Thesis on "Short Story or Play"

Thesis 5 pages (1384 words) Sources: 4 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Characterization in Miller's Death of a Salesman

Willy Lowman is the modern-day tragic hero and he is nothing if he is not the epitome of the failed American Dream. Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman explores the theme of the failure of the American Dream and the nasty trail of desperation it leaves behind. Willy is a breed of new tragic heroes that do not fit under the traditional notions of the tragic hero in that he is an ordinary man in fairly typical surroundings. He is what Missy Barringer refers to as a "commonplace hero" (Barringer 311) and he becomes a success because we can relate to him in a way that we cannot relate to kings and princes. Willy is a "decent, though deficient" (311) character and this is what draws us to him and his plight. According to Barringer, Miller believed that modern-day heroes desired to secure a "sense of personal dignity" (312) in the world more than anything else and this becomes the foundation of the fleeting dream after which Willy chases. It is Willy's humanity that makes him someone to whom we can relate, and that is why his story becomes more tragic. We can all relate to the American Dream and the failure of it is dreadful. Through the literary technique of characterization, Miller focuses on Willy's worthless pursuit of his dream and the damning repercussions of that failed he left behind.

The American Dream is a term that is thrown around loosely and generally associated with a certain level of success. That success seems as if it would be easy to attain but it is more difficult that many imagine. Miller concentrates on this difficulty in Death of a Salesman. Richard Rovere contends that Miller was a "socially conscious" (341) writer, not concerned with individuality so much as being concerned with conveying "with force the crushing impact of society upon its members" (342). This notion certainly reflects the theme of Death of a Salesman, as the Lowman's suffer under Willy's chase of his elusive dream. His problem boils down to a character flaw that he never conquers. Willy's deficiency is his inability to accept reality. He is literally blind to the fact that his life is a failure because he still clings to the hope that he can still turn things around. Willy cannot be faulted for having a dream but he can be faulted for not doing enough to achieve it. Willy is too much talk and not enough action; if Willy were an active participant in his own life, he would have chosen a different career path decades ago. This truth is too difficult for Willy to face so he continues to live a lie. As one might guess, his avoidance of thinking or doing anything proactive in his life only makes things worse in that his life and career continue to go downhill. Willy is flawed, he is lazy, he is misguided, and he does not care enough to change. The conflict we discover when we look at this man is the pain we can relate to when giving up a dream and the anger we feel for him because he refuses to see the truth. Willy is the victim of society's concept of the American Dream but society can only be partially responsible. In the end, Willy is responsible for his own life and choices. Through decades of choices, Willy seems to fail and all of these failures can be attributed to the chase of the dream. The dream can be somewhat tricky because just because one desires it does not make it real. Sometimes hard work does not make it real and, as Willy illustrates, a lifetime of work does not make it real. The attraction of the play is the reality of it. We do not like to look at Willy but something deep inside knows that his tragedy is far too common.

Unfortunately, Willy's character flaw does not end with Willy. John Gassner maintains that Death of a Salesman bridges the "gap between a social situation and human drama" (Gassner 339). The social situation is the allure… READ MORE

How to Reference "Short Story or Play" Thesis in a Bibliography

Related Thesis Papers:

Two Short Stories and Their Symbolism Essay

Upper-class women like those depicted in Gallant's story have to choose their mates carefully with regard to social status and appropriate alliances. The women in Gallant's story are keenly aware… read more

Essay 8 pages (2687 words) Sources: 1+ Style: MLA Topic: Theatre / Opera / Play

---

Play? We're Heading Down to the Lake Essay

play? We're heading down to the lake."

"Nah."

"Are you the new boy?"

"I guess so."

"Don't talk much, do you?" The dark-skinned young boy sitting on the step warily… read more

Essay 10 pages (2745 words) Sources: 0 Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Edgar Allan Poe's Short Stories. This Theme Term Paper

Edgar Allan Poe's short stories. This theme is "burial and redemption." Indeed, the theme of burial occurs in several of Poe's short stories. While expanding on this central theme, reference… read more

Term Paper 11 pages (4034 words) Sources: 10 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Irony in Two Short Stories of Guy Essay

Irony in Two Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant and Edgar Allen Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart"

One of the most notable features of both "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allen… read more

Essay 3 pages (1177 words) Sources: 3 Style: MLA Topic: Literature / Poetry

---

Analzying Contrasting 2 Short Stories Essay

His inner conflict does not get resolved even though he achieves his plans of destroying the home of Mr. Thomas.

The antagonist in the story is an object, which is… read more

Essay 5 pages (1506 words) Sources: 3 Topic: Theatre / Opera / Play

---

View 100+ more related papers  >>