Compare the Two Act Three's in Tennessee Williams' Cat On a Hot Tin Roof.
Compare the Two Act Three's in Tennessee Williams' Cat On a Hot Tin Roof After writing the entire play of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and conferring with the famous producer, Elia Kazan, putting the show on, Tennessee Williams was asked to write a new Act Three, which he then named "The Broadway Version", as it was to be performed on Broadway, The three main differences we see are the presence of Big Daddy, that the impact of the previous act has an effect ob Brick's character in Act Three and that Margaret is a more sympathetic character. Act Three (Broadway Version), begins as Big Daddy "is seen leaving at the end on Act Two" we learn from the stage directions, implying that he is onstage, unlike his position in the original Act Three. Big Daddy "[shouts, as he goes out...]: ALL-LYIN'-DYIN'-LIARS! LIARS! LIARS!" The fact that Big Daddy is present gives us a connection between Act Two and Act Three. In the original Act Three, Big Daddy is absent and this has implications, in that, Big Daddy's character is not developed as it is in the Broadway Version. However, it is usual of Tennessee Williams' style to leave the endings of his plays quite undefined. This is seen in The Glass Menagerie, Laura is left unmarried and Tom leaves the family. Act Thee (Broadway Version) is a very classical ending, we can understand that Tennessee Williams wrote the first as a writer and the second
Connection with Tension
Michael Arevalo Alison Dailey English 214 February 18, 2009 Connection with Tension In the two poems "On the Beach at Night Alone" and "Dover Beach" both Walt Whitman and Matthew Arnold are on beaches looking for answers. Both poets have different concerns, Whitman is on a beach looking at the stars and seeming to figure out how everything in universe and nature is connected. Arnold is on Dover Beach questioning love and how much people take it for granted despite the fact we cannot live without it. The beach is the setting ground for both poems which explain that the beach is a place of contemplation for Whitman and Arnold. Both authors express tension in unusual ways that try to inspire the reader either to change, or embrace using different techniques and have different messages to deliver. "On the Beach at Night Alone" is a poem that uses nature and the universe and that develops the idea that everything is connected. Using the word "all" in the beginning of lives five through twelve help create a type of tension that demands the reader's awareness (Whitman 5-12). The tone of the poem helps give a loud, informative tone that will grab your attention in a shocking way. The primary message of the poem is said in the beginning, and at the end of the poem. Whitman after looking up at the stars says "A vast similitude interlocks all" (Whitman 4). In the end he
Do we have the ability to control our destiny - Death of Salesman.
Do we have the ability to control our destiny? The truth is this, one can set their goals and try to attain them and one can dreams their dreams and try to live them but the difference must be known. The character Willy Loman, in the play Death of A Salesman, seems to be a person who is not aware of the difference in reality and dreams. Willy's choices throughout his life undeniably lead to his own demise. Willy Loman is a tragic hero. His fear is that he wants to be viewed as a good, decent human being. He wants to believe that he's a well-liked, decent person who doesn't make mistakes. The truth is that he makes mistakes, many that haunt him, and that he is human. Willy does not consider this normal and severely regrets such failures such as raising his children poorly, as he sees it, not doing well in business, though he wishes he were, and cheating on his wife Linda, showing her to be a commodity of which he takes advantage. Linda has a true, pure love for her husband. Linda stands behind him through it all, through his dreams and broken promises, she still believes in him. The quality in such plays that does shake us... derives from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in the world (Miller, Tragedy...). Willy's underlying fear of being displaced is the real tragedy. He wants to do
The Inevitable
The Inevitable Mr. Williams was a material man. He had no consounce, no moral boundries and more faces than Big Ben. He was very manipulative and was fond of anything which made him look succesful. Why not, he was after all succesful, financialy that is to say. This is how he came to be able to afford a Porsche, which he had imported from Germany. It was 1968, mid winter. It wasn't unknown for the Irish moore lands to be engulfed in mist, as it was on this cold winters night. On this occasion the mist added to the excitement as Mr. Williams tested his new toy, his Porche, with his lady friend Joanna. Mr. Williams had intended to get lost with his lady friend, but he did not expect the events that would follow. A windy mud track divided the woods from the Moor's. It was an empty stretch of road, which tested the cars suspension and handling to the limit, as it did Mr. Williams driving ability. He was more than happy to comply with the challenge of keeping the car on the verge of an accident at every turn, without actualy bringing any harm to his precious toy. His driving ability was pushed to the limits as he turned with the road, which appeared six feet in front of the car out of the cold mist. The headlights merely illuminated the fog, visibility began to improve, but any unexpected turns were still unavoidable at this speed. Joanna urged him to slow down, and with an
(Based on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller) The American Dream, the aspiration held by many people in the United State to live better (have a house
A Criticism to Idealism by Juan Pablo Cáceres (Based on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller) The American Dream, the aspiration held by many people in the United State to live better (have a house, a spouse and a happy family). An ideal, that through hard work, courage and conviction, someone can achieve prosperity and happiness. That was the credo of Willy Loman, his ideology, what he lived for, but is it worth? Can you really rely on some ideal? Idealism in literature is the representation of things in an ideal form1. It is related to a direct knowledge of subjective mental ideas. I believe this is the motor that moves us throughout life, it give us hope, trust in the future, helps us set goals. Without idealism the mankind would be lost. But as everything in this world, there must be a balance between ideals and reality, otherwise it will become a utopia, some romantic dream with no real future. The play "Death of a Salesman" is the perfect example to support this thesis, its main character, Willy Loman; a sixty one years old salesman, in a capitalistic world is at the bottom of the hierarchic order. He posses nothing, and he makes nothing, so he has not got any sense of accomplishment whatsoever. Apart from that, he is blinded by the theory that if a person is well liked and has a great deal of personal attractiveness, all doors will automatically be opened for him.
It is misleading to see Ibsen as a critic of society. His plays are best valued for their gradual revelation of character.
"It is misleading to see Ibsen as a critic of society. His plays are best valued for their gradual revelation of character." It is true that a major concern of Ibsen's plays is the development of characters. However, the fact that "A Doll's House" has a backdrop in the form of a flawed society suggests that society dictates the ways in which characters mature. Take the character Nora as a starting point. Torvald defines her character precisely when he says things such as: "Is that my little sky-lark chirping out there?" (1). At the start of the play, Nora is just an object to Torvald. The fact that she laughs and plays along with what can only be described as insults and teases, shows the audience that she is a weak character unable to amount to much. However, as the play progresses, we start to see hints that suggest Nora is not as marginalised as she first appears. Torvald says: "My little sweet tooth surely didn't forget herself in town today?" (5). The fact that she looks Torvald straight in the eye and lies about not eating the macaroons shows that she does have the potential to be subversive and stretch herself beyond what is accepted by her husband: "I assure you Torvald...!" (5). Nora then later on says to Mrs Linde: "But little Nora isn't as stupid as everyone thinks." (9). Again, this sentence reveals just a little bit more about her character and shows
HOW WELL DOES A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE FIT INTO THE TRAGEDY GENRE?
HOW WELL DOES A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE FIT INTO THE TRAGEDY GENRE? A view from the bridge is a marvelous tragedy that was written by Arthur Miller in 1956 following some of the guidelines of Greek tragedy. In this piece of coursework I will be examining how well the play fits into the tragedy genre, by looking closely at the character of Eddie as a tragic hero and the role of Alfieri as the chorus. I will also comment on the type of language Miller uses throughout the play. Since Eddie is the central character in this play, and while the story is weaved around him using his own actions and feelings as its threads; I am going to start my essay by analysing his nature as a tragic hero and the different flaws that ended with his distressing downfall. The ancient Greek tragedies and those of Shakespeare are about kings, dukes or great generals e.g. King Lear. However, Eddie is not a king or illustrious figure. This is because in their day, these individuals were thought to represent the whole people. Nowadays, we do not see even kings in this way. And so when writers want to show a person who represents a nation or class, they typically invent an "ordinary" person. In Eddie Carbone, Miller creates exactly that type. He is a very ordinary man, decent, hard-working and generous, a man no one could dislike and moreover, he is the head of his family; this means he has control over
Arthur Miller-Death of a salesman - Discuss, in close detail, the 'Requiem' (Pg.110-112) to show its relation to the play as a whole, and how far it is an appropriate conclusion.
OCR AS ENGLISH LITERATURE 3828,UNIT 2709- COURSEWORK Arthur Miller-Death of a salesman 2. Discuss, in close detail, the 'Requiem' (Pg.110-112) to show its relation to the play as a whole, and how far it is an appropriate conclusion. The requiem is the last act of Miller's play where the sad truth of Willy Loman's existence is revealed to the audience and the Loman family. The requiem serves as a place where Miller paints a picture of Willy's death as an ironic end to his tragic life. Charley's speech during the funeral is vital to understanding Willy as a tragic character because Charley takes the blame away from Willy for his death. "Nobody dast blame this man", are the opening words to Charley's speech that depicts Willy Loman as a product of his environment and a victim of his profession. He explains that the life of a salesman is an upward struggle to sell himself, "riding on a smile and a shoeshine...when they (customers) start not smiling back - that's an earthquake...and you're finished." Here Charley is alluding to Willy's inability to separate the personal from the professional. Willy took his professional rejections personally and it was a blow to his character. Willy wanted so desperately to be liked that he convinced himself that he was liked so he would be able to continue on with his life and his career. It is important that the
Is 'Death of a Salesman' anything more than a criticism of the moral and social standards of America in the mid twentieth century?
Is 'Death of a Salesman' anything more than a criticism of the moral and social standards of America in the mid twentieth century? Some critics have regarded it as Communist propaganda denouncing the evils of Capitalism, while others have seen it as a sympathetic study of the problems of big business. Some have interpreted it in Freudian terms and attributed to its author abstruse psychological theories, while from a Catholic point of view it has been approvingly regarded as a warning of the meaninglessness of life where there is no religious faith. Willy Loman is certainly a victim of the Capitalist system exploited and then cast aside. "He works for a company thirty years, opens up unheard of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away." Against this view is set the realism of the businessman: "When a man gets old you fire him." Miller says that he meant (among other things) to "celebrate the common sense of business men, who love the personality that wins the day, but know that you've got to have the right goods at the right price." The cult of the personality and the profit motive are the two main ideologies that come into direct into conflict in 'Death of a Salesman'. The play moves from the homespun myth of the fierce individualist who has pulled himself up by the bootstraps and into fame and fortune (i.e. Willy's father and Ben,
The treatment of Women in the History of the United States as portrayed American Drama
Jennifer CHUNG Hiu Kei 2005654208 ENGL3032 Advanced Topics in English Studies Title: The treatment of Women in the History of the United States as portrayed American Drama Due Date: 26 May 2008 Professor: Otto Heim Contents . Introduction and Background Page 30 2. Role of Women in American Society Page 13 3. Assimilating as a Woman Page 33 4. Conclusion Page 42 5. Bibliography Page 43 Chapter 1: Introduction and Background Drama is one of the quintessential attributes of English literature and to a certain extent, perhaps one of the more powerful categories as drama has the advantage of extra visuals to connect with the viewers than poetry or novels. With the influential element of props and actions performed with dialogue in scenes and acts, the ending segment of the texts often create a much more personal response among viewers in the form of 'catharsis'. Defined by Aristotle in Poetics at around 350 B.C, he structured tragic plays into four stages: hamartia, hubris, anagnorisis, and lastly catharsis. The first three stages illustrate the tragic hero, who is often the protagonist in the plays, with a flawed personality of some sort which is responsible for their downfall from a high status in their society. Catharsis on the other hand has more to do with the purging of emotions which cause the viewer to experience two particular feelings, pity