American Literature After 1945 Fall 2014: August 2014

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Death of a Salesman is a true example of the role money plays over the mind and how easy it is to lose sight of what is truly important. Willy Loman worked his life away and in the end had nothing to show for it. He thought monetary items and being socially accepted was most important, and would bring him happiness; but his funeral proved his theory to be untrue. Willy lived the American dream but was too blind to see it. He had a loving wife and two loving boys, a roof over his head...

The Death of a Salesman is a good example of the powerful influence parents have on their children physiologically and emotionally. Willy’s father left him when he was very young and when he did he took a piece of Willy with him. Willy had little confidence in himself and pretended to be something that he wasn’t to fit in, and his accomplishments never were good enough. Two examples of this is his original reason for becoming a salesman and the way he parented his sons. Willy had no true...

Willy is selfish and his reputation is his life

Willy is an incredibly selfish and shallow character. Throughout the entire play his entire motivation is driven by his reputation. He's overly concerned with being liked (as mentioned by someone else in their post), and loves his kids based on how they're a reflection of him. He never wants the outside world to know that there are issues within his family. He won't let Biff tell Bill Oliver that he was working on a farm in the west, that he was there working in business. And when Bernard...

Defining "Success"

Throughout the play, the word "success" is thrown around a lot, especially by Willy and Biff. Willy obviously wants success for himself and for Biff, but it seems like Willy has a very specific idea of what being successful means, while Biff feels like it's way more open. Willy's definition of "success" is the very conventional interpretation of the American dream, with the housewife, successful and respected offspring who's achievements he can be proud of, his son was even a big football star. It's literally as stereotypical as it gets, and this is before "Leave it to Beaver" came out which is usually the go-to example of that classic American nuclear family. Willy wants this kind of thing for Biff, but Biff isn't necessarily sure that it's even what he even wants. He enjoys manual labor and working on a farm and feels like that's what will make him happy. I'm still not sure if Biff is saying that's what they all SHOULD be doing, or if it's just another thing that should be ACCEPTED to be doing. One thing is for sure though, Biff definitely thinks that Willy's definition of successful is a shame and doesn't even exist since they've all had to fool themselves and each other into thinking that's what they have, while Willy just considers everything in Biff's life to just be straight up failure.

Now a lot of this is mainly my opinion on the performances themselves and how I think the character should be portrayed but I'm curious to see how people feel. Vanessa brought up a good point on how different the text can be perceived by two very different actors. I know the Dustin Hoffman production is up but I hope most of you have seen the Lee J Cobb production in your travels. The...

Is it just me or does anyone else think that Linda knows all about Willie's indiscretions? She is just afraid to confronting the true to Willie. She is such a victim that she would probably blame herself. She wasn't woman enough for the great Willie Loman. I think Dustin Hoffman's portrayal of Willie is sympathetic but the one that I originally saw had Lee J Cobb as Willie and he played him as a poor moral corrupt man. I did not find...

The "New Man"

If any of you are Mad Men fans some of this should sound more familiar.
The 1950's (and even more so the 60's) saw the first generation in decades that didn't have to send most of it's men to war. There was no Great Depression, their was no German Threat or FDR. This country was built by people who had lived through and seen all of those things and the young men reaping and then creating the new culture didn't understand any of it. Korea wasn't like Germany and Vietnam hadn't come yet. Men Biff's age didn't understand The Depression and what that meant to their parents to be able to provide anything for their children let alone if they could actually spoil them. I mentioned Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in my other post and Williams and Miller dealt with many similar themes. Big Daddy cannot understand why Brick could want for anything; he'd worked all his life so his sons wouldn't have to like he did. He didn't understand what more his sons (but of course mainly Brick) could want or need if they were secure and had the chance to enjoy leisure and become an athlete or take time off with their wives. He didn't understand that they needed love and affection too because when he was growing up you literally didn't have the energy or the time to care about why you felt the way you did and what led to it. You barely had the time to be sad let alone melancholy. So when Brick feels stifled and lied to - it comes as a shock, because why should it matter?

Willy and Biff have a similar conflict. In Willy's mind he has done nothing but work tirelessly so that his sons (but again, mainly Biff) don't have to struggle like he did. So when Biff throws it away, and then tends the fields because that's "real man's work" and is on a journey to find himself, it's unheard of to Loman. Not only is his son choosing back-breaking manual labor at a time when he could wear a suit and have wealthy friends, he's also modern enough to be on a philosophical journey of self? To Willy this is a slap in the face because it's something he could never in his wildest dreams think of doing. To him, who cares who we are as long as we know what we are, as long as we mean something to the people around us and the people we leave behind.

I mentioned Mad Men because it comes up early in the series (1961) that while Don Draper is in his early to mid 30s, he has more in common with the men over 45 than he does with the guys in their mid twenties simply because he served in the army and none of them ever had to think about it. Every man older than him knows what it's like to scrape by and to serve while the guys less than ten years younger than him get to watch movies about it and laugh about a war with Cuba.
This play came out in 1949 and we were just at the cusp. WWII had recently ended and we were already seeing the 50s culture take over. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is 1955, Willy would have already seemed like a dinosaur.

Death of a Salesman

“Death of a Salesman” is more than the title character, Willie Lomax. Willie Lomax had everything a man could ask for and he didn’t realize it until it was gone. He had a loving wife, two sons who idolized him. Willie was always reaching for more than he could achieve. There was no “rock bottom for Willie,” as his neighbor Charley comments. Willie’s definition of success was unrealistic and he bolsters...

Linda Loman Ultimate Betrayal

Linda Loman's misguided idea of love ultimately betrays Willy. In her version of love she wants to live in a world of denial. She is never really able to see Willy as he is-unhappy at his job. At one point Willy says people don't seem to take to me and Linda responds,"Oh, don't be foolish." She cannot confront Willy about his suicide attempts. Instead she asks the children to kind to their father. She wants them to continue to perpetuate the myths and...

The Young Adult: Parental Importance

A bed lay desecrated. Man and woman pervert the holy vow of marriage. Bang. Bang. Bang. The knocker is persistent. Willy lay entangled amongst the deprivation of his own misdoings. As sin slowly encroaches, the seemingly endless rattle of wood against closed fist is acquitted within his own thoughts as nothing more than the wrong door. After contemplation, Willy leads his forbidden mistress behind closed doors. The ominous entryway becomes his center of focus. With a slight turn of the...

Happy

Happy has always been the son I've been more interested in in this play. He reminds me of Gooper in Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof", the thankless job of being the "other brother", the brain instead of the brawn. Not like their fathers, or at least who their fathers used to be, but getting things done instead of being a handsome disappointment. Happy has another level to him with his interesting relationship with Linda. The parents take money from their youngest...

Hey all! My name is Eleanor (ignore the "Wooden Finger" title, apparently my ancient blog was still in existence when I accepted the invite to this one). This is my final semester at STLCC and I'm a Film Studies major. Along with this and some communications classes I'm taking a Children's Literature class this semester which should make for interesting comparisons to the likes...

Biff: Shot at Redemption

Biff Loman is the only character in Arthur Miller's, Death of a Salesman, who is able to see the family as it truly is- dysfunctional. Initially, when he returns home and realizes how mentally unstable his father has become he falls back into the old family patterns of living in a fantasy world, the distortion of reality to suit your needs. He feels a sense of duty to help his father be "well" again. His plan in to try and borrow money from Bill Oliver, a man he...

The Importance of Being Liked

In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller makes many points about America and our culture. This is undeniable. However, one thing I picked up on in reading over the text again, was Miller remarking on the relationships we as people hold with one another; more specifically, how it is important to be liked, but how shallow this can truly be. You see, with Willy Loman, you have a man who considers himself to be "liked." Now, it is evident that Willy is liked by his associates, but they aren't...

American mentality

Many people in America can relate to the story of Willy's life because in so many ways there is direct correlations to the way we live, and the way our friends and family live. The direct relations people have to him could be through him or his wife or kids. He thought he was living the dream, leaving his mark on life, but after going full speed for so long he never got a chance to slow down and actually LIVE. Someone wrote in another post how success is happiness to them....

Willy's Mental Stability

Alright well I tried something different and a tad bit outside of my comfort zone. I know it's not the best but hey I pushed myself and I think it's pretty neat to do a video blog post. I really hope you guys like it and maybe I broke the ice so more of us can discuss this way without feeling embarrassed, I don't think you'll do any worse than me. But please comment, let's discuss the pursuit of the American Dream and Willy Loman's decline into delusional mental instabili...

Week 2

The beginning of the play shows the Mother and father talking after work, talking about what a drive he has day in and day out. This talk turns into him reminiscing on his past, remembering good and bad, and his wife assuring him everything is alright. When he starts to talk about his kids he seems distraught and sad, complaining about being lazy, then he starts going on about how he wants great things for Biff. Once he starts reliving Biffs past, I start to realize what is...

Divergent Roads of Success: Happiness and Wealth

As the curtain rises, “a melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine”(Act One). As the faint sound of notes trickle through the lives of the Lomans' and those who surround them it becomes apparent that its significance is confounding. The flute has an inevitable nature to drift away. The first mention of the flute is in Act One as Willy remembers his father, the latter Loman. He was a traveling flute salesman. Willy’s dreams of success first become askew as he recalls...

Willy Loman's American Dream

Death of a Salesman is a play I have read many times; every time more excitedly as the last. One of the main themes in the play, which is a common theme among American Lit., is the theme of the American Dream. Yet, unlike those before him, Miller does not simply go about painting a perfect picture. Instead, he gives us Willy Loman. Willy is a 63 year old salesman, who endures a pay cut and is fired from his job all in the same day. Right off the bat, not a "usual" character to accompany...

The Apple and the Tree

Parents invest a great deal of their identity in the success of their children. You see and hear it often, a proud parent bragging of their child's achievements. But for some parents that's all they talk about. Willy was fixated on his son Biff, his attention was hardly on anything else. When his son wasn't in the room he spent all his time reminiscing on a football game that brought Biff so much attention and himself so much pride. He recalled the moments in the beginning of the play,...

Hello scholars and welcome to Week 2 of ENG 206 (American Lit. After 1945). I really enjoyed reading everyone's introductions last week, and I think we are going to have a fun semester! I just wanted to check in and see how everyone is getting along with the class and remind you of the assignments for this week. Don't worry if you have some reservations about the technology still; it takes a little...

Hello!!!

Hello, my name is Ami Taylor. I am currently attending STLCC for the semester and transferring back to Lindenwood University where I will finish my B.A. in elementary education. I currently work for a criminal defense attorney downtown, but I quickly realized that law is not the path for me. I do not have the patience to work with “adult children," but I can work with the little ones all day....

Hi Everyone. My name is Sarah Stephens. My favorite book is Atonement, written by Ian McEwan. I love his use of words and how he brings a story to life. Atonement has a very interesting storyline and the ending really made me think. I am interested in learning about all the different types of literature that have evolved since 1945 and how that came to be. Something interesting...

Introduction, Week 1: David Schmiedeskamp

Hey, I'm David Schmiedeskamp. I currently am attending Wildwood to receive my accosociates degree. I am a sophomore. I have never been much of a reader until about five years ago. For two of those years I was overseas, and had a lot of down time with nothing to but read. So I began to read a lot. I haven't kept up as much as I would like to be reading now. I have a busy schedule. I am a high school rugby coach, and play on a men's club rugby team...

EXAMPLE BLOG POST: That last line...

The last line of Randall Jarrell’s brief poem “The Death of a Ball Turret Gunner” took an incredibly striking and powerful turn from the tone and imagery earlier in the poem. I found the first few lines a little confusing, so I am going to leave those for my next post. (If you have any ideas about what’s going on there, a comment would be much appreciated.) I didn’t realize the speaker was dead until the last line “When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose,” which...

HERE IS A SAMPLE BLOG POST FOR THE POEM "DEATH OF A BALL TURRET GUNNER" BY RANDALL JARRELL SO YOU CAN SEE AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT AN ACADEMIC BLOG POST ABOUT A PIECE OF LITERATURE MIGHT LOOK LIKE. THERE WILL ALSO BE SOME DISCUSSION PROMPTS IN THE PRESENTATIONS TO HELP YOU IF YOU GET STUCK ON WHAT TO WRITE ABOUT EACH WEEK. In order to help make sense of this poem, I thought it might be helpful to...

Hey, what's up?

I'm Zac Smith. I really like just talking about literature and picking apart decisions in story structure and story telling. And although I do read a lot of pros, I think comics/graphic novels are one of the most fascinating mediums to look at that through. I think the theories behind sequential story telling are insanely creative from an art standpoint, and dialogue with limited narration is an interesting...

Hi my name is Lynn Berger but my name on the email says Vanessa but I go by my middle name and I am not very technologically talented. I am an older returning student and I read constantly but not what anyone would consider great literature. I hate reading snobs! The reading snobs are the ones that if you are not reading “War and Peace” then you are wasting your...

Introduction, Week 1 Katie Pummill

Hi! My name is Katie Pummill! I am a Secondary Education and English major! I aspire to one day become a high school English teacher! I am definitely a lover of all things Literature! I am a huge fan of Mr. Shakespeare! Macbeth and Othello are probably my favorites along with the sonnet “I Consider Everything That Grows.” I am also a huge fan of Maya Angelou! I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings speaks...

Hello everybody! My name is Cory Robinson. I'm finishing up my last year at STLCC, and I'm so excited to be taking this class with all of you! My favorite author would have to be, well, a lot of people! The book I've been reading avidly as of late is Seinlanguage by Jerry Seinfeld. Talk about stitches in your side! Aside from that, I'm a big fan of the classics. As well as some modern authors, such...

Well hello there, my name is Kayla Hilliar, but I just prefer Kayla. We can skip the formalities. Who's my favorite author? That's a pretty tough question, I have a love/hate relationship with Chuck Palanuick. He's best known for one of his worst books (it's good but he's got much better) Fight Club. My favorite book however isn't written by him. It's written by F. Scott Fitzgerald, yep I'm a...

My name is Landon Tatum. My favorite book is The Hobbit. The only reason I read it was because my brother basically forced me to, and I had no interest in it at all. By the time I was done with it I loved it. I chose this class because I am not too familiar with this subject in general, and it is something I decided I want to learn about. I am currently getting my...

Welcome to ENG 206: American Literature After 1945! (Fall 2014 Semester)

Welcome to the course blog for ENG 206: American Literature After 1945! My name is Monica Swindle, your instructor, and I am pleased to meet you! I am glad you have decided to take this course, as we will be studying some truly exciting and provocative pieces of literature this semester. This is where we will discuss the literature we are reading by blogging about the readings and commenting...

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Friday, August 29, 2014

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Sunday, August 24, 2014

Friday, August 22, 2014

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Monday, August 18, 2014

Monday, August 11, 2014