Comparing 'Death Of A Salesman And Hamlet'

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Death of a Salesman and Hamlet: Compare and Contrast Essay A Death of a Salesman and Hamlet are both dramas written by different authors where the main characters stay constantly confused and they never really change much. Even though both plays take place in different time periods, they have very similar plots that deliver the same message. Death of a Salesman and Hamlet have similarities and differences when looking at the themes, such as denial, contradiction and order versus disorder, characters and plot. The characters throughout these dramas display a continuous discomfort of change, and disillusioned concepts of reality, and these topics still are around in today’s society
The main characters in both dramas show a dislike for change. …show more content…

In Death of a Salesman, Willy is a little better at making decisions because he needs to make them for his family. Even when Willy did not want to go and work for someone he would do it just so he could be helpful towards his family. Willy’s actions based on his decisions and his fear of change lead to his decision to kill himself. He takes it upon himself to provide for his family no matter what the cost to him or anyone else. He wanted to provide financial stability for his family which seems to be a noble reason. However it was all a misunderstanding for Willy like most of his story.
In the plot of Hamlet, Hamlet goes throughout the play trying to find what he should do and is rather indecisive when it comes to doing something. Hamlet when making decision often centered around his main goal and if it did not help reach it then he would be hesitant to do it. Throughout the play he makes most of his decision based on his end goal and that was to kill his uncle claudius, because he was the one who put his father in the grave and then took Hamlet’s Mom from him and turned her against him. Hamlet kills a family member out of revenge because of something that had happened previously to him and based only on his

Willy Pride Quotes
536 Words | 2 Pages
The first aspect of Willy's character that affected his failure was his pride. Willy's pride caused him to in many situations make very poor and unethical decisions, that affected both himself and his family. An example of this is through the conversation between Willy and Charley “CHARLEY: ‘You want a job?’ WILLY: ‘I got a job, I told you that. [After a slight pause] What the hell are you offering me a job for?’ CHARLEY: ‘Don’t get insulted.’ WILLY: Don’t insult me.”(DOAS: pg x) Willy does not take the offer which is an obvious example of a poor decision. He makes this decision because he sees this generous whole hearted gesture as a kind of pitiful handout that his pride restricts him from taking. By not taking this handout willy puts his self pride infront of
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Critical Response Of Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman'
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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
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Compare Much Ado About Nothing And Hamlet
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Similarly, both plays use speech and dialogue to develop characters (“Hamlet.”; “Much Ado About Nothing Essay.”). For instance, in Much Ado About Nothing the characters use witty language. In regard to this, “I wish my horse moved as fast as your mouth and was as tireless. That’s it—I’m done.” (Crowther 12). Likewise, in Hamlet, characters use long speeches and soliloquy. For example, “He killed my father in the prime of his life without thought to his afterlife, which does not appear to be so good. Not now, sword. We will wait until he is drunk or in rage or in his incestuous bed. Perhaps we will kill him while is gambling, swearing, or some other sinful act for which there is no forgiveness.” (Shakespeare 106). By way of contrast, only Hamlet uses actions as a method of characterization ("Hamlet."). For example, Claudius murdered his brother and ascended himself to the throne of Denmark, “The poison worked quickly and my body became crusty with death, and I was not given the opportunity to confess my sins.” (Shakespeare 37). Additionally, Hamlet pretends to acts insane, he delay’s avenging his father’s death, and conversely Laertes takes direct action to avenge his father’s death
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Death of a Salesman Character Analysis
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Throughout the play, Willy can be seen as a failure. When he looks back on all his past decisions, he can only blame himself for his failures as a father, provider, and as a salesman (Abbotson 43). Slowly, Willy unintentionally reveals to us his moral limitations that frustrates him which hold him back from achieving the good father figure and a successful business man, showing us a sense of failure (Moss 46). For instance, even though Willy wants so badly to be successful, he wants to bring back the love and respect that he has lost from his family, showing us that in the process of wanting to be successful he failed to keep his family in mind (Centola On-line). This can be shown when Willy is talking to Ben and he says, “He’ll call you a coward…and a damned fool” (Miller 100-101). Willy responds in a frightful manner because he doesn’t want his family, es...
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Comparing Death Of A Salesman and Hamlet
613 Words | 2 Pages
Death Of A Salesman Vs. Hamlet & nbsp; & nbsp; Willy Loman and Hamlet, two characters so alike, though different. Both are perfect examples of tragedy in literature, though for separate reasons. reasons and by distinct methods.  The definition of a tragedy, in a nutshell, states that for a character to be considered tragic, he/she must. be of high moral estate, fall to a level of catastrophe, induce sympathy.
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A Comparison of Death Of A Salesman and Hamlet
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be a powerful man, has his life unravel before him as he loses his job, his
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Hamlet Analysis
1629 Words | 4 Pages
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, Claudius, and as a ghost tells his son, Hamlet the prince of Denmark, to avenge him by killing his brother. The price Hamlet does agree to his late father’s wishes, and undertakes the responsibility of killing his uncle, Claudius. However even after swearing to his late father, and former king that he would avenge him; Hamlet for the bulk of the play takes almost no action against Claudius. Prince Hamlet in nature is a man of thought throughout the entirety of the play; even while playing mad that is obvious, and although this does seem to keep him alive, it is that same trait that also keeps him from fulfilling his father’s wish for vengeance
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Self-Preservation In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman
715 Words | 2 Pages
From the very beginning, we can see that Willy is unable to keep up with the competitive demands. This leads to him feeling hopeless because he is unable to support his family, which could possibly lead to them being in debt. As the story goes
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Indecision, Hesitation and Delay in Shakespeare's Hamlet - Needless Delay?
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In Hamlets mind, it is now his duty to avenge his father's murder. This is where the real problem of inaction enters the play. Later that night, Hamlet has a perfect opportunity to kill Claudius, when he sees the King kneeling in prayer. He wonders if this is the time to kill him and get it over with, but decides not to. He claims that he does not want Claudius to go to heaven, so he would rather kill him when he is committing a sin. If this is the case, then why doesn't he simply wait till Claudius has completed his prayer, accuse him of the murder and kill him in his sin of denial. Instead, Hamlet goes to the chamber of his mother and passes up his best opportunity at revenge. The argument can be made, however, that it is not a fear of killing that causes this inaction. He does not display an inability to end someone's life when killing Polonius. He neither hesitates nor capitulates in sending Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to their executions. Why then would the prince of Denmark hesitate to kill the one man he most justly could? Many literary believe that his inaction is the result of a vicarious Oedipus complex. Those who concur with this theory say that Hamlet, in his subconscious mind, has a desire to do exactly what his uncle has done; that is, get rid of the king so that he can have Gertrude for himself.
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Free Will in Shakespeare's Hamlet
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Choices made by Hamlet, which ultimately lead to his death, are all guided by his own free will. In mourning his father's death, Hamlet chooses to do so for what others consider to be an excessive amount of time. “But to persever/ In obstinate condolement is a course/ Of impious stubbornness”(I.ii.99-100), according to Claudius. During this period of mourning, Hamlet meets his father’s spirit and promises to avenge his father’s death. However, upon reflection, he questions the validity of the ghost’s message. At this point he carefully goes about choosing a plan of action that will inevitably show that “the king is to blame” (V.ii.340) In following his plan, Hamlet freely chooses to kill Polonius, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Ophelia, Laertes, Claudius and himself.
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Reasons for the Failure of Hamlet in Hamlet by William Shakespeare
320 Words | 1 Pages
He also committed the moral sin of killing his own brother and taking his wife. Claudius also deprived Hamlet of his rightful kingship. In addition, Hamlet now knows that his love of his mother is corrupted since she is affectionate towards his enemy. Hamlet should have acted decisively and killed Claudius as soon as possible after the Ghost told him to avenge his murder. But then comes the indecisive character in him that thinks it, though.
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The Character of Willy Loman in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
1127 Words | 3 Pages
Willy is a multi-faceted character which Miller has portrayed a deep problem with sociological and psychological causes and done so with disturbing reality. In another time or another place Willy might have been successful and kept his Sanity, but as he grew up, society's values changed and he was left out in the cold. His foolish pride, bad judgment and his disloyalty are also at fault for his tragic end and the fact that he did not die the death of a salesman.
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Hamlet and the Oedipus Complex
604 Words | 2 Pages
Hamlet is incapable of killing his uncle since it would be symbolic of him taking his own life. Claudius unavoidably has to be killed in revenge for the murder of Old Hamlet. Hamlet, however, feels his right to do so is prohibited because he himself is evil due to his incestuous thoughts. Therefore, Hamlet acknowledges that he cannot judge another man for being immoral. He is also aware that killing Claudius whilst Gertrude is still alive would not only deeply scar her emotions but it would also be an admittance of him suffering from the Oedipus complex.
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Hamlet's Fatal Flaw
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Hamlet's character lends itself to a possible motivation for his unwillingness to kill Claudius. He is a scholar, and a student of theology. It is a moral dilemma for Hamlet to kill without a just cause, or kill at all. He wants proof of the part his uncle and his mother played in his father's death. His royal birth leads him to consider his responsibilities to his country, which is Hamlet's internal conflict throughout the play.
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Free Hamlet Essays: Hamlet's Inability to Take Action
593 Words | 2 Pages
With his thinking mind Hamlet does not become a typical vengeful character. Unlike most erratic behavior of individuals seeking revenge out of rage, Hamlet considers the consequences of his actions. What would the people think of their prince if he were to murder the king? What kind of effect would it have on his beloved mother? Hamlet considers questions of this type which in effect hasten his descision. After all, once his mother is dead and her feelings out of the picture , Hamlet is quick and aggressive in forcing poison into Claudius' mouth. Once Hamlet is certain that Claudius is the killer it is only after he himself is and and his empire falling that he can finally act.
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Comparing 'Death Of A Salesman And Hamlet'

Willy Pride Quotes

Critical Response Of Arthur Miller's 'Death Of A Salesman'

Compare Much Ado About Nothing And Hamlet

Death of a Salesman Character Analysis