Willy’s obsession with the past leads to his downfall. Willy is a very fascinating and complex character, a character that throughout the whole play is in the past; even tries to pull the audience into the past as well. Willys’ character is one that many times thinks of himself living in the past; remembers events as if they happened yesterday. By these actions Willy often times finds himself getting the past and present confused. The reader is able to catch a light of this through the transitions that Willy will make from one moment to the next. This happen a couple of times with Willy referring and looking back on the Ebbets Field Willy will even transition from one moment in the past to another moment in the past, and example of this is …show more content…
In the case of Willy Loman, he has affected quite a handful of people. Biff is one of them. Willy, toward the middle of the play, during a conversation that he has with Bernard, brought up what happened to Biff. Prior to what happened, Biff was going to be going to summer school to then be able to get into college, but after this incident, he made nothing of himself. Bernard always “thought so well of Biff, even though Biff always had taken advantage of him.” After Biff returned home after visiting Willy, Bernard has “often thought of how strange it was that he knew Biff given up his life” (Miller 94). Bernard wanted to know what had happened, from that point forward Willy was drawn back to the past “the year of the Ebbets Field game, the high point of Biff’s life as a football hero, followed rapidly by his discovery of his father with the Woman in Boston, his failure to complete credits for graduation, and the beginning of his long slide into failure” (Hurt 135). These events end up ruining Biff and Willy’s relationship for some good amount of time. These are events that both Biff and Willy often think about, even though it is in the past. Another example of the effects that the past had is that whenever Linda is mending her broken stockings and Willy happens to see Linda doing this, he is reminded of the past of The Woman, and he …show more content…
One can make the argument and case that if it was not for Gatsby’s fascination with the past with Daisy and wanting so much of her, which is something that Nick advised Gatsby not to continue with (as stated earlier), then Gatsby would not have pressured Daisy. This would, in turn, have not made Tom become curious in this Gatsby person, whom which he hires a private investigator to figure out who Gatsby is; really is. Tom would have never have hired a privet investigator if the “relationship” between Daisy and Gatsby never existed, once Tom and Daisy became married. One could also argue that Tom never confronts Daisy directly about her and Gatsby alone, because he is afraid that she might know and expose him and his mistress, Mertil. If not for Tom investigating, there would have never been a confrontation of Gatsby and Tom, which would have meant that they would not have gone on that drive, after the confrontation, and switched cars. This would mean that Myrtle would have never seen the car, and would have never run out to try to speak with who she thought was Tom; hence Myrtle would still be alive. If nothing ever happens to Mertil, then her husband Wilson would have never had the greed on Gatsby, and try to get revenge on Gatsby for Myrtles’ life, hence would have never perused Gatsby. I would have also meant that Wilson and Myrtle would have left to go out west, to get out of the city and to
Willy Loman is not the only victim of his tragic flaw. The rest of the Loman family is also affected by Willy's problem. Willy's wife, Linda, is the only one who supports and understands Willy's tragic flaw completely. Linda supports every far-fetched claim her husband makes. She is even described as having “infinite patience” whenever she is conversing with Willy (Miller 99). Willy's two sons, Biff and Happy, are also affected by his flaw. Happy, when in the company of two ladies, claims that Willy is not even his father, and “just a guy” (Miller 91). Later in the play, Biff decides that he does not want to be in his father's life anymore. Biff's problems are simply too much for Willy to handle with his current state of being, even though Willy needs Biff in his life. After both internal and external conflict, Biff reveals to Willy that Willy had been lied to for a number of years, and that the life he lives is essentially a lie (Miller 104).
F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, “The Great Gatsby”, and Baz Luhrmann’s film, “The Great Gatsby”, both have similarities and contrasts between the two of them. The Great Gatsby is a novel and film taken place in the 1920s filled with wild parties, mysterious people, The American Dream, and most of all, love. There are several things that can be compared between the novel and film; such as the characters and the setting. There are also contrasts between the two as well; which is mainly involving the character Nick.
All stories have the same blueprint structure with the same type of ending whether it be good triumphs over evil, rags to riches, the voyage and the return, tragedy, or rebirth. The thing that sets these stories apart is the message they intend to in our minds. “ The power of a story to shift and show itself to anew is part of what attracts people to it, at different ages, in different moods, with different concerns” (Auxier 7). These messages are given by the characters in the story that all have their own reasoning but in the end have one meaning behind it. Some messages give specified personal messages rather than a broad stated such as the stories The Wizard of Oz and The Great Gatsby. Blinded by the ignorance of desires, the characters
This just proves how thoughts of class in a society significantly affects the decision of marriage in both novels. Those who are rich are more concerned with playing it safe and sticking with their own people. They often care too much about their image and it is this that results in them not being satisfied or sustained. Daisy and Lady Catherine de Bourgh, both married into their own old upper class and did not take the chance to go out of the cultural norms, resulting in them both living a boring, unsatisfied life. Money mattered, not his character. Another time class shows up is when the upper-class displays their superiority to the lower-class. In The Great Gatsby, Tom and Daisy, a wealthy couple from East Egg-the older money in society- often feel like they are better than West Egg- the lower-class people- and don’t like socializing much in their area.
Imagine. You are sitting in complete silence, even the nearby crickets won't dare to let out even the slightest of croaks. You stare down at your cluttered, dimly lit desk. Your hand grasps your pen, and the other rubs back and forth across your temple in angst. Your eyes pass over each paper, containing each incomplete thought, and your mind floods with memories of your past. Trapped by writer’s block, you are all alone with only your experiences, surroundings, and philosophy aiding you in the fall that is the dark reality of alcoholism and depression. For renowned authors F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway, these influences all played a crucial role in identifying their style techniques, as well as determining similarities and differences
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...
“If you love two people at the same time, choose the second one, because if you really loved the first one you wouldn 't have fallen for the second” (Johnny Depp). F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby emphasizes the similarities of the characters Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby despite their different backgrounds. In the novel, The Great Gatsby, Tom and Gatsby are alike because of their extreme wealth, mutual desire for Daisy’s love, and lack of morals.
It would appear that if only a few small things were to change, Gatsby would end up as the winner. Regrettably, Gatsby was set up to fail from the start. Daisy is a wicked person, her and Tom simply hurt others and retreats back to their money for security. After she left Gatsby for Tom, not only did she refuse to resolve the issue with Gatsby, she refused to even attend his funeral. When Nick calls Daisy to inform her about the funeral, their butler answers. Their conversation went like, “Left no address?” “No.” “Say when they’d be back?” “No.” “Any idea where they are? How I could reach them?” “I don’t know. Can’t say.” (Daisy was Gatsby’s goal, his life. She knew Gatsby did everything for her, yet she would not even show up at his funeral. When daisy cried at Gatsby’s mansion it becomes obvious that she only felt that she missed an opportunity. That she could have been with Gatsby who who was more exciting than Tom but equally as rich. Daisy would have used Gatsby up and thrown him away as fast as she let him in. Gatsby changed his life for Daisy, but she wasn 't the right one to change his life for. Even if Gatsby earned his money earned properly, his goal would prevent him from
One problem Willy has is that he does not take responsibility for his actions; this problem only gets worse because of his lies. Biff looks up to Willy, so when he finds out that Willy has an affair in Boston, Biff is petrified. Biff realizes his hero, dad, the one he wants to impress, is a phony and a liar. Willy destroys Biff's dream of playing football by saying he does not have to study for the math regents, he also Willy telling Bernard to give Biff the answers. When Biff fails the regents, he does not want to retake the test because he is so disgusted with his hero and does not want to succeed. Not only did Willy destroy Biff's dream, he also broke his vows and refused to admit it. Biff is a failure, in Willy's eye, in most part due to Willy and what happened in Boston. Willy refuses to take responsibility for what he did, so he lies about Biff. Willy tells Bernard that Biff has been doing great things out west, but decided to come back home to work on a "big deal". Willy knows that Biff is a bum who has not amounted to anything, but he refuses to take responsibility for what happened in Boston, so he changes the story of Biff's success. Throughout Willy's life he continued to lie. It might have stopped if Linda did not act the way as she did. Linda is afraid to confront Willy, so she goes along with his outlandish lies.
Willy's first flash to the past was when his son, Biff, returns home from the west. Willy discusses his disappointment in Biff with his dear wife Linda. When Willy fails to cope with this misfortune successfully, he returns in his head to a time when everything was going well and life was more fortunate to him. It is perfectly normal for one to remember more fortunate days at the more dispirited times of life, as long as they can return to the present and deal with the reality of the situation. However, Willy never does return to the original problem, he just continues on with life, fleeing from the troubles that cross his path. His refusal to acknowledge reality becomes so significant, that he honestly believes the past, and he lives his entire life through a false identity never looking at the truth of his life.
Within the debate on who is to be crowned the “Great American Novel,” a valid factor that may be taken into consideration is how ideals in culture become altered with an evolving environment, and therefore, the argument can be made on the behalf of The Great Gatsby to be considered for the title. Due to its more recent ideological concepts, the novel addresses American ideals that are not fully developed or addressed at all within The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. These ideals can be boiled down to primarily two concepts: the fully-developed American dream of richness and upper-class goals, and consumerism in the industrialization of America. While Mark Twain’s piece touches on the “American dream” with Huck beginning the book off with $6,000
Willy's main flaw is his foolish pride, this it what makes him a tragic hero. Yet there are many facets to his personality that contribute to the state he and the family are in during the play. His upbringing of the boys is one major issue, he raised them with the notion that if one is well-liked, he need not worry about qualifications, he believed that if his boys were popular they would come out on top. Sadly, he doesn't realize that the only way an ordinary person can get rich is through work (represented by Bernard) or through luck and good timing (Ben), and Willy missed the boat when it came to ...
Foremost, Willy has a problem with his inability to grasp reality. As he grows older his mind is starting to slip. For example, when he talks to the woman and his brother Ben. Throughout the story, Willy dreams of talking to the woman, because the woman is a person that he was dating in when he went to Boston. He was cheating behind his wife’s back. Willy basically uses her as a scapegoat when he’s hallucinating about her. He blames all of his problems on the woman. For instance Willy says, “ Cause you do… There’s so much I want to make for.” (38) This is the evidence right here. Also he dreams about his brother Ben. Willy wishes could be more like his brother who has just passed away a couple of months previously to the story. He also wishes he didn’t have to work and could be rich like Ben. He respects Ben for not really working and making a lot of money. Another example of Willy’s hallucinations are when he says,“ How are you all?” (45) This occurs when Willy is talking with Charley and he starts thinking about Ben. Willy’s inability to grasp reality never changed throughout the story.
Willy still struggles to find out why his son, Biff, has not made anything of himself yet. Instead of a stable job, Biff has been a farmhand across the country earning only $35 a week (Act I. Scene I). Willy does not know where he has gone wrong with raising his kids, with his job, and overall with his life (Krutch, 308-309). To find the solutions to the problems driving him insane, Willy looks to his past. While he is day-dreaming he actually talks to himself and makes his family worried about his health and sanity. He daydreams and feels as if he is actually encountering the past once again in his journey. Willy is desperately trying to find out what has gone wrong in his life, why no one responds to him in the positive way that he used to, and why Biff does not have a stable job or a family. Through his trek to finding his mistakes in life, Willy finds r...
He was unable to visualize his path to self-realization and full awareness. Willy didn’t learn from his own mistake in order to know that he was the cause of failure in Biff’s life after when Biff found him having love affairs with another woman hence becoming unfaithful with him. Eventually, Willy takes his own life believing that his money from insurance will help improve Biff’s status within the society. Traditionally as a tragic hero, Willy could have not committed suicide though his downfall was to be there but instead he was supposed to learn from his mistakes and await for another fate in life just has Oedipus did in Sophocle’s story though his down fall was overdue.