25 extra credit points for second semester.
Please tell us the name of the book and the author, and very briefly summarize the plot (no more than 5 sentences). Then, answer this in a well formed, brief paragraph (no more than 7 sentences): Why would you consider this to be a book of "literary merit"? In case you are unclear about how the College Board defines literary merit, here is the text I gave you in class, via the College Board:
Books of literary merits represent works from
various genres and periods. The works
chosen should invite and gratify rereading. Reading in an AP course should
be both wide and deep. This reading necessarily builds upon the reading done in
previous English courses. These courses should include the in-depth reading of
texts drawn from multiple genres, periods, and cultures. In their AP course,
students should also read works from several genres and periods -- from the
sixteenth to the twenty-first century -- but, more importantly, they should get
to know a few works well. They should read deliberately and thoroughly, taking
time to understand a work's complexity, to absorb its richness of meaning, and
to analyze how that meaning is embodied in literary form. In addition to
considering a work's literary artistry, students
should consider the social and historical values it reflects and embodies. Careful
attention to both textual detail and historical context should provide a
foundation for interpretation, whatever critical perspectives are brought to
bear on the literary works studied.
Hi Ms. Scher! How is your weekend going? I have a question. Will the book we read be used for an assignment for class?
ReplyDelete-- Nassa
Hi nassa-
ReplyDeleteYou won't need to do an assignment, other than the blog post. But, you could do a Novel in a Page and potentially use this book as one of your options for the ap exam, if you feel like you know it well.
Ms. Scher
Here is Shahrier's post:
DeleteThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a book by Samuel Clemens, also known as Mark Twain. In this book, a boy named Thomas Sawyer is depicted in the antebellum period. Tom is an orphan, raised by his aunt, who herself has two other children. Unlike his cousins, Tom is a very mischievous, yet brilliant boy. One day, as punishment, Tom was given the task to white wash a fence on a Saturday, where every other kid has their weekly vacation from work. Tom, not wanting to do this task, was able to fool the other kids to do it for him to the point where tom was taking bribes from others just so they could as well paint the fence.
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is of literary merit for many reasons. It has certainly withstood
the test of time, for I had enjoyed reading it a hundred thirty six years after its publication in 1876. This book can also be reread a second time and the reader could conceder about the economic standards, or look into the lives of slaves, or better understand the society and its people. The characters are also very realistic, and the author even said that “most of the adventures recorded in this book really occurred.”
Lastly, the book shows emotional complexity. It has showed great sorrow as Tom’s heart was broken by the girl he loved, sense of accomplishment as Tom duped others to do this chores, adventure when Tom runaway to become pirates, and heroism when Tom and his friend Huck Finn testified against a murderer at the risk of their own safety, and even supercilious when Tom and Huck found the treasure and every person in town looked up to them. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is of literary merit for all these reasons and many more, much of it has not been said for it will not fit into the mere seven sentences that sets the boundaries.
"Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens is a novel about 19th century social classes in England depicted through the experience of a boy named Pip. Pip originates as an orphaned pauper who works his way into a gentleman status to attract the attention of Estella, a wealthy girl he fell in love with when he was a child, with the help of an anonymous benefactor. As Pip perseveres to win Estella's heart, he acquaints himself with the aristocrat society thus forgetting the loved ones he left behind in the country when he left for London. Pip is torn between the life he had and the life he wishes to have while unintentionally plunging himself into the mysteries surrounding his benefactor and Estella’s origin. Throughout the novel, Pip realizes the hardships of moving through social classes and the discriminations enacted onto the lower classes by a society that works around the whims of the wealthy and powerful.
ReplyDelete“Great Expectations” is and should be considered of literary merit because it includes the timeless elements of social classes, adolescence, and love. However, the most important element is that the protagonist, Pip, is a spell bounding character that the reader can relate to. He expresses his generosity through actions but acknowledges his faults and mistakes which makes him less of a hero and more of a human. In addition, the reader witnesses Pip’s growth from a child to a man which creates a stronger connection between Pip and the reader due to the passing of time. Pip also undergoes the struggles of becoming wealthy and attempting to achieve the love that he desires that add romance, mystery, and action to the plot. Aside from those specific elements, Dickens reveals the truth behind the social classes of his time and introduces the audience to the reality of his society in a more emotional light which they may not receive in a history book.
"Invisible Man" by Ralph Ellison is a novel that depicts the battle of black nationalism and the racist society in the United States in the mid 1900's. The narrator who goes by Invisible Man, is a young black male who was raised in the South, not realizing the real world around him. As he had high hopes in his future he had attended college and later on was expelled for showing Mr. Norton, a wealthy white man, the horrid society and lives of the blacks. After he had been expelled he had joined an organization called the "Brotherhood." The narrator had gain their respects from his speech, unmistakably, that was when he had made the worst decision in his life. From them on, he had faced the truth of racism in the society and the his lack of identity. As Harlem had racial tensions between the whites and blacks, the narrator had fell into a manhole. This is when the narrator himself understood the "Brotherhood" manipulation as well as his invisibility in the world and his identity. The narrator then writes down his story and plans to emerge from hibernation and face the real world once again.
ReplyDelete"Invisible Man" is and should be considered of literary merit. This novel had portrayed the difficult life of a black individual trying to face the reality of racism and the lack of identity most blacks had. The language Ellison had used within this novel is confusing but as the reader keeps on reading, the reader would come to realize the true meaning of the novel that Ellison had portrayed. The narrator, also known as the protagonist, is how Ellison depicts the invisibility of all black individuals and the battle of black nationalism. As the narrator had fell into the manhole, this is where everything is laid out within the narrator himself. The narrator realizes the real world around him and how he himself is invisible to the world. The narrator had undergo inner struggle with invisibility but had then accepted himself as an "Invisible Man" and had moved underground to escape the society but now sharing his story, he had made plans to emerge from his hibernation and face the world with what it had in stored for a black male such as himself. Ellison essentially had depicted the absurdity of black life in the U.S. and how one must create meaning into their own existence.
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ReplyDeleteThe novel “The Prince and The Pauper” by Mark Twain tells the tale of two young boys, with two completely different lives, and how those lives are turned upside down due to mere accident and misinterpretation. Edward is the prince of whales and heir to the throne; while Tom is a lowly beggar boy with a dream of one day seeing, with his own eyes a real prince. The two boys meet one day, and both intrigued by the other’s life, decide to switch clothing for a moment, as a simple boyish “jest”. Through a misunderstanding with one of the guardsmen, the prince is perceived as Tom the lowly beggar (due to the ragged clothing) and thrust out onto the street, where no one will believe him when he states his true identity, and he is forced to experience what he has never before experienced; suffering and injustice. The young boys have many heart racing, unwanted adventures living the others life, but in the end all is righted, and Edward once prince, becomes king; Tom once a beggar, becomes the honorable King’s Ward.
ReplyDeleteThis novel is worthy of great literary merit due to its insightful and complex plot, significant historical and societal context, and deep analytical meaning. Twain demonstrates complexity in the novel by shifting the plot between the two main characters lives, relaying each new event with clarity, gratifying reading. Additionally this novel falls under the genre of historical fiction illustrating class, governmental, and economic issues that existed in Tudor England during the 1500’s. “The Prince and the Pauper” displays information that enlightens readers on English culture, and custom; consequently many historical figures, events and places that existed during this era are integrated into the plot. Furthermore, the novel allows for many critical perspectives, one being the lack of justice, inhumane treatment, and poor living conditions the lower classes were forced to endure during this time. Through further analysis and study, one may draw many significant conclusions on the deeper meaning this novel provides, thus it is truly of literary merit.
“Cry, the Beloved Country,” by Alan Paton is a novel about the injustices against blacks during the Apartheid in South Africa as well as the fight against black injustice. The story revolves around Stephen Kumalo, a Zulu pastor who leaves his dilapidated village to travel to the white-dominated city Johannesburg during Apartheid in order find out the whereabouts of his remaining relatives and his dear son, Absalom. During his journey and his stay at Johannesburg, he learns about the injustices against blacks and how his family has been driven to despair by corruption and poverty. The story also revolves around James Jarvis, a wealthy white landowner who learns that his son, Arthur Jarvis, was recently murdered by a young black man (who happens to be Stephen’s son, Absalom) and that Arthur was also an activist against the apartheid in South Africa. Kumalo and Jarvis eventually meet as they learn how similar their despairs are and work together to make each other’s life better.
ReplyDelete“Cry, the Beloved Country” is a work worth literary merit for its fascinating account of South African Apartheid seen through the eyes of a poor, black pastor and a father who sees through the eyes of his activist son. The author does an excellent job in portraying injustice during the apartheid while also contrasting it to the beauty of the landscape. Stephen Kumalo can be seen as a sheltered character who has many fortunes despite the poverty of his lifestyle who soon learns about the wickedness of the outside, white-dominated world. Through this, Paton brings out the true horror of Apartheid by slowly revealing it through the many incidents that Kumalo witnesses. Paton is masterful in his writing for expressing the sorrows of the Apartheid as seen through Kumalos’s eyes, while also showing the compassion and some whites felt for blacks during the time. Paton tells a story of two men with similar tragedies and then uses them to see South African Apartheid from two different perspectives: one from Kumalo who experiences black injustice firsthand, and one from Jarvis who learns of injustice and compassion for blacks through his son’s writings.
Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison is the story of Macon “Milkman” Dead III, an African-American living in Michigan from the 1930s to the 1960s, and follows him from his birth to his untimely death. He is born to a relatively wealthy, though quite unhappy, family, while his best friend Guitar Bains is not, but they still got along. One day, Guitar tells him he is part of a secret society called the Seven Days which, when there is a murder of a black person by a white person, commits the same exact act to an innocent white person, so Milkman tries to distract him with what he and his father think is a bag of gold hidden in his aunt’s house. It turns out to be only a bag of the bones, so Milkman goes off to Virginia to look for the cave where his aunt and father had supposedly found gold, but ends up finding out more about his very rich family history. Guitar follows him because he wants the gold, but kills him in the end, believing that he stole the gold and shipped it to himself.
ReplyDeleteThis book is of literary merit for many reasons, one being that its characters are not only very round and believable, but are fitting for the historical context. It tells of how most African-Americans did not escape poverty as they had slavery, and how many who did isolated themselves from those who didn’t. This is revealed in the relationship between Macon Dead II and his sister, Pilate: Macon is a successful real estate agent, while Pilate has no electricity in her house, and despite being siblings, they never communicate. Besides the historical meaning, another reason this book is of literary merit is that there is a lot symbolism in the book which is subject to different interpretations. For example, the symbol of flight is repeated throughout the book: In the beginning, a life insurance agent dies trying to fly (he jumps from the top of the hospital where Milkman is born), Milkman is disappointed as a child when he learns humans can’t fly, Milkman takes an airplane to Virginia where he believes the gold is, Milkman’s great-grandfather is rumored to have “flown back to Africa”, and Milkman himself “flies” in the final moments of the book (and his life). I think this represents Milkman’s desire to get away from his family, but others may disagree. In addition, it and other symbols may have other occurrences in the book and deeper meanings, which invites me to reread the book.
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ReplyDeleteThe novel “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck portrays the tale of two men, one big but slow, and the other small, but smart, on their journey to find work, and one day reach their dream of owning land. This all takes place during the era of the Great Depression, and is set in California. Luckily, the two men, Lennie and George find work at a ranch in Soledad, California, after being run out of their old town, Weed. Their time working at the ranch is all done to raise the 600 dollars needed to purchase their dream land, however, with Lennie’s childlike ambitions; he is constantly getting into trouble. Lennie ends up murdering the wife of the ranch owner’s son, and flees, only to be chased after, and killed by George.
ReplyDeleteTo me, “Of Mice and Men” is considered “of literary merit,” and very well should be. This novel is set in the 1930s, directly in the Great Depression, and after the Raging Twenties. It offers up examples of prejudice, euthanasia, the downsides of having a dream, and finally, the downfall of the American Dream (relating back to “The Great Gatsby.”) This tragic tale is bittersweet, all throughout the novel we are led to believe that their dream will come true, only to have the injustices of the time get Lennie killed, and leave George anguished. Themes such as freedom and confinement, as well as Americas’ vision of the time, and most importantly, the nature of man are drawn from the Nobel Prize winning novel, through Steinbeck’s use of Lennie and George. In conclusion, this novel is of literary merit because it is timeless, and captures the overview of the Great Depression, and the sufferings of men trying to reach their dreams.
“1984” by George Orwell is about a man, Winston Smith, who lives in the anti-utopia Oceania ruled by the dictator the Big Brother and his party. Winston is an outer party member (it is ranked below upper party members but above the unintelligent peasant-like humans, the proles). He works in the Ministry of Truth by rewriting history that does not agree with the party. Winston is not a loyal party member, he writes an illegal diary, commits adultery with his lover Julia, and attempts to find the Brotherhood, a secret society conspiring against the party. His search for the Brotherhood only leads him into a trap, and in the end he is vaporized from history and memory by the thought police.
ReplyDelete“1984” is a work worth literary merit because it is a piece that reflects the concerns of the society of which it was written. George Orwell was alive during both World Wars and even participated in the Spanish Civil War, which spurred his intense feelings for totalitarianism and criticism of communism. Through his written work, George Orwell expressed the concerns of his generation, by describing the chaotic future they feared. Orwell explains in depth not only how this kind of society exists, but why; the main theme is the purity of power by torturing other humans fuels corrupt governments. In a different light, the book is also of merit not just for historical reasons but because the read is so rich with ambiguity that it needs re-reading for the full meaning to be extracted. For example, it is an open-ended question that the protagonist might actually be insane. “1984” is a dense and complex text that’s historical and literary value makes it of merit and encourages re-reading. -Hannah Szentkuti
The novel "Obasan" by Joy Kogawa is about a woman named Naomi Nakane, a 36 year old teacher living in a countryside town in Cecil, Alberta in Canada in the 1900s. The story revolves around Naomi and how she reflects her experiences and memories of her past and present life. The tale goes from her missing mother to having to live in a hut in the middle of a forest and the many discriminating tortures that Japanese-Canadians had to bare. Naomi then remembers the sickness that hit her family, her father’s disappearances, going with her family to Granton to work exhaustingly on a farm owned by a stingy white family called the Barkers, living in what had once been a chicken coop, and eventually the death of her father. Later in the story, Naomi moves back from her memories to the present, and learns the truth of what happened to her mother and grandmother in Japan by letters, finally being able to accept her mom’s death.
ReplyDelete"Obasan" is of literary merit because it features the problems of discrimination against innocent people who lived mixed cultured lives. Most Canadians were racist towards Japanese-Canadians and treated them as outcasts, as people who were as low as slaves. Naomi's narration intertwines her experiences and recollections, both of actual history and societal reflections. Although it is a fictional book, readers can still absorb many different meanings of the characters’ experiences, from relating to the overcoming of hardships or learning the truth of something long ago. The novel is about the personal things that a WWII survivor has gone through, mirroring the effects of racism in reality during and after the war. Not only does the book offer the real events, legal documents, and discriminations, it also gives real emotions, acceptance, and understandings one can go through anytime; in this case, it was the struggle of coming into terms with the past. Therefore, “Obasan” is a book of literary merits because through historical imagination, Kogawa gives one a perspective of what happened to people through and after WWII.
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a novel by Jules Verne set in 1866, where renowned scientist Pierre Aronnax boards a U.S. ship, the Abraham Lincoln, set for the capture of a mysterious creature that has been sinking ships. The Abraham Lincoln is attacked by the creature and Aronnax, his servant Conseil, and harpooner Ned Land are thrown overboard and come across the creature, which is actually a submarine vessel called the Nautilus, and are taken on board by its commander, Captain Nemo. Captain Nemo states that the three are passengers of the Nautilus and have the liberties to explore it, but are never allowed to leave. The three men embark on several adventures with Captain Nemo during their stay on the Nautilus, but one day a warship encounters the Nautilus, and Nemo sinks it in cold blood, causing the three men to decide to escape. When they escape, the Nautilus is caught in a whirlpool, never to be seen again.
ReplyDelete"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is a novel of literary merit due to its high complexity that reflects upon the issues of its time which cannot be seen through casual reading. The novel is deep with adventure from exploring the unknown worlds of exotic lands and mysterious seas. It establishes several themes such as man vs. nature, as seen through Aronnax's dilemma to decide between scientific discovery and the welfare of his fellow man. Nemo is deeply ambiguous about his past and his reasoning, allowing for wide interpretation about Nemo and the mystery around what society has done to cause such hatred grow within him. Also, the novel explore the human want for liberty, where every character is struggling to escape towards freedom, but is never free. For example, Nemo is running away from society, but he cannot fully escape when it beckons to haunt him through his basic human nature. "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" is of literary merit since it explores the human struggle for freedom from humanity itself while traveling through the timeless genre of adventure.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel is about a sixteen-year-old Indian boy named Piscine Molitor Patel, who takes up the nickname “Pi” because of problems he had being called “Pissing Patel”. One day, Pi’s family decides to sell their zoo in India and move to Canada. While aboard the cargo ship, Tsimtsum, things take a turn for the worse as a storm arises and the ship begins to sink. Pi manages to escape onto a lifeboat, but also takes up a Bengal tiger named Richard Parker as a passenger. The two must use whatever resources they can find in their lifeboat and out in the ocean to survive until they are saved or find land.
ReplyDeleteLife of Pi shows “literary merit” through the author’s use of symbolism, ambiguity, and exaggerated actions. There are multiple symbols with deeper meanings throughout the text including the nickname “Pi”, which represents longevity and conflicts with Pi’s beliefs that everything must come to an end, or the tiger, which represents Pi’s inner wild, courageous personality. At the end of the novel, Pi reveals a different, more realistic story that is similar to the original, but without animals. The reader is unsure which story is actually true because of the ambiguity of the facts, which also invites rereading to compare the two stories that were presented and choose which one is true. Although many events in the story seem unrealistic, the story requests a “suspension of disbelief” to understand strange acts such as Pi believing in three different religions or being able to live with a tiger for 227 days. Once acceptance is made, the reader can start to understand that the author is trying to convey unity between the three religions and unity between the boy’s and the tiger’s character.
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ReplyDeleteI have also read Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man during the break.
DeleteNarrated by the protagonist, the novel portrays the life of a black man evolving in the American society of the mid-20th century when racial discrimination still haunted the nation, as he transforms from a naïve and obedient man to a rebellious one who deems himself as the Invisible Man. As a young man born and raised in the South, the narrator’s talent as a public speaker brought him aboard into attending a prestigious black college; however, he is eventually expelled from the college from his act of exposing Mr. Norton, one of the wealthy white trustees of the college,the flaws of the black life. Still persistent after this sudden fall, the narrator eventually travels to the north in hopes of finding a job, battling through stages of desperation in unemployment, and ultimately abandoning in his old ways of life and adopting a new life under the “Brotherhood” organization. Although he initially finds a new shade of light in life as he embarks on the organization’s journeys of “changing the course of history” by uniting and delivering speeches to the public, the narrator eventually realizes his fault in the movement: despite his high-profile in the organization, he was merely seen as an instrument by the committee in fulfilling the organization’s plan of backfiring the black community with its own people. Eventually, the novel draws to an end as the narrator leaves his life as a member of the Brotherhood, taking on a new life as the Invisible Man underground in a manhole, reflecting on his individual complexities, and preparing to emerge once again to tackle on the outside world.
Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man should be considered a novel of literary merit because it addresses both racial and personal identity issues. Throughout the novel, Ellison eloquently portrays the tension growing between the racial classes, which is apparent in the delivering of Tod Clifton’s (one of the “sacrificed” members of the Brotherhood) death, and the flaws of intervening efforts of social movements to ends the social clash, which is apparent in the flaws of the Brotherhood organization and its conflict with Ras’ black nationalism organization. Ellison illustrates consequences of the social standings established by the racial divisions, as he demonstrates signs of power in blacks associated with whites and the tension it unfurls, as depicted in Dr. Bledsoe’s (the head of the university) rash remarks to the narrator as a “nigger” and his insistence to hide the true life of the blacks. As with personal identity issues, Ellison focuses on the narrator’s internal struggle as an invisible man who reflects on his past and considers his past self as someone who went in everyone’s way except his own. Aside from these issues the novel itself is very intriguing as Ellison elaborately ties in events and lyrics of blues into the plot, all which hold a deeper meaning, thus, gratifying readers to reread the novel.
Wonderful choices, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the books. I'm reading The Poisonwood Bible, another book that's often on the AP list and certainly of literary merit.
ReplyDeleteSee you at school on Monday.
The picaresque novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, captures the essence of the pre-Civil War era where slaves strive for freedom and racism was more prominent than ever. The novel employs a variety of stereotypical characters ranging from the uneducated Southern teenager to the superficial con artist. The events of the book revolve around said teenager who is the child of a drunken abusive man and best friend to an always scheming boy named Tom Sawyer. From Twain’s previous novel, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, the boys were left with a robber’s stash of gold at the end of the book. In this novel, Huck’s once vanished father reappears to take his child’s money and since Huck wouldn’t give his deadbeat father the money; his father kidnaps him from Huck’s adopting household of Widow Douglas and Miss Watson. Tired from being beaten daily by his father, Huck escapes and jumps onto a raft with an escaped slave from Watson’s household, Jim, where they intend to ride the Mississippi River into the non-slave states of the North. Along the journey, they encounter a gang of robbers, become separated in a raft accident, and pick up a couple of con artists who sell Jim to local farmers. Luckily it is revealed that the farmers are Tom Sawyer’s aunt and uncle who had been expecting a visit from Tom, this ends in Tom aiding Huck in a plan to free Jim but also results in Tom being shot in the leg.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is of literary merit is due to the plethora of themes, symbols, and hidden allusions that forces the reader to reread the text in order to draw out the bigger picture(s) Twain is trying to reveal . While the novel contains many themes, the largest are racism and slavery that are explored through the character of Jim. Twain employed this theme to criticize the progression of racism and slavery by setting it in the antebellum period even though he wrote it in the years of Reconstruction. This is done to show that these themes have not changed even after slaves were emancipated, there was only little progression after the war had ended but it was quickly destroyed by the ratification of segregation and little rights. Another device employed to give the novel literary merit by this time using societal values are symbols. The prevalent one being is the Mississippi River that ultimately represents freedom; this would support the idea of societal values since freedom deals with social equality. The last device utilized is allusion that represents historical value, this is found when Huck is mixed up with the feud between the Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons. This alludes to the famous Hatfield and McCoy feud that also is fought between neighboring families over one of their daughters marrying the other clan’s son. This allusion adds historical context to the novel that, along with themes and symbols, contributes to the novel’s literary merit.
The novel Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald reflects controversial issues found in American life during the Roaring Twenties. The story centers around Dick Diver, a psychologist who doubles as both a doctor and husband to schizophrenic Nicole Diver, and their many intertwined relations. As the novel begins in the Diver’s Gausse’s Hotel on the French Riviera, Fitzgerald introduces many of the characters that each embody a theme of the twenties. Rosemary, a youthful American actress who becomes entangled in a love affair with Dick, Abe, a musician whose career falls to under the destruction of alcoholism, and Baby, the sister of Nicole who utilizes money as a means to pilot life, are a few of the characters who depict a loss of morality during the 1920s. In particular, Dick is an intelligent and talented man who is liked by many, but falls victim to temptations of lust and alcohol, all leading to the path of self destruction. Similar to Fitzgerald’s previous work of “The Great Gatsby”, Tender in the Night depicts the extravagance of this time period in the celebration of youth, wealth, and ambition, as well as the absence of morals.
ReplyDeleteThis novel is worthy of literary merit because it depicts timeless themes, all while embodying the Roaring Twenties. Fitzgerald demonstrates the strive for individualism and emphasizes materialism during the excess Jazz Era. The characters’ loss of morals as they lack limits are proven to lead to self destruction. The consequences of their actions can be used as guidelines to issues that apparent in society today. Tender in the Night is also worthy of literary merit because it realistically, and at times disturbingly, addresses relationship problems that make readers question morality. Topics such as incest, perversion, and love versus lust displayed in the novel require the reader to delve into a deeper analysis of the characters and their actions. Lastly, the ambiguity of purpose, such as Dick’s possible awareness of self destruction as a means to heal Nicole, serves as an example to the work’s complexity and acquiring of reflective analysis.
The novel Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a play that captures the determination and strife of those during the 1920s who yearned for the American Dream and those who were hit hard by the stock market crash of 1929 that lead to the Depression of the 1930s. The play weaves in and out of the past and present of one William (Willy) Lohman, a salesman with big dreams and even bigger will power. During the 1920s, Willy and his wife, Linda, and their two boys, Happy and Biff, are well on their way to becoming "well-rounded" and "stable", living in a decent home with all of the necessities to a happy life. But as life went on, Biff, athlete and star of the baseball team, flunked math and relied on comfort from his father who is in Boston at the time would help relieve him of his stress, which only led to him stumbling upon his father committing adultery. Biff never makes up for his lack of graduation credits and from there more disappointment is felt by Willy as his career as a salesman continues to deteriorate as sales go down. It does not help that his brother, Ben, comes off as incredibly successful, achieving Willy's dreams of becoming wealthy beyond his imagination through finding a diamond mine in Africa when traveling through the jungle. Willy's brother's success encourages him to find his own diamond mine in the dark jungle of his life, which only leads to his and his family's demise. By the time Willy and his wife are in their sixties, their sons in their thirties, they could barely pay off their bills, living pay check to pay check, Willy still to prideful to admit so. His pride creates powerful denial and eventually delusions in which Willy wavers from present to past as he tries to find the fault in his journey to the stars.
ReplyDeleteArthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is and should be considered of literary merit because it embodies the soar and crash of countless American families during the Roaring Twenties and the stock crash leading up to the Great Depression. The play also provokes the reader to have to re-read certain lines, passages, and possibly even the entire play once or twice due to the complexity of certain ideas, themes, and meanings. Miller's interesting portrayal of time and the overlapping of present and past and how the present contains the past requires the reader to pay close attention to the work and to question and dissect it with a determined effort to grasp concepts. Another theme supported throughout the play is the acceptance of how one is responsible and a product of one's actions, or lack their of, which can be seen through Willy's ignorance and denial of his increasing misfortune. Willy's passionate determination for wealth and need for becoming the "well-rounded man" captures most Americans during the Prosperity Decade while contrasting the suffering of those American families during the Great Depression of the 1930s.