaves home. Yet, this is all a result of Willy's need to be likeable. He cheats on his doting wife simply because it makes him feel special, because it gives him proof that women other that Linda are interested in him, because it makes him feel well liked. A woman "picked [him]"; a woman laughs when he makes jokes about keeping pores open; a woman pays him some attention (38).
Racism is everywhere; it is all around us and at most times it resides within us. Racism basically refers to the characterization of people (ethnicity based) with certain distinct traits. It is a tool with which people use to distinguish themselves between each other, where some use it to purposely inflict verbal, physical or mental attacks on others while some use it to simply distinguish or differentiate from one another. It all depends on the context in which it is used. The play Fences by August Wilson, takes place during the late 1950’s through to 1965, a period of time when the fights against segregation are barely blossoming results. The main protagonist, Troy Maxson is an African American who works in the sanitation department; he is also a responsible man whose thwarted dreams make him prone to believing in self-created illusions. Wilson's most apparent intention in the play ‘Fences’, is to show how racial segregation creates social and economic gaps between African Americans and whites. Racism play a very influential role in Troy’s but more importantly it has been the force behind his actions that has seen him make biased and judgmental decisions for himself and his family. Lessons from the play intend to shed light on how racism can affect the mental and physical lives of Troy Maxson and his family.
As Abraham Lincoln said, “Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.” Character is made up of principles and values that give one’s life direction, meaning and depth. Famous figures such as Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson have believed that one can only experience true success and happiness by making character the foundation of our lives. However, in the play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller depicts the last days of a tired old salesman who throughout his life, believed that personality will make one successful. However, this salesman, who goes by the name of Willy Loman, was not granted happiness and fulfillment. These come from developing character. Thus, Willy’s failures as a businessman, husband, and father stem from his failure of character.