Social Message in Dramas - Book Report/Review Example

' The tumultuous vultures of desire ,hope ,fear ,disappointment and tragedy manifest themselves in the themes of the two plays , "Death of a Salesman," and "A Raisin in the Sun," .It is worth mentioning at the outset that there will be a use of the Aristotle's poetics to analyse theses themes and shades of tragedy within the two plays.analysis of these two plays. According to Aristotle tragedy within poetry and drama arouses the sense of pity and fear and my paper explores these themes within these two dramas. The notion of the perfect "American Dream" is a prominent theme with in the empty life of both the protagonists portraying life in the fifties era.)Death of Salesman was authored by Arthur Miller in the early twentieth century and the play was written in 1949 .The play was an immediate success with the literary critics and won the Pulitzer Prize. The play was referred to as the " first great American tragedy" which addressed the popular notions of the American Dream as it addressed the painful social conflicts and the blind faith in the American Dream which was so characteristic of the fifties in the post war America . This work'play portrays the themes of crass commercialism and the political lies which disillusioned (you are confusing your past and present tense, read carefully)the society which overshadowed the original American Dream of the Founding Fathers. The drama has retained its original dream and flair even today and has even influenced pop culture .The concept of the American Dream, how it relates to the notions of material success and how it affected the family structure of the American Society features prominently within the essay. Miller's portrayal of an America afraid of the "Communist takeover" and its struggle to save capitalism also shows how the myth of the "American Dream" was manipulated to reflect a peaceful homogenous society. The drama portrays an American family where the main protagonist Willy Loman's wife is insisting that he should stop his travelling salesman activities and that he should shift to New York , the city of big dreams and promises. The play goes on to portray the way the children are criticised by Loman and unhappy and how the wife is dissatisfied by her husband. The text further shows individual dreams and desires as the two children/young adults fantasise about a life where they can have an ideal life at the ranch. Willy's dream of having the perfect sons and good finances is also shown. After a string of flashbacks and day dreams the play brings us back into the present where Willy realises that it is his present life is a failure and there are further conflicts and arguments within the frustrated family members. The ending shows tragedy as Willy dies and his family members are in shock. His life is seen by the people around him as a victimisation by his profession and high dreams of a better life.' The play shows how Miller has used the stream of consciousness of the main protagonist Willy to show the bitterness and disappointment of an individual faced by a mid age crisis. His day dreams show his unhappiness with his current life despite the fact that he seems successful at being a salesman at first. The play portrays the classic Aristotelian approach to tragedy as the main hero finds himself useless and inadequate in his practical life when he thinks, "I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and the time to sit and smoke. And I looked at the pen and I thought, what the hell am I grabbing this for' Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be . .. . when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am." (ACT II). This ''shows how his "American Dream" is eating him from within as he delves deeper into the flashbacks of his past and fantasises about successful children as the sight of his son Biff is a disappointment to him.Things get worse when he is fired by his boss due to his old age and deemed redundant. His frustration is echoed as he reflects further "he's a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine ' A salesman is got to dream, boy."(ACT II). Willy's life shows how the harsh and over competitive atmosphere of his career causes his relationships to break down with his own family as his tantrums get worse. There is a marked usage of aggression and angry frustration with in the portrayal of all the characters in the story. All in all there is a sense of personal agony within the family as the Loman household struggles with an angry father.The theme of diamonds is most pronounced in this tragedy as Willy remarks that "A diamond is hard and rough to the touch" and how they represent the lack of financial stability Willy craves in his life. He is frustrated by Ben's success with the discovery of diamonds and his constant regret that he has a chance to share Ben's fortune. However the Loman household was not the only family struggling with the desert of lost hopes and dead flowers as the play , "A raisin in the sun" depicts.The play is an important part of the Afro-American literature and shows the struggle of a family living on Chicago 's South Side at about the same time as the Loman Family in "Death of a Salesman". The fifties classic written by Lorraine Hansberry shows the fierce struggle of hopes and dreams and disappointments. The play starts with the lines which echo the title of the play "What happens to a dream deferred' Does it dry up' Like a raisin in the sun!1 Thus this is another play about disappointments but from an Afro American perspective and like "Death of a Salesman is widely acclaimed by the literary circles. Although another thematic tragedy the play speaks of deferred dreams and also addresses social issues of Racism and disappointments for the black minorities post the World War II saga.The play centres around the life of the Younger's Family who resent their current home conditions and dream of a better life. Their children are embroiled within their own dreams and feel the financial crisis as well and struggle to find their roots with their African blood.When Lens succeeds in buying the house of her dreams in an all white neighbourhood and faces the wrath of racist white neighbours as they try to dissuade them from living in their neighbourhood. This play embodies rhetoric to the American dream which symbolises equality and justice for all and that every American is free to pursue his or her happiness and have his liberty. For people like the Youngers, suppressed and undermined in the post war fifties the American Dream was just "deferred hopes". This reflected on the writers own life as well. In fact the frustrations in Death of the Salesman also echo Miller's own unhappiness with his relationship with his uncle .In Raisin in the Sun the authors own past life is reflected where her family was involved in a long racist litigation over a property dispute and how that exploitation and frustration, turned her American Dream as a chills into a nightmare of the struggle to escape from the poverty ridden life of many Post World War afro-Americans. Both these plays also show a marked sense of rebellion with in the youngsters against their parents whose views they do not share at all.For example in "Death of a Salesman" the young boys feel disillusioned by their father's constant disapproval of their lives.In "Raisin in the Sun" the Son of the main character is constantly feeling conflicted that is whether he should stand his ground and remain in the white neighbourhood or sell the house and recover his sunk investment in the Alcohol store. These conflicts between family ties and the importance of not 'selling out,' conflicting expectations, and racial prejudice show the picture of almost any ethnic household struggling with the post war American society which was neither homogenous and nor did it guarantee equal opportunities for all.Obviously this tragedy has to be valued for its historical importance as it shows the "provocative reflection" of the rampant racism in the fifties as the white society could not stomach their improving economic status post the slavery era. The image of racism can be seen in the character of Karl Linder described as (Hansberry 113) as "quiet-looking," "middle aged," and "a gentle man" as requests the Youngers to move away within their own family interest. He famously remarks that black and white conflicts exist because people "don't sit down and talk to each other" (Hansberry 116).His fake sympathetic behaviour is obvious when he almost "sadly" warns the Youngers that Clybourne Park is dangerous to their interests. (Hansberry 119) to which the family matriarch rhetorically replies that he is saying that because (Hansberry 143) "they aren't fit to walk the earth".However the Younger family faces these implied threats bravely and stays united as Walter retorts to these racist neighbours, "[W]e have decided to move into our house because my father-my father-he earned it for us brick by brick. We don't want to make no trouble for nobody or fight no causes, and we will try to be good neighbours. And that's all we got to say about that. We don't want your money."(Hansberry 117) Unlike the play "A raisin in the sun" this play touches on more contemporary issues and social messages in relation to feminism and problems faced by the ethnic minorities. The play also portrays male ego which is hurt whenever there are financial problems. If we refer back to the play "Death of a Salesman" it is obvious that Willy is having angry tantrums at his wife and children and is resorting to hallucinating day dreams because of his financial worries. The same happens when Walter, the sun of the female protagonist in "Raisin in the Sun" tries to escape to alcoholism to avoid his mother's newfound financial authority after the demise of his father. Both stories show how the women felt socially and emotionally inclined to give in to the whims of these tantrums of the men in their lives especially when Lena , the female matriarch in "Raisin in the Sun" finds her disillusioned son and hands over financial control to him to remove his ego problems and discomfort. Ironically enough in both stories the misery of death seems to be offset by a "heavy insurance" cheque. The question then is in line with the Aristotelian notions of tragedy whether or not money can buy happiness as the protagonists in these two stories think so. In "Death of a Salesman" Willy thinks if he commits suicide his insurance money will bring happiness to his family. In the "Raising in the Sun" the family matriarch although sad for the death of her husband, feels that the heavy insurance cheque might show them better days. And last but not the least we have the problems of the double standards of the American Society and the prejudices against anyone who is weak, whether socially or financially.The climaxes of both plays are tragedies. The death of Willy who was never happy with his life and in "Raisin in the Sun" the revelation that despite their social stand the Younger's lose the insurance money due to fraud and are unable to purchase the house.'Thus both dramas portray the concept of tragedy in the Aristotelian perspective. For example for Aristotle, the plot is "the soul of a tragedy and the first and most important thing in tragedy." (Sachs).Aristotle's analysis says that events in a play should not happen at once and must confine themselves to actions on the stage. Thus in Death of a Salesman we see Willy becoming a successful travelling salesman and the struggles of his family and his own. And in the end we see his sad demise. This sequential portrayal contributes to the coherence of the play. 'Both protagonists in these plays fit the description of the hero or heroine who according to Aristotle should not necessarily be "Eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty." This according to Aristotle's methodology will "excite pity and fear, this being the distinctive mark of tragic imitation." (Sachs).Our protagonists in both dramas are weak but human which make them realistic. Both make errors of judgement in their personal and financial decisions which bring their downfall. Yet they have good intentions and display good lessons for family and social values. Works Cited 1. Aristotle, Poetics, Joe Sachs (trans.), Focus Philosophical Library, Pullins Press, 2006. 2. Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun. New York: Vintage Books, 1994. 3. Aurthur Miller (1949) Death of a Salesman 4. Wikipedia.com 5. Quotes retrieved from "Sparknotes.com" and the Original books. Read More