"Death of a Salesman" Deconstructionist View

Many views of "Death of a Salesman" center around the decline of Willy through his job. Readers obtain glimpses of the beginnings of his decline in Willy's flashbacks and dreams. Often, in terms of relationships, that of father and son between Willy and Biff is examined for the tough love exhibited. However, how would this play change if the relationship between Happy and Willy is examined? In deconstructing this aspect of the play, readers may gain greater insight into why Happy seems to be more content with his life than his brother.

With much of the attention being focused on the star child Biff and his prospects after high school, Happy often gets swept under the rug and ignored. Although there is only a two year age difference between the boys, pressure is put in Biff by Willy to make something of himself while Willy hardly acknowledges the presence of Happy. Even in Willy's dreams and flashbacks Happy is no more than a supporting character, barely recognized as a son. Happy seeks some form of attention and keeps submitting "I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop?" (18). Every time Happy mentions something about himself, Willy turns right back to his assumed favorite son.

Happy seems to live up to his name even in the face of being cast aside. Never once does Happy comment harshly against his father and constantly is seeking to reconcile Biff and Willy in their strained relationship. Happy loves his father and looks up to him in his younger years, in Willy's dreams, and wants to protect him when the decline begins. Happy seems solely concerned with the well-being of his father, even if he is given no conscious attention. Biff acknowledges towards the end of he okay that his father had fed his ego in his childhood, which contributed to his later restlessness and inability to find contentment. Happy, however, has had to build himself up without the affirmation from his father, this lending him a greater sense of self worth, even if he is still searching for ultimate happiness.

From reading other posts and questions, I found it interesting that even within one family the American Dream can have many interpretations. Happy and Biff seem to think that a person attempting to achieve the American Dream works hard with little profit, even if it is what hey have always wished for. Willy on the other hand seems to think that the American Dream is the only means for satisfaction and that material objects will bring ultimate joy. Willy views the American Dream as being a goal for him to constantly be working towards, while his sons seem to think they have lived the Dream over and over again, achieved what they wanted, yet still feel empty and lonely.

Willy: "Did he apologize when I left this morning?" (6)

~Why would Willy be wondering about whether Biff had apologized when he was the one who lost his temper?

To Be Rewrite

To ride or not to ride - that is the question.
Whether it is worth it to tack up
and endure the pain
or to crawl under blankets and skip practice
to be lazy, to slack - no more
and by taking a rest day to say I deserve
a break and take it easy for a day
an off day would be nice.
To wallow and laze - oh, to laze - perhaps
lose some time.  Ah, but here is the problem.
For if I don't ride, we will have lost a whole day.
I will have gained pounds and not progress
so I must choose -- I have no choice
but to throw on the tack and heave myself up.
Who else would deal with the load,
the pressure, the expectation to perform,
the dry arena, the jolt of adrenaline at the gunshot,
the shock of moving muscle -
when I could be curled up on the couch not racing?
Who could deal with self-competition, to shoulder the pressure, to take time to properly prepare -
but the fear of failure, which could come at any
turn, urges me to get up anyway and ride.

Antigone Reflection

This whole process and project was fun and entertaining to watch.  Most of my knowledge of the justice system comes from the few episodes of law-based TV shows I have watched, so watching and listening to people my age discuss Antigone as if we really were in a court room was exciting.  When we first received the project, most people in the class seemed pretty confused, as there were no definite rules or clear argument set.  Once the directors and other characters in charge began to make decisions, we were finally able to start the process and work towards a solution.  This project really magnified who the leaders in the class are, as these people were the ones making definite decisions and helping make the court system run smoothly.  I also liked the freedom within this project to pick a part that I was comfortable with.  I am not a fan of acting or speaking in front of people formally, so doing the written work for a character was perfect for me.  Perhaps for future classes doing this project, it may be beneficial to start with a purpose behind the trial and make that known before each individual character begins to prepare, and to also state the purpose of the trial clearly to the jury at the beginning of the trial.  Obviously, this play was rigged so Antigone would be charged innocent, but I feel that both sides of the issue did a fantastic job of arguing their cases and appealing to the jury and judges.  Once the initial kinks were worked out in the dress rehearsal, the process seemed to go pretty smoothly on performance day.  One thing I really appreciate about this class is that although we can fight and argue in an academic setting, we still support one another and help each other to improve for next time.

 

"This girl's an enemy; away with her, and let her go and find a mate in Hades." (144)

~Why does Creon assume she will receive punishment from the gods in the afterlife? Is he assuming the gods agree with him, or is he putting words in the gods' mouths?

"Antigone: When I have tried and failed, i shall have failed,
Ismene: No sense in starting on a hopeless task." (129)

~Why is Ismene trying so hard to dissuade Antigone from burying Polynices? Is she just afraid of Creon's order or does she agree with him?