1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or a parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
Every family has conflict. In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the conflict between Willy and his son, Biff, is extreme. Miller uses literary techniques to describe and explain the father-son rift, and then uses the broken relationship to show what problems in society.
Miller’s details and use of foils showcase Willy’s lack of parental skills. Willy loves his sons. The problem is that Willy provides awful advice to his children. Willy’s foil, Charley, shows this. Willy tells Biff to blow off school. Charley tells his son, Bernard, to study hard. Willy laughs at his son’s theft. Charley teaches Bernard right from wrong. These differences shown in the past affect the lives Biff and Bernard create. Miller provides impressive details about Bernard’s life. He is successful, and is even off about to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court. Clearly, Charley’s advice was effective. It follows naturally that Willy’s, being opposite, was not. Biff resents Willy’s poor parenting. This is the root of the strain on Biff and Willy’s relationship.
Miller uses Willy’s incompetence to highlight societal problems. Willy believes that the key to success is being well liked. The reader is forced to examine the world to find the root of this belief. Miller is telling us through Biff and Willy’s dysfunctional relationship that society is superficial. All we care about is popularity, and about exteriors. We don’t care what’s underneath. That is why Willy’s appliances are always falling apart: quality. Nobody in today’s world cares about quality. Willy represents many people. American society as a whole believes that you don’t have to work, you can skate by if people like you. Miller sees something wrong in this fact, and showcases it through Wily and Biff’s dysfunctional relationship.
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ReplyDeleteThis was a really, really awesome essay. Your arguments were well thought out, well structured, and really delve deep into the text. Your juxtaposition of Willy and Bernard was extremely effective in supporting your point, and overall this essay is definitely a high-scorer on the AP Exam. At the end, however, I have a couple questions about your argument. You say that Miller is arguing that American values say that you don't have to work hard and that all that matters is your physical appearance. But Willy Loman literally works himself to death while simultaneously hoping his charm will help him succeed. So isn't Miller really criticizing what drove Willy to become so obsessed with working and being liked and material success (that is, the American ideals of material wealth?) Just some food for thought, but also a hole in your argument, which you might want to patch with your viewpoint in a third body paragraph. Speaking of paragraphs...conclusion? But those are littler things, this was a spectacular job!! Great work!
ReplyDeleteYou effectively analyze meaning in this. In your opening, you might want to describe the literary techniques that Miller uses for a more specific thesis. You don't mention the Woman at all, claiming that Willy's failed parenting is "the root of the strain" on their argument. As she shatters the illusion that Willy creates, you could work her in to connect the first paragraph's focus on biff and Willy's relationship to the second's on superficiality. You make a good argument, though, and it's well supported.
ReplyDeleteYour thesis doesn't clearly address the goal that asks you to analyze the sources of the conflict. This leads to a first support paragraph where you are really proving that Miller uses literary techniques (of course he does--all authors do, it's part of writing) to show that Willy is a bad parent. But there are legions of bad parents who get along great with their kids. It's not the same thing as having a conflict. This is clear in the flashbacks--Willy was always a bad parent, and yet Biff used to worship him. Happy still kind of does. So it's not really the bad parenting that's the root of the problem, is it? It's the betrayal. Your second support paragraph isn't anchored firmly enough to the Willy/Biff conflict. In general, this essay just doesn't hang together very well as a logical argument.
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