What were your first thoughts when you read this? And then? And then?
My first thoughts when I read this were the realization of where Willy’s stress and frustration stems from. He feels that his father and brother were so much more accomplished than him. Their successes in difficult environments in many ways appears to emasculate Willy. Although he has a great superiority complex when it comes to others, such as Charley when he comes to visit, when Willy speaks to his brother in a hallucination-like state, he acts completely submissive. It’s obvious that his brother and father have a strong, dominating hold over him postmortem. My second thought was the realization that this is why he is so hard on his children, especially Biff. He feels that …show more content…
Throughout the play, music is played, majorly flute music. Although at first, such appears to be only a cinematic choice, the mention of Willy’s father’s flute playing makes it all the more symbolic. Like how the thoughts of his father are constantly plaguing Willy, music similar to what his father might have played haunts the play from beginning to end. The fact that Willy barely knew his father aside from stories from Ben and faint, blurry memories, makes this haunting presence interesting. Willy constantly longs for what his dad had, even though he doesn’t personally know what exactly his father attained. This only adds to the impossibility of Willy’s hopes and desires. He shoots for what he does not understand, and therefore his goals are not solid nor truly attainable. In the flashbacks it is also notable that many, like this one, are largely taken up by the presence of his brother, Ben. Although Willy would have minimally seen his brother who was generally in other places, such as Alaska and Africa, accumulating wealth, nearly all of Willy’s flashbacks center on Ben. Throughout them, Ben has a domineering hold over Willy. Ben’s monopoly over Willy’s memories and flashbacks shows that, even though he is dead, he still has a similar dominant hold over Willy’s conscious. This hold is maintained by Willy’s desire for what Ben has. Once again, it must be brought up that Willy has no means of fully understanding Ben’s life or what he has. He knew little aside from the stories of greatness on Ben’s occasional visits. Therefore Willy has, by constantly comparing himself to two uncomparable people, set himself up for misery and failure. Goals that are not solid cannot be achieved. It is like New Year’s Resolutions. If someone sets a specific goal, such as working out 4 times a week, that is potentially achievable;
My first thoughts when I read this were the realization of where Willy’s stress and frustration stems from. He feels that his father and brother were so much more accomplished than him. Their successes in difficult environments in many ways appears to emasculate Willy. Although he has a great superiority complex when it comes to others, such as Charley when he comes to visit, when Willy speaks to his brother in a hallucination-like state, he acts completely submissive. It’s obvious that his brother and father have a strong, dominating hold over him postmortem. My second thought was the realization that this is why he is so hard on his children, especially Biff. He feels that …show more content…
Throughout the play, music is played, majorly flute music. Although at first, such appears to be only a cinematic choice, the mention of Willy’s father’s flute playing makes it all the more symbolic. Like how the thoughts of his father are constantly plaguing Willy, music similar to what his father might have played haunts the play from beginning to end. The fact that Willy barely knew his father aside from stories from Ben and faint, blurry memories, makes this haunting presence interesting. Willy constantly longs for what his dad had, even though he doesn’t personally know what exactly his father attained. This only adds to the impossibility of Willy’s hopes and desires. He shoots for what he does not understand, and therefore his goals are not solid nor truly attainable. In the flashbacks it is also notable that many, like this one, are largely taken up by the presence of his brother, Ben. Although Willy would have minimally seen his brother who was generally in other places, such as Alaska and Africa, accumulating wealth, nearly all of Willy’s flashbacks center on Ben. Throughout them, Ben has a domineering hold over Willy. Ben’s monopoly over Willy’s memories and flashbacks shows that, even though he is dead, he still has a similar dominant hold over Willy’s conscious. This hold is maintained by Willy’s desire for what Ben has. Once again, it must be brought up that Willy has no means of fully understanding Ben’s life or what he has. He knew little aside from the stories of greatness on Ben’s occasional visits. Therefore Willy has, by constantly comparing himself to two uncomparable people, set himself up for misery and failure. Goals that are not solid cannot be achieved. It is like New Year’s Resolutions. If someone sets a specific goal, such as working out 4 times a week, that is potentially achievable;