Death of a Salesman - Reflective Entry

After completing my reading of this play, I had many questions that remained ambiguous. One of them was did Linda know that Willy was unfaithful to her? It is not clear how long Willy has been delusional. Did she stay with him to keep an eye out on him? I would think she would know that he had an affair based on all the talking he did with himself. I would think that something would have been revealed through his hallucinations and flashbacks. She seems so in love with him, even through his lying and odd behavior. She continues to try to build him up, even though he has not done much to earn it. "Willy, darling, you're the handsomest man in the world...And the boys, Willy. Few men are idolized by their children the way you are," (1563). In reality the boys do not seem to idolize their father, especially not Biff. She frequently told her sons to stop aggravating Willy or leave. She still chose him over her children. I never quite understood why Linda tries to make him out as a better person than he is.

Death of a Salesman - Question 2

Death of a Salesman could be described as a tragedy. The play gives an account of Willy's life shortly before death in which we learn of his tragic flaw and his downfall. Through witnessing his flashbacks and hallucinations, the reader/viewer of the play is able to understand where Willy went wrong in his life. Willy often thinks of situations he regrets, such as the time he cheated on his wife and when Biff caught him. He regrets how his relationship ended up with his son as he recalls when Biff yells at him,"You fake! You phony little fake!" (1618). Willy had the potential to be a hero to is family if he would have overcome his pride and work for his neighbor in order to provide for his family rather than continuing to lie and borrow money. His excessive pride led to his downfall, as he frequently flashed back to the moments he regretted. These thoughts consumed him and all that he could think about was making things right with his family, leading to his tragic death that left Linda completely alone.

Death of a Salesman - Question 6

The theatrical component of music is used to contribute to Death of a Salesman. The playwright indicates Willy's flashbacks or hallucinations through this physical effect given in the stage directions.

"Willy: I'm getting awfully tired, Ben. (Ben's music is heard. Ben looks around at everything.)

Charley: Good, keep playing; you'll sleep better. Did you call me Ben?

...

Ben: His flute. He played the flute

Willy: Sure, the flute, that's right! (New music is heard, a high, rollicking tune.)

(pages 1568,1571)

The music takes Willy back to previous times in his life and serve as a reminder of his past. The music also helps to signal to the reader/audience when these flashbacks or hallucinations are occurring throughout the play. Without this cue, the play would be more difficult to follow along with.

The Glass Menagerie - Reflective Response

After thinking about this story, I decided I do not really care much for Tom. As stated in my previous post, I think the whole play just seems like a sad excuse for how he ended up exactly like his own father. Unless my interpretations about this play are completely wrong, I think he is honestly just a jerk. Obviously I can understand why he would be sick and tired of working to support his family, but I think he makes things out to be far worse in the play than they actually were. He makes himself out to be so much better than the rest of his family. He only discussed the flaws of others to try to make the audience sympathize with him. This was not exactly reality. Through his portrayal he tries to justify his father's actions along with his own to make himself out to be rising above his hardships, when in reality I think he may have just been running from them.

The Glass Menagerie - Question 7

Unlike most plays I have read, time is never an established factor in Tennessee Willaims' The Glass Menagerie. Because Tom is recalling everything from memory, the sequence of events is not necessarily in chronological order. This play also seems like it takes only a few days when in reality it could have been much longer. Amanda asked Tom to find Laure a gentleman caller. What seemed to be the next day could have really been days or even weeks in reality. I believe time was changed so greatly because Tom was trying to justify his own actions of leaving his family. With each scene in the play, the audience perceives Tom and Amanda as near rivals with one another. They were constantly arguing or Amanda was nagging at him. This makes the audience side with Tom in his decision to leave. But in reality, each moment that passed between Amanda and Tom could not have been so angry and spiteful. The audience only sees what Tom chose to show them. There is another side to every story. In the final stage directions, Amanda is described as having "dignity and tragic beauty." Her gestures are also described as "slow and graceful." In this final portrayal of Amanda, she does not seem quite like what Tom was describing. She was comforting her daughter lovingly; she was not nagging or making Laura feel inferior by any means.

The Glass Menagerie - Question 6

A large component of The Glass Menagerie was the contribution of music. The main theme song was titled "The Glass Menagerie" as well, composed by Paul Bowles. This song was cued at carefully selected moments in Tom's recollection of the past. It was played most often surrounding Laura's mood changes to sadness, inferiority, or embarrassment. On page 1239, the song is first introduced when Amanda inquires about gentleman callers to Laura. "What? No one - not one? You must be joking!" At this comment, Laura becomes ashamed and distances herself from the others behind the portieres, serving as a great indicator of her feelings of embarrassment and inferiority. This song was symbolic of Laura. She herself was like the glass collection she had: fragile, unusual to others, and easily broken.