Willys failures Essay Example for Free

Willys failures Essay The play is certainly not just about the failure of an inadequate human being(s) there is far greater depth to the story. One could argue that the play is also a critique of the American dream, the idea that an ordinary person can just achieve success without too much effort; you just have to be well-liked as Willy puts it. It is Willys obsession with achieving this dream that leads to his madness and his downfall. This could suggest that the dream is impossible to achieve and a person will only end up disappointed if they rely on it. It is after all only a dream and not reality. Despite Willys failure at achieving the dream, it does not necessarily mean that the dream is unobtainable. Miller uses many characters to show the difference in success and failure in the American system. Charley, regarded as another normal person, is actually quite successful under the American system. This contrasts greatly with the financial insecurity of Willy and seems to dispel the idea that this book is a critique of the American dream. The audience will think that Charley has achieved success in the American system; it cannot be too badly flawed therefore. If you look at the play in far greater depth however, you will realise that the play is criticising the American dream. Charley did not sit around waiting for his wealth to just appear like Willy did; who was following the idea of the dream much more closely. Charley went out and worked hard to achieve everything, willing to work from the bottom, and acknowledge that he was working from the bottom. This very different to the American day dreaming Willy, who was too proud to accept a job off Charley and fails to admit, until further into the play, that his job is a low job, at the very bottom of the social ladder. The idea of capitalist values is also criticised in the play such as the way Willy is cruelly fired from his job by Howard to save money and the way that as soon as Willy pays off the payments on his refrigerator and his car they break and he has to buy new ones. Miller is suggesting that although some may benefit from the American system, there are many that do not. It seems that Willy is almost certainly a failure in the play but one could argue otherwise. Firstly, the fact that Willy is willing to give up his life so the family can benefit from the vast life insurance payout, seems, although rather drastic, actually quite noble; a man willing to die for the welfare of his family. It is certainly true that Willy loves his family and one could argue that the main reason for Willys downfall is the failure of his children to make anything of their lives especially Biff. Willy feels somewhat responsible for their lack of success and this does not really show a huge failing on his behalf. Despite the affair, Willy loves his wife greatly as is seen with the guilt he feels when Linda repairs her old stockings. His often-ill treatment of Linda could be regarded as his own guilt and not his failure as a husband. Willy may not seem quite so much the failure as one might think. Despite this, Willy does fail in several areas. He fails to generate a good enough income to support a family and the situation becomes dire when he loses his job. He arguably fails as a father in that his sons are unsuccessful and when they were young he almost encourages them to steal for example. He also seems to fail as a husband in that he has an affair and he generally badly treats his wife. Willys delusion suggests a failure to hold onto his sanity and an inability to adjust with the times. I can conclude therefore that Death of A Salesman is certainly a touching portrayal of Willys failures. I disagree with the idea of the play being merely a touching portrayal however; it is far more than that. We certainly feel sympathetic towards Willys downfall yet we also feel angry at his situation. Miller challenges the ideals of Capitalism and the American dream and this creates almost anger amongst the audience, who feel the rich and great have cheated them. Millers use of a working class low man conveys the idea that every human being has dreams and ambitions not just the powerful man. His is a challenge to the Aristotelian tragedies of old in which it seemed to suggest that only the great kings could ever suffer. His challenge certainly succeeds.

Ivan Denisovich Essay -- Social Issues, Poverty, War

The crimes of Stalinism in Europe are endless. The experience of the people who lived under the Soviet regime after the end of World War II lived in a time of terror, hopelessness and misery. For Soviet citizens and the prisoners life was miserable. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, a short novel written by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, is a story about the one day in the life of a person caught between the chaos of the war and the faceless entity that controls their lives. The story takes place somewhere in Siberia in 1951 at a â€Å"special† (forced labor) camp. Ivan is sent here after escaping from the Germans that captured him and some other men on the northwest front. Due to the control and paranoia of Stalinism, instead of being welcomed as a hero, he is accused of being a spy for the Germans and is forced to â€Å"confess† or be killed (71). During this one day of Ivan’s life the iron clad control Stalin has is apparent in daily life and there are little touches of humanity, faith and hope that give him and the others on the 104th the strength to get through each day at the camp. Ivan is representative of mainstream Soviet society; he is an uneducated, peasant Russian man. Ivan has an average name and does not aspire for much and his needs are fairly simple. The first suggestion of Ivan being uneducated is at the beginning of the story when Ivan goes to the dispensary in hopes of getting out of work for few days. From the masonry work that the squadron does during the day we know that Ivan is a skilled laborer. The other prisoners in his squadron long for freedom but Ivan views freedom as home. Ivan received a sentence of ten years but learns later that there is a chance that they could give him another term at the camp or he woul... ...world and after the work day ends continues to work. This is only space that Ivan feels he can claims as his own. The prisoners quietly fight the system by holding onto anything that makes them feel they still have individuality and control. Solzhenitsyn illustrates the life of an average Soviet citizen. Stalin controlled everything about a person’s private and public life. Individuality was taken away through various methods such as making giving numbers instead of names and taking away personal belongings. Families were torn apart by sending men away to camps and letters were censored. People were deprived of all things that made them feel human. The story emphasizes the importance of having faith to endure hard times and to keep the human spirit intact even in one of the most ominous regimes in history. Ivan concludes that it was â€Å"almost a happy day† (p 159).

Georges Marvellous Medicine Essay

Roald Dahl is an imaginative writer and does create vivid images in the readers mind. i do agree with this statement. Roald Dahl has used many narrative techniques such as imagery, vocabulary and humours illustrations. Georges Marvellous Medicine should be read by all students, because of all the techniques and key features used. Georges Marvellous Medicine is a story about a young boy who’s tempted to do â€Å"something† about his so called â€Å"grandmother†, and by something he means searching around the house collecting all kinds of horrible ingredients that will make grandma disappear, but instead, of disappearing she gets bigger !.The story affects on themes such as groth, family, good people, bad people, understanding people jealousy and greed. An important theme is good people because, being evil / bad, doesn’t pay out later, what goes around comes around an example would be grandma to George. Roald Dahl was the best storyteller in the 20thcentury. He used fantastic plots that matched by the extraordinary events in his life. He played with the vocabulary, and invented his own words. Roald Dahl stories have brought delight to millions of people.He was born in Llandaff, Wales on September 13th 1916. His parents were Norwegian and he was the only son of a second marriage. His father Harald and his elder sister Astri died when Roald was only three. He remembered his mother as â€Å"a rock, a real rock, always on your side whatever you’d done. Roald Dahl died on the 23rd of November 1990. An interesting narrative technique Roald Dahl used to make his stories entertaining and creative were his own words / vocabulary. An example of them would be: Squigglers, jacky jumpers, heigh – nonny- no and spissing.These words present imagery which makes all Roald Dahl’s stories imaginative and entertaining. Italics is also another narrative technique style Roald Dahl used to emphasise a word. An example of an italic would be: No wonder, good. He slants these words, to make their voices have expression, for example, sarcasm. No wonder : Obviously he had left something out of the medicine. The illustrations by Quentin Blake are another narrative technique, used by Roald Dahl in his novel, Georges Marvellous Medicine. The illustrations help the reader to picture the key events and storyline.These illustrations are quick sketches, in black ink which support the fast rate in the storyline. An example would be, when Grandma hops out of her chair once George hands her the medicine. This book cover Georges Marvellous Medicine created and designed by Quentin Blake is effective as a visual text as it illustrates the key ideas in the novel. This book cover aims to target at children promoting a light and comical storyline and themes. For example, the childish font in the cream coloured box has forms of abstract and vector lines which would attract children’s attention.The large saucepan is a salience im age because of the size of the pan. It makes you wonder the many ingredients put into it and the power of this potion. The ladle on which George is holding, guides the viewers eyes around the book cover. This is a form of vector lines. In conclusion, Roald Dahl is an imaginative writer and does create vivid images in the readers mind. Roald Dahl’s novel Georges Marvellous Medicine is an entertaining and imaginative novel with its made up vocabulary and humorous illustrations.Quentin Blake, the creative illustrator of this novel. is one of the finest illustrators in children’s literature. His illustrations are original and easy to follow. Once again, Georges Marvellous Medicine, by Roald Dahl is an entertaining novel and should be read by all students because of all the key features used. The moral / coda of the book Georges Marvellous Medicine, is that grandma had learnt her lesson for being so cruel and wicked to George, as they say, what goes around comes around.

Mental Illness And Its Effects On Society - 1405 Words

Bill Clinton once stated, â€Å"Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed of, but stigma and bias shame us all.† Mental illness comes with multiple influences towards the daily life of an individual. On one hand, these individuals must try to manage the symptoms that arise with their disease. Mental health disorders can affect the way individuals perform at their jobs, their social life, and even being able to live alone (Corrigan Penn, 1997). On the other hand, the way society tends to view mental illnesses leads to stigma and discrimination, unreasonably causing the same individuals to end up without a chance at work, denied by society, and deprived of independent living. In most societies, individuals view mental health as threatening and intimidating. This perspective often develops into a stigma, or stereotype, towards people who suffer from mental health illnesses (Davey, 2013). There are two types of mental health stigma. The first being social stigma, which is when society becomes prejudice or discriminatory towards an individual who has been labeled with a mental illness (Link et al., 1989). The second type of mental health stigma is self-stigma or perceived stigma. Self-stigma refers to an individual suffering with a mental illness portraying negative feelings upon themselves, because of the awareness of stereotypes against mental illnesses. Both social stigma and self-stigma can lead to poor treatment outcomes (Perlick et al., 2001). An individual willShow MoreRelatedMental Illness And Its Effect On Society2346 Words   |  10 Pagesheart diseases, in the same context, mental illness is a general phrase used for a group of illnesses affecting cognition (Department of Health, 2015). People faced with mental illness are been stigmatized and assumed by the society to be dangerous, dirty, worthless, and unpredictable. This amongst other reasons is why most people refuse the introduction of a mental health clinic in the community (Meadows et al., 2012). Even though Patient with severe mental illness treated in the community have shownRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On Society Essay1475 Words   |  6 Pagesmedia outlets that portrayed mental illness in their articles, there were some that continuously popped up in my searches. For example, CTV News and CBC News were two of many sources that contained the articles regarding an Ottawa man who was found not criminally responsible (NCR) last Thursday after he a ttacked a stranger with a hammer. At the time of the attack, Weber was on his way back to a transitional group home. He d been released from the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre less than twoRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On Society1164 Words   |  5 Pagesthrough the terrain of life, people might struggle with keeping up with daily routines and the demands of day to day living; Although life seems tough from the outset, problems of mental health place more obstacles upon the individual and his or her family and friends. Without a doubt, there are many expectations that society or one may have. For instance, getting eight hours of sleep, having a social life, exercising at least an hour a day, working towards a good career, going to school, pursuing personalRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On Society1461 Words   |  6 Pages Mental illness affects millions of people in the United States and in other countries. Disabling mental illness is seen in and out of local hospitals and other skilled nursing facilities daily. Timby and Smith (2011) define schizophrenia as a thought disorder characterized by deterioration in mental functioning, disturbances in sensory perception, and changes in affect. Schizophrenia effects about one percent of the population and shows no regard to ethnicity, culture, or environmentRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On Society985 Words   |  4 PagesIntroduction In the United States, there are many people who suffer from a mental illness. Mental illness is described as causing disruptions in one’s emotional state, thought processes, and behaviors. When analyzing this this concept, one can see that mental illness is a blanket term that encompasses a wide array of mental disorders that range from mild or to severe. No one completely understands the direct cause of mental illness. Some believe that it is attributed to a biological component which arguesRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On The Society946 Words   |  4 PagesWhether someone is struggling on schoolwork or contemplating suicide, it is typical to feel pity for their situation. As a result, society works towards helping those who struggle with worse mental health through various resources such as counseling or psychopharmaceuticals. The majority of society believes that treatment for those with mental illness is beneficial to the society. However, Eric G. Wilson, the Thomas H. Pritchard Professor of English at Wake Forest University and leading expert in the relationshipsRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On Society Essay1923 Words   |  8 Pagesindividuals, who live or know of someone who is living with some form of mental illness. These individuals have many barriers placed upon them by society and have fallen victim to negative social stigmas. Individuals who are experiencing a mental crisis whether it may be a result of a diagnosed mental illness or an erratic episode brought on by mental instability have had negative social stigmas placed on them from almost entire societies. These negative stigmas come from the lack of knowledge and negativeRead MoreMental Illness And Its Effects On The Workplace And Society Of Peru874 Words   |  4 Pagesnot until my uncle’s physical condition was so severely impacted that he was taken to a private doctor for an evaluation. Mental illness is still very stigmatized in many parts of the wor ld, and even anxiety disorders, of which many people suffer, are judged and condemned in the workplace and society of Peru. The continuous symptoms of my uncle were called a nervous or mental breakdown when he was admitted initially, and while episodes have happened in the past, the reason given to any person withRead MoreThe Effects Of Stigma Surrounding Mental Illness1658 Words   |  7 PagesMental illness is a controversial topic in recent news. From Sandy Hook to the Aurora movie theatre shooting, the effects of mental illness have sparked fierce debate and negative stigma surrounding the issue. Mental illnesses, â€Å"patterns of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors that are deviant, distressful, and dysfunctional† (Myers 562), affect 1 in 4 people at some point in their lives (Stigma and Discrimination). However, only 59.6% of people with mental illness report receiving treatment, as theyRead MoreHomelessness and Mental Illness1095 Words   |  5 Pagesstreets, who society has forgotten. This man emits the smell of garbage; he has not bathed in months. This man sits quietly mumbling to himself . To the outer world he is just one of the many homeless, but little does society know that this man has a mental illness as well. Homelessness and mental illness are linked. These two happenings have similar beginnings. Homelessness is influenced by drug and alcohol disuse, being homeless at a young age, money problems, and trauma symptoms. Mental illness is caused