Is Willy Loman An Effective Protagonist English Literature Essay

Is Willy Loman An Effective Protagonist English Literature Essay Willy Loman represents an effective protagonist in Death of Salesman as he is an ordinary working class man in keeping with the domestic aspects of tragedy. He possesses many anti heroic qualities by not fulfilling the American dream and glamorising the past when he believes he was successful. Yet in reality he was even a failure then, which demonstrates that he is not the classical tragic hero of high status. A quality which is common throughout all tragic protagonists is hubris. Willy has immense pride, arrogantly thinking he is better than he really is and believing that success can come without hard work. His hubristic aspect is, in effect, his fatal flaw because Willys obsession with being well liked emphasises his superficial pursuit of the American dream, which helps bring up themes like materialism, as a modern audience will recognise. However, Willy fails to become an effective protagonist in a tragic sense as he does not reach an epiphany, instead, settling for suicide. The first aspect of a modern domestic tragedy is the fact it centres on ordinary people. This is done in Death of a Salesman which contrasts with Othello that depicts Othello who is of noble class. Willy is a father and a husband who is head of the family and therefore he does have some responsibility and power over the people around him. Millers aim with his plot may be to reach closer to the audience, thereby showing how anyones fall from grace can be tragic. Also Miller could have chosen the name Willy Loman as the name Loman is similar to low man reflecting Willys true status. Willy Loman is an anti hero which is as you might expect as a protagonist in a modern domestic tragedy. The audience would strive to be everything he is not, for example, his constant reminiscing of the good old days which were not that good as he had to borrow money to have a decent wage. What makes him even more of an anti-hero is the denial that he is really a failure. However, this could possibly make him an increasingly effective protagonist because his anti heroic qualities make him less perfect and therefore more realistic as a character. Conversely, Biffs discovery of Willys affair, which leads to his loss of ambition and respect. You fake! You phony little fake! You fake! is reinforced by the repetition to show Biffs anger. Here Willys actions damage Biff emphasising again his anti heroic qualities. Hubris is typical of protagonists in tragedy and makes Willy Lomans character more dramatically effective. Willys hubris is shown when he dismisses Bernard Bernard dont be a pest! (to his boys) What an anaemic! because he believes that his sons are better than Bernard, instilling arrogance and his hubristic pride into them, shown through the stage direction. Excessive pride is evident in Willys attitude towards jobs, where he turns down a job offer from Charley I dont want your goddam job! . His hubris accentuates the climax of the play as he could have accepted a job that would have guaranteed relative safety of income. The resulting loss of sympathy from the audience heightens the tragic elements of the play. In Act two Willys denial that he was responsible for Biffs giving up with his future What are you trying to do, blame it on me? If a boy lays down is that my fault? is emphasised in the repeated rhetorical questions. The denial shows an excessive pride as he will not admit to being responsible for Biff flunking maths and thus destroying his future. Psychological elements shown in Willys character reflect the modern aspects of tragedy. These signs of mental unease are shown as early as Act 1 I suddenly couldnt drive anymore. The car kept going off on to the shoulder, yknow? indicating that Willy is perhaps struggling to cope with reality. Miller allows the viewers to gain a greater insight into Willys mind which makes him more effective as a protagonist because you can understand to a better extent the reasoning behind his actions. The whole play takes places during the final two days of Willys life, split between flashbacks of the past which increasingly leave him unable to distinguish between past and present. His inability to distinguish past from present adds another dimension to his character which is a more modern characteristic of tragedy, dealing with insecurity and mental breakdown. All of this is shown in the form, effectively demonstrating the downfall of his character. Most of the play revolves around constructs of t he past in his mind which are portrayed as Eden like. The flashbacks represent Willy trying to recreate the past when he believed he was successful. Willys Eden is centred on his time with Biff and Happy in their younger years as he tries to cling to times when his son respected him like Biff in act 2 when I take off my helmet, that touchdown is for you, rather than the present when they are at odds. Another example is when Willy recalls Ben because he views him as a success, highlighting his refusal to face the present and the truth that he has not achieved the American dream. Willy Lomans fatal flaws are in part his hubris and it also his pursuit of the American dream. His idea of the American dream is the root of the problem, believing that you have to be well liked in order to be successful, as he describes Dave Singleman Cause what could be more satisfying than . . . to go at the age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities . . . and be remembered and loved. However, he may have been well known but Willy misses out the point that he still had to work until he died, highlighting that being well liked is not what the American dream is about. As he dismisses Bernard for being a nerd it shows that Willy thinks you can be successful without working hard. Whilst you could argue that Willy is to blame for his hubris, the reverse side is that society is the villain in the play, making him what he is. Miller shows this theme for example when the Lomans need a new fridge Once in my life I would like to own something outright before its broken! whic h can explain Willys seemingly misguided pursuit of the American dream in the form of materialistic values. Yet because it is broken like many other items it could be a metaphor for the misplaced confidence of Willy in materialism as it lets him down, much like the aspirations for his sons. Miller creates an effective protagonist by connecting him with other aspects in society that are relevant in America at the time. Typical of many protagonists in tragedy is the reaching of a point of revelation. Willy does not reach this as he instead settles for suicide worth more dead than alive. Yet the realisation may not be from Willy but the audience in their perception of the American dream and how it can have disastrous effects on people. Despite not reaching any degree of self truth, his life insurance policy would in his eyes compensate Linda for his affair and he would gain the respect of Biff. Catharsis, it could be said is not experienced by the audience up until the requiem. Charleys speech Nobody dast blame this man. You dont understand for a salesman, there is no rock bottom to life highlights that the pressure of a salesman would have contributed to Willys downfall. It helps induce pity from the audience as it removes blame from Willy. Charley continues to give the audience reason to pity Willy No man only needs a salary which draws attention to the fact that materialistic values cannot sustain a man. Happy reinforces the catharsis as he is inspired by Willys death. However this catharsis could be undermined due to Lindas comment It seems to me that youre just on another trip hinting that the insurance money for Biff may not be put to good use. The recurrence of the flute music symbolically represents Willys misguided pursuit of the American dream. This could mean that the catharsis is not as effective as the world is not cleansed and is just as it was at the start o f the play. From an audiences perspective they could possibly think that Willy is an ineffective tragic hero because it was his own fault that he was not successful. He failed to understand the American dream, in the process hindering his own sons future. The anti heroic features of Willy could serve on their own as a reason the audience lose sympathy for him and possibly deem him ineffective as a tragic hero. However, on the other hand, society could be viewed as the villain of the play because it gives the audience reason to understand his character, thus making Willy an effective protagonist. Willy Loman could be considered an effective tragic protagonist because of his hubris and fatal flaw typical of a tragic hero. Likewise, the psychological aspects introduced to the plot draw attention to the modern characteristics of modern domestic tragedy.

Love and Happiness in Elephants by Sarah Gruen and The Book of Negroes

Happiness is essential for one to be sane. Love leads to happiness and this is shown in the novels Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen and The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill. Characters in both novels try to find happiness through love, but it ultimately leads to despair because of the death or loss of a loved one. Happiness is fulfilled through the form of love. To begin with, Jacob has respect and love for his parents that have been there every step of his life. The Dean of the University calls Jacob into his office and Jacob fears â€Å"Dear Lord- if I get expelled now, my father will kill me. (Gruen 6)† Jacob fears that if he gets expelled from the university, that his father had put much hard work to bring Jacob there, then his father will be dissatisfied with him. Jacob’s fear of dishearten his family is a symbol that he loves his family tremendously. This also represents that his happiness is a link to the happiness of his parents and that their disappointment of him is also a disappointment of himself. Secondly, Marlene loves her husband August greatly, thus bringing her happiness. Jacob asks Marlene how is August like and Marlene replies â€Å"He’s capable of being the most charming man on earth. (95)† Marlene’s family, who are Roman Catholic, has banished her because she marries August, who is Jewish. To Marlene, the love of her family is crucial to her, but now that they create a hole of anguish inside of her, therefore she fills this hole by loving and greatly admiring August. Like the Book of Negroes, Happiness comes through the form of love and this perfectly exemplified in the how Jacob loves his parents because he fears them and Marlene loves August after her family exiles her. Afterward, Aminata falls in love with C... ...annot meet his beloved, Aminata falls into a trance of depression. Finally, Aminata’s master sells her darling child. Aminata tells her master to bring her child back and he replies â€Å"Too late. He’s sold. Only got me five pounds†¦he’ll grow and his new master a fine profit one day. (184)† After, Chekura visits become scarce; Aminata relies on her child for the meager happiness she can get. However, this changes after her master steals and sells her child, and this is like him stealing Aminata happiness and selling it away. Though happiness is vital to life and it comes in the form of love, it does not always mean that misery will not follow it. This is shown when Jacob loves his parents, but his parents die, Marlene loves August, but he hits her. Also when Aminata falls in love with Chekura, but they are separated and when Aminata’s master sells Aminata’s child.

Lifestyle and Sustainability Essay

Lifestyle and Sustainability are two different concepts combined together to describe how people should live nowadays. With the matters like the advancement of modern technology, environmental degradation, and pollution, we now consider the best ways to live our lives without jeopardizing our environment and the future generations. Now, we’re concerned not only about living in comfort and ease, but also about the sustainability of the world we live in, of our environment and our resources. Lifestyle is defined as a way of life, the manner by which a person lives. It involves various behaviors and practices regarding one’s social relations, consumption, entertainment, and fashion. These behaviors and practices are composed of various habits, conventional modes of action, and reasoned actions. Simply put, lifestyle is one’s style of living: it is very personal and depends on the person who lives it. In relation to lifestyle, we come across the concept of sustainability, which literally means to sustain or the ability to maintain certain processes or state. Nowadays, sustainability is often connected to how we human beings live. Concerns about the environment, pollution, and shortage of resources have driven us to apply sustainability in every aspect of our lives (Sustainability Reporting Program, 2004). We think of sustainable ways to build our homes, use our natural resources, dress up, and grow our food. Somehow, we have connected sustainability with how we live, and it is now considered as a lifestyle. One important aspect of a sustainable lifestyle is food consumption, and in relation to that, we come across the concern of sustainable means of growing our foods. An important issue is brought up when we talk about sustainable means of growing food, and that is the use of pesticides. We are all familiar about pesticides, because it is the conventional means of eradicating the pests in our homes, properties, plants and crops. However, the use of certain pesticides is deemed as un-sustainable because of the health risks they carry with them (EurActiv, 2008). It can also affect other organisms in the environment aside from the pests that they kill. To better understand pesticides, we need to know more about them, including the history, benefits, types, and other aspects as well. Pesticides have been used several thousand years ago, being utilized by humans to protect their crops and plants from pests (Medline Plus, 2009). One of the first known pesticides used was sulfur dusting in Sumeria. In later centuries, mad used toxic chemicals like arsenic, mercury and lead to kill pests. Natural pesticides were also used, like nicotine sulfate extracts from tobacco leaves, pyrethrum from chrysanthemums, and rotenone from the roots of tropical vegetables. These pesticides benefited man in several ways. The first, and possibly the most common reason for pesticide use are for the protection of crops. Pesticides contain potent chemical ingredients which kill or deter insects and other pests that consume and destroy man’s crops. Another application of pesticides is disease control, regulating or controlling the organisms which are considered harmful to health. A good example is the use of pesticides to kill mosquitoes which are known carriers of deadly diseases like dengue fever, west Nile virus, and malaria. Insecticides are also used in killing parasites like fleas and ticks in bigger animals like horses and cattle. It is also used to kill termites that can cause structural damage to our homes and dwellings. Overall, pesticides are used in variety of ways, all for the benefit of humans. We can classify pesticides into two major types, chemical or synthetically prepared pesticide, and biological or biochemical pesticide. We are more familiar with chemical pesticides because they’re the conventional pesticides. These are made from various chemical components, like the ones mentioned earlier. This type of pesticide is easier to produce because of the abundance of their chemical components, and is more potent and is more effective when it comes to killing the pests. The downside of this type however, is that it has harmful implications to the environment and to human health. The other type of pesticide is the biological or biochemical pesticide. This type is produced from plant extracts which can deter or kill insects. The biological pesticides use the natural enemies of certain plant pests. Other insects and spiders are used because they prey on these pests, regulating their population naturally. References: EurActiv. (2008). Pesticides: Tough negotiations ahead as MEPs back bans Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://www. euractiv. com/en/sustainability/pesticides-tough-negotiations-ahead-meps-back-bans/article-176936 Medline Plus. (2009). Pesticides Retrieved April 4, 2009, from http://www. nlm. nih. gov/medlineplus/pesticides. html Sustainability Reporting Program. (2004). Pollutants, Sustainability, Health, and Environment. Retrieved April 14, 2009, from http://www. sustreport. org/issues/health_env_pollut. html

Religious Themes of the Sixteenth Century The Seven...

Religious Themes of the Sixteenth Century: The Seven Deadly Sins, Death, and Damnation Religion in the Sixteenth Century was a major point of contention, especially for Elizabethans. In the midst of the Reformation, England was home to supporters of two major religious doctrines, including the Catholics and the Puritans. Three dominant themes that came out of this debate were sin, death and damnation. Important elements of Christian religions, these themes were often explored in the form of the seven deadly sins and the consequential damnation. The elements of sin pervasive in Thomas Nashe’s The Unfortunate Traveller, Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus, William Shakespeare’s Othello, and Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queen allow for†¦show more content†¦We see idleness being the root of evil in Doctor Faustus, when he says of his studies ‘a greater subject fitteth Faustus’ wit,’ implying that he has already learned everything in the books surrounding him and is ready for something more.[4] It is immediately afte r this soliloquy that Faustus summons Valdes and Cornelius and begins his journey towards the necromancy and the devil. In Doctor Faustus, Sloth, as he describes himself, was ‘begotten on a sunny bank, where I have lain ever since,’ and in The Faerie Queene he is described as being ‘still drownd in sleepe, and most of his daies / scarse could he once uphold his heavie hedd, / to looken whether it was night or day.’[5] The similarities between these two descriptions show that Spenser and Marlowe were using a cultural prescription of the personification of the sins when they wrote them into their work. The second sin described in The Faerie Queene is gluttony, or the vice of excessive eating. In The Faerie Queene gluttony is described as a ‘deformed creature, on a filthie swine. / His belly was upblowne with luxury.’[6] Spenser also says that ‘an on his head an yvie girland had, / from under which fast trickled down the sweat.’ Thomas Nashe makes use of this analogy of gluttony to sweating, and, among his manyShow MoreRelatedRole Of Religion In Doctor Faustus1080 Words   |  5 PagesFaustus In his tragedy ‘Doctor Faustus’ Christopher Marlowe extensively explores the religious tensions and constraints within society, often satirising and mocking the institutions of established religion — particularly the Catholic church — as he examines the dual forces of damnation and redemption. Marlowe’s titular character of Faustus challenges order and divine forces at every turn, and religion, which was a theme highly topical and sometimes controversial in post-Reformation Protestant EnglandRead MoreEssay on The Ideas of Hell and Purgatory3168 Words   |  13 Pages the beginning, the church sought to get rid of this Old Testament idea which made the church less appealing. Hence, the once harsh idea of hell and purgatory has lightened with the times. Christian views in the second and third centuries suggested that faith in a Higher God was the only requirement for getting into heaven (The Afterlife: Ancient Christian Beliefs). Most people, however, were sent directly to hell. An idea according to the early church allowed