Video Analysis

Firstly, the video allows for an audience to have visual aid of all the aspects going on on stage. For example, the dressing style of the characters, even within their home, and he lack of money and or proper jobs, they upheld a business-like portrayal. Always dressed somewhat dignified, particularly Willy Loman, in his tie.

This scene is engulfed with emotions. Biff's character is calm and at peace with his decision to be away from the environment with his family. This is enhanced by portrayal in the video, elements like tone and expression where there for clarity. He has come to terms with the friction his presence brings as well as the chaos which reoccurs in his own life from being with them. Meanwhile in all the other scenes, the emotions of Willy and Biff were always subtly presented prior to this scene, but this is the scene where it is all brought forward bluntly. This is on the account of Biff. After making attempt with his father to leave on good terms, his father shows that he is still holding on to not only his dream for Biff, but also the past incident that he is convinced Biff is spiteful about. He shouts, in the video, and appears to be on the verge of breaking, his positions when relating to Biff and the eye contact he displays also add to an image that may not have been brought across as clearly in the play. Biff, on the other hand tries to make him understand that his mistakes have been made but time has passed and after they have been made, he has learnt from them and grown as a person. He tries to convince his father that he can see who he is, who he does not want to be, the truth of their family situation, as well as learnt to put the past behind him. Biff is no longer spiteful but he has become aware of the real world, and the frustration of falling victim to false ambitions and expectations is brought out in Biff's address to his father. The cry of his mother is heard, which adds more emotion, his action of hitting the desk, or the emotion and tone in his voice are elements that the play was not able to capture.

It is a very significant scene because it displays the difference of Biff to his other family members. In the flashbacks of Willy in previous times in the drama, Biff's character as a boy was always pampered. It was because the people around him could pin point that he was something special, that he was great and more outstanding. In my opinion, Willy presented him self as a certain type of person to his sons because of motivation from Biff. He saw in Biff, something he wanted, like true confidence and talent, for examples. Willy Loman's perspective of Biff was so high as a result that Biff was seen as a king in his eyes, particularly being his offspring. Biff was someone all his peers were proud of. However, the form in which Biff was intelligent presents itself in this scene of confrontation. Biff points out that they have not spoken the truth at any point in the house, he has identified his father's dream, and he has the intelligence to reason out why both him and his father have made the mistakes they made. Biff, however has opted to be out of a mentality of false hopes and instead, has opted to grow and be his true self in the world, something no other member of his family has been able to do. In this way, Biff was really outstanding, special and the most intelligent of his family.

Finally, the embrace between the father and son was most emotional. Biff cries for himself and who he has become, and he cries for his father and who he has become. The love between both characters are finally made evident in this scene, with the embrace they shared, and the peace which Willy Loman seems to have momentarily received, contrary to the jumpy character portrayed through the drama. The play was unable to reveal as much to the reader, but rather, left a little more room for the imagination to picture the scene. However, the intensity was effectively brought out in the video.

Did Willy Loman's family lead to his demise?

It is an agreeable and acknowledged fact that Willy Loman, in the modern drama 'Death of a Sailsman', is egotistical, unstable and consumed by riches all throughout his life. In the close of the drama, he dies a tragic death; committing suicide. His demise, however, or its cause is a bit harder to pin point. Though a challenge presents itself in seeking a source to blame, an in depth analysis has resulted in a perspective that his demise was caused by his own family.

The question as to whether the family he made lead to his demise caused many questions to arise. The statement can be backed up with evidence from the text and plot. Instances such as having to beg Charley for money, or having to work even in old age as well as his constant delusions and relationship with Ben and the past can be traced to his family situation being the cause. As stated before, he is consumed by riches. Yet he had to give up his only dream and ambition of getting rich because he had the desire to stay with his family. His flashback to the scene where Ben invited him to Africa to pursue the dream signifies that it had some significance, and the relationship he maintained with Ben as a ghost and the way Willy respected him and imagined him as a well kept and 'real' man shows his longing. He tells his brother Ben in the flashback that he'll make his riches right where he is in America, but it evidently eats him out that his opportunity to become this dream seems to not re-present itself. Working for the upkeep of his family at a low wages causes does press his mind and after all of this, he is having to resort to a degrading alternative of begging for money.

Another characteristic of Willy Loman was 'egotistical'. In the author's presentation of Willy Loman, he can be viewed as a man who has struggled with identity. Linda, his wife has a lot of love for him, but she has confined herself to a clingy character, who was always there for Willy and sat on the back bench so that she would give him the opportunity of feeling like he was a man of power. When he slipped up, or made mistakes she was always quick to stand up for him and protect him from the hard truth. It was she who filled his head with the compliments and statements which were never completely honest so as to spare him all the embarrassment she knew he was facing inside. He took advantage of this, becoming egotistical and wanting so badly to believe he was as Linda saw him. ally, this ties into another point.

Finally, Another characteristic mentioned is 'unstable'. His having to work in old age and then beg for money, his bitterness and resulting instability were in response to his family situation. His sons were not making any money or valuable contribution to the up-keeping of the household which, in itself, forced Willy to have to keep working, being the only souce of revenue. The work he was doing was tiring for an old man, but he had no choice to persist. Biff, his favourite child has an immense amount of rebellion and resentment towards him, and his life was spoiled because of it. This must have been dismal for Willy, after coming from nothing yet putting his all into Biff, his first son. Both his sons had a lack of ambition, creating another aspect which weighed on Willy's mind evidently, seeming to search through his past constantly, for where he became a failure as a parent, or what he did wrong as a father, this would have been particularly depressing since he grew up without a father and he passed up the opportunity to be like the one man he truly respected and considered prototype, Ben. A strong argument is that his official, successful attempt at suicide came after Biff confronted him.

All of these characteristics were worsened by his family and ended up driving him 'up the wall' in layman terms. All of the actions which made him delusional and even his resulting attempt at suicide had a basic element relating to his family. Though Willy is, no doubt at fault for his own demise, his family was a major element in pushing him over the edge. Willy Loman is a tragic character, what's even more tragic, is his end, and all the causes of his demise, particularly his family.

Tragic Characters? Or no?

Can Willy Loman and King Lear be seen as tragic characters. Defend your argument.

Both the stories of Death of a Sailsman as well as King Lear are very complex yet neatly plotted. The main characters; Willy Loman and King Lear; are even more so. There is evidently a lot of time invested into the development and characterization of these men. Though both men only exist in fiction, their stories are very well related into the real world, historical and modern. The question is raised, however as to whether or not these two characters can be seen as tragic. The question raises many thought provoking ideas in my mind, however my conclusion is carefully drawn.

Willy Loman takes a different stance that King Lear does. He exists in the modern society as an average man. His life is centered around accomplishing a name for himself and his family. His vision in accomplishing this only involves easy money and women. For him, this was the ideal life, and he endeavoured to walk so much in the footsteps of his father and brother. His father was a man who was always on the go, and so he never knew him, rather than taking the point of view that he was abandoned by him, his purpose was worthwhile. Just as he judged his brother's purpose for having no family and never settling down is 'worthwhile'. His vision was blurred with the vision of whatever was materialistic, that was the true success of a man, not character, personality or being hard working. Living his life in this way, he became preoccupied in the downs of his current situation, developing a nasty attitude towards his wife, at his workplace, to his children and to himself. He became suicidal and bitter, residing in the past and unable to identify with the instances of his reality.Willy Loman lost sight of things like love, family, and a real sense of accomplishment. Though this state brought him closer to having a breakthrough to the truth and the value of identity, though he was able to come close to his sons and die with the love of a loyal wife, he was indeed a tragic character for he died with nothing. His death was suicidal and unnecessary. Though his son had opened his mind to the truth and the value of identity, he was old and set in his ways. His life's work for easy money and the words of his dead brother lead him to his death. He died as a man who was still attached in the wrong dream, a dream that walked all over him his whole life, and he could not understand the truth which his son, in whom he invested so much praise, tried to show him. His family and life came to pieces because of being stubborn, naive, bitter, and most of all, blind. He died in the same state.

King Lear's fictional story took a lot of different turns. The events that occurs through his life caused a growth in his character. He exists in an Elizabethan society, one which most people cannot relate to. However his character is one who can be related to. The events included in the story depict his love of self, and love for flattery, his tantrums and his being stubborn are all part of what lead to his undoing. While Willy Loman was a man searching in vain for ways to reach to the top, King Lear was a man who had it all and wallowed in it. He was mindless of it however having more pleasure in the name of flattery than that which is materialistic. Though one can rightfully say that King Lear started off being a blind bat, and even a man who was stone mad, his character was not stagnant. He experienced development by the mistakes he made and became bitter, mad and then sober in the name of identifying his mistakes as mistakes, something Willy Loman was never able to do. King Lear became a man who learnt the art of seeing life's true worth, the art of identifying true character, love and wisdom. Though his mistakes lead to his end and his family and kingdom suffered tremendously as a result of his mistakes, his death had not been in vain, for a lesson was learnt not only in the audience, but whole heartedly by those around him, and him himself. He died with his virtuous daughter in his arms. My judgement of his character deems him not worthy of being called 'tragic.' He identified his lesson and repented.

Both writers of both characters took very unique approaches of bring out the stories of these two very different and very similar men. They both embarked upon a journey and path that taught them many of the flaws in the things they originally chose to believe in, however in Willy Loman's case, he was stagnant and his character did not mature. Even at his breaking point and climax, he still ended up pursuing the American dream, blindly, lacking an identity and a truth that would have helped to make him into a whole person; the man he was never able to be. King Lear on the other hand, took his lessons to heart. He spent much time in uncovering the truth that was being revealed to him as the days passed and more and more evils showed themselves. He was able to change his mindset and he became the whole person that he was not in the beginning. He was not blind and blissful in the end, but he gained wisdom, identity and a truth. One can perhaps draw a parallel in the lives of both these men, however one factor that will distinguish the two in my mind, is Willy Loman as a tragic character, and King Lear is not.

The Characters of Willy Loman and King Lear

The characters of Willy Loman and King Lear both share very dissimilar stories that come with a host of disssimilarities in their environment. For example, Willy Loman is a modern character, written in the Western world, in modern and plain English. King Lear was written in a European, Elizabethan society, by a renown poet. These are evident reflections in the two characters as they are analyzed.

Arthur Miller, the writer of Death of a Salesman composed Willy Loman in a way that he depicted an average man of average stature, and his attitude and driving force in modern times, in a world driven by money. He is somewhat of a family man, in that he has a family, but he is not very affectionate and has a problem in expressing love. He resides in a building which has little room for the things of luxury. He seeks advice from a brother who, to him, has reached the ultimate goal of life as a man, wealth. Ben is dead however and constantly seeking advice from him stirs up some trail of thought in the audience's mind that Willy may be crazy. He rebukes his favourite child, even speaks in contradictory ways, and his wife has uncovered his secret attempts at suicide. The writer allows for the audience to see into the mind of Willy Loman and uncover his story, identifying the sources and incidences that lead to his undoing. Belief in the wrong dreams and letting aspects like family fall apart because of preoccupation with achieving the dream the easy way.

King Lear was much different. King Lear had all the luxuries he could ask for, abundance of ealth and space to call his very own, a title in his entire country of supreme power. His family was seemingly well put together and he has no problem in expressing affection and has very high expectations in it being expressed back to him. He seeks advice from a man who is 'below' him but has great value to the merit of wisdom and friendship. Quite contrary to Willy Loman, he very willingly gives up his power and wealth for the name of love. King Lear, however also does things that challenge the wellbeing of his mind. He too, rebukes his favourite child, casts out his source of advice, and in the end winds up carrying himself and speaking like one who has gone crazy. Shakespeare allows the audience to identify the sources and incidences that lead to his undoing through his external and present situations and a source to his inner thoughts are only through the devices of soliloquys. King Lear's undoing was a transformation which was also attributed to belief in the wrong dreams and letting aspects like family fall apart because of his preoccupation with this dream the easy way.

One major characteristic between the two is their 'dream'. For Willy Loman, it was the wealth that he would give up anything for. For King Lear it was flattery. What links the two, Willy Loman felt that the wealth and material things was what accompanied love that was worth anything; King Lear felt that the flattery was what accompanied love that was worth anything. In both incidences they lost sight of the love that proved to be of the best worth. For Willy, throughout the play one sees the journey of this man to aspire to heights of great wealth, For King Lear, the audience witnesses the journey of this man from his heights of great wealth to having nothing. In both cases, the writer very classically depicts a point of the true value of things like self worth, appreciation of others and of the things that really matter.

Character Sketch Jan.11.11

Willy Loman- Here is an old man who has lived his life believing in all the wrong things. In my opinion, he stands for every American and even Caribbean male who has placed all their efforts and faith in in the American Dream, and it has mocked him and beaten him badly. His Dramatic significance is to be a model of real live persons and living out their real lives. He has mistreated love, family, morals and time, placing them at little priority all in the name having easy access money and being well liked; his idea of 'success'.
Linda Loman- Some critiques of the play have deemed her a cause of Willy's undoing. She was a very submissive wife who loved Willy whole-heartedly. All the decisions she made had a second purpose of being for Willy's pleasure. Though she understood him in ways no one else could, what was most important to understand, she did not. Hence she allowed Willy to fall into the trap he blindly set for himself and as a result, his family. Linda's dramatic significance is to show how Willy mistreated the love he was given, that she provided, but also to show that love is ever present and flowing regardless.
Charley - Charley is a successful business man in every regard, no matter from which perspective one approaches him. He is a tolerant neighbour to the Loman's but he has a completely different objective in life. He teaches the correct usage of time, love and real happiness. He is sure of himself and where he is going and the way that he achieved it was honest and well deserving. His dramatic significance is the solid grounds and peace of mind which achieving things the right way provides. He is what Willy Loman can never be or even understand.
Ben - Ben is the dead brother of Willy Loman. He is the representation of what Willy Loman has spent his life aspiring. He 'went into the jungle and came out with diamonds' easy as that. Richer than most; 'successful'. But he does not seem to have time for anything, in each of his visits, his conversation is occupied with money, there is no evidence of family or love or even happiness in his lifetime. He represents what many men very blindly aspire to become. A man with little time and who's life surrounds money and the abundance of it all. This is his dramatic significance.
The Woman - The woman is a person who has gotten caught up in looking for love in the wrong places. She lowers her standards to being an easy catch so that she can achieve success with ease. Much like the American has lead men to believe in obtaining anything one wants, with ease. Her dramatic significance is acting as a representation of modern women and the repercussions of being just a 'play thing'.
Biff - Biff, in my opinion, is the character worthy of the most attention or praise. He shows the most development. From a young boy, the audience sees Biff as the boy who received all the attention and praise, and it was that way all throughout his growing up. His head becomes swollen and persons can identify with him as 'special'. Just how special he his, however comes out later in the play where he begins to assume a higher thinking. His dramatic significance is in searching for truth and purpose, even making all his mistakes as he intends to reach to that stage. He can identify his mistakes and discover the root of his problem, this discovery makes him an admirable character because he is then able to break from the notion of an American dream and and find himself as Biff Loman.
Happy - Happy continues on the path he has learned since growing up. He grew up being in the shadow of his brother, and almost ignored by his father; considered no body but Biff's little brother. This does not make him bitter however, in fact he is always content with his status and drinks every word that his father has ever drilled. He is in fact the very imitation of his father. To the very end of the play, Happy persists with his belief in the American dream, Willy Loman being great and his attempt to continue his legacy. The legacy that left Willy as no one to be remembered. Happy's dramatic significance is in his blindness, how the cycle continues perhaps because he was oblivious to the things that Biff had come face to face with in his life. Happy seems to carry the very attitude that Willy Loman took to his grave.