This week, as we read Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, consider the role of societal pressure in the play and in your life. What effect does living in mid-twentieth century society have on Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy? How does each one of them respond to those pressures? Without revealing too many personal details - this blog is not meant to be like a group therapy session - discuss some of the societal pressures that you feel as a person, as a student, as an artist. How are the pressures that the Lomans feel similar to or different from your experience?
Each of the Lomans is living a fairly successful life. In other words, each is making a sufficient amount of money to survive. Biff works on ranches, Happy works in an office, Willy sells, and Linda hold down the fort. Without any pressures from the society of the age they live in, these people would have no reason not to be happy. Willy and Linda have a seemingly loving and happy marriage, Biff has traveled the country, Happy has moved into his own apartment in the city, and both have been with many women. However, they do NOT live in a pressure-less society. On the contrast, the amount of expectation and pressure that DOES exist in the society is making them all miserable. Willy must push himself to bring home more money, even though they don't really need anything more, he must be the best in the field so as to bring honor to his name and to his family. He is made to believe that he can have so much more, or that he can do so much better. So he has an affair with an exciting woman, and he travels farther and farther. Linda strives to be the perfect, obedient, housewife to please her husband who perhaps only walks comes through the door once a week! Biff feels the need to find a woman, to find a match, and to make more money so that HE can be the best. He is old enough to buy into the same pressures that weigh his father down. So, he can't stay in one place for too long, because he starts to feel dormant, or pointless. Happy, cannot just be pleased with the women that he already sleeps with, but the pressure to compete and "beat" his fellow men leads him to sleep with engaged women. It's as if this family doesn't want the American Dream, but they feel like they won't be acceptable if they don't obtain it. So, they push themselves to hard, and they beat themselves up, when they don't realize that the lives they are living are GOOD ENOUGH. But they won't settle.
ReplyDeleteI think that today we do have similar societal pressures as far as the idea of success goes. We are expected to do well in school, to go to college, and graduate school, and become real professionals. We have pressures to look good, to wear nice clothing, to be fit, and thin, especially for women. But I think that our society allows many more avenues down which we can find success. The 40's and 50's were a time of the stereotypical American Dream: suburban house, beautiful children, Dad working from 9-5 in the city, thin and beautiful mother cooking and cleaning, everyone white. Today, we can be successful in so many different ways, women are not expected to just marry and stay at home, men do not have to find an office job. That is no longer the only image of success. That is not to say that we are no longer expected to succeed; we are just allowed to do so in a wider variety of ways.
In Death Of A Salesman it is clear that societal pressure is affecting the Loman family. In class we have been discussing the idea of "The American Dream", and how it is that ideal that causes the Loman's to feel that they have to live a certain way. Throughout most of the section we have read, Willy is focusing completely on success, business, whether or not he is well-liked, and an obsession with making sure his children are well-liked. Society in this time expected the father of the household to be at work all day, and for woman to stay home and keep the house together, under their husband's command. There seemed to be a huge amount of pressure on men in general to be able to support their families, and rise to the top of the social pyramid. Power and "winning" seem to be the only way to be content in life. In a way many of these same pressures are present in my life, despite the fact that we live in a different time. Being a serious artist, I am under constant pressure to be successful. However, the difference between me and say, WIlly, is that I push myself towards success completely independently. I have support and guidance, but it is ultimately up to me to work hard enough to accomplish my goals and be successful. I feel that in the play, much of the success that people wanted was due to societal pressure to live up to what was expected in society at the time. In this day and age we are encouraged to pursue what we love and what we seek in life. Since we are encouraged to do what we love and what we are interested in, and have the freedom to do so, we are often more motivated to get what we want. Willy, Biff, and Happy, are all expected to work for the same thing, and anything outside of the expected way of life was unacceptable. So, basically, I think that pressure that I feel is pressure that I put on myself by trying to live up to my own expectations. However, some of my expectations may be inspired by society's demands for "perfect people". Television and the media often portray people as skinny, beautiful, and perfect people. There is a huge emphasis on materialism and pressure to buy things that we don't need in order to be cool and perfect people. In this way, the pressures are very similar now and in Death of a Salesman. There is a huge demand to have material goods, and be rich. The people that these demands are intended to go to may have changed, but the overall pressures are very similar.
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ReplyDeleteIn this play, each of the characters struggle with societal pressure. Willy is blinded by the theory of the “American Dream,” the perfect and ideal life. In the mid-twentieth century, this was the goal for every man. Even though Willy dreams of being successful and rich, he is just an ordinary salesman in real life. He tends to ignore this reality. He constantly imagines and pretends that he is successful, when he is not. In a way, he is drowning in his own dream and confusing his mind. At this time period, there was one definition of success. Willy and Biff both have somewhat ordinary lives but their life does not fit into this definition of success. They are constantly worried about their “future,” and what is to become of them. Biff, in particular thinks that what he had done so far was a waste of time. These characters always put success over their happiness.
ReplyDeleteSociety’s pressure also plays a role in Linda because she is a woman. During this time period, women were not well heard or respected, even in the family. For instance, Biff constantly disrespects Linda and Willy does not even show affection for her. Even worse, Willy tells Linda to "shut up" when she was trying to voice her opinions. Her only role is to manage the household and let the male dominate over her. This suppressed role of women also suppresses Linda’s mind. She is quiet and keeps all her concerns to herself. She says objective things “most of the time” and she doesn’t really have control over the boys. If Linda’s society was more accepting towards her gender, she could have played a bigger role in help solving Willy’s issues.
In the world today, societal pressure has a big role in everyone’s lives, but it has changed. Society's pressure also does not only consit of "success." I agree with Conor that people have different pathways to find a variety of successful lives. There is no single definition of the “perfect” life. I also think that people consider personal happiness more. As a student, I have pressure from society’s creation of SAT and college, but it is not like those things are what completely determines my future. There are so much more ways to succeed and do things that make you happy, and Willy's world do not see this as a possibility. Willy only sees success as the scenerio when a man enters a jungle and comes out rich.
I've thought really hard about trying to find a specific "societal pressure" that is the same today as it might've been for the Lomans/people of the mid-20th century in general. Although I have no doubt that they exist and my example finder is just broken, I've come to the conclusion that that's not important. What is important is the discussion we could have about the fact that SOCIETAL PRESSURES WILL ALWAYS EXIST.
ReplyDeleteThat's the common thread, really.
In the 1940's and 50's, women were pressured in to being housewives and reproducing. Linda, for example; described as a "doormat" and a "good waitress". She's the ideal housewife who cooks, cleans, darns socks, and makes babies. Men were pressured into getting good jobs and making money. Willy did it, being a salesman, and it drove him to suicide attempts. He tries to push it onto Biff and Happy as well (although it's mostly Biff, as poor Hap gets left out in the cold a lot) by being constantly assured that they're doing the "right thing" in school in the scenes that are flashbacks. Children of that time were constantly pressured into religious beliefs, career fields, activities, getting good grades... Seems to me that the only living things that didn't experience pressure were the domesticated animals living among the humans.
Ain't it the same now? (I'm aware that I typed ain't, too, so don't worry about it.)Sure, women don't feel the same pressure to make a home and produce offspring. Instead they feel the pressure, like men, to go to college, train, and make something of themselves. Children still feel the pressures to make "smart choices", believe certain things, and essentially become the adults that continue to be pressurized into your typical American.
I could try to get as specific as I wanted with this little blurb of an idea I've sprouted, but essentially what I typed is all that's going ot end up at the core of it all. Society will ALWAYS pressure people into something - some kind of mold will always be in place for everyone, no matter if we try to fill it, bust out of it, or ignore it all together. No matter the time period, we all suffer from the ideals of society, and we always will. BUT, JUST BECAUSE IT HAPPENS DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN'T FIGHT IT!
Yay, society!
Social pressure in the 1950's was completely different and opposite in some cases from todays social pressure. In the 1950's, a woman's place in society was typically a housewife who took care of the children and the chores. Linda takes this role seriously and tends to baby her husband and children. For women like Linda, it is important to keep the husband happy and the children well-mannored and disciplined. This is seen when she tells her husband how handsome he is and how wonderful and successful he is at his job even though he is overweight and isn't earning enough income. Also, Willy is obviously not mentally stable and she deliberately ignores his random comments and forces others to do the same as not to upset him. She also babied Biff when he was fighting with Ben and she didn't want him getting hurt. In society it was not acceptable for ladies like Linda to be displeasing in any way. She is pressured to constantly be cheerful and act as though her life were normal. Linda's sweet and giddy nature is barely believable considering her family is poor, her husband is always on the road and having trouble with business, and her child is about to flunk out of school. However, the pressures of society make her feel like she must have the ideal home in the suburbs with a man who brings the income and two handsome and well behaved children so she is trying her best to do her job. Biff and Happy seem to be under the pressure of getting good grades in school. We don't know much about Happy other than the pressure he puts himself under to get attention from his father. Biff is more concerned with society recognizing his athletic accomplishments than getting into college. He is a jock who relies on his looks and talent in sports to get him places rather than working hard in school and thinking about the future. His pressure comes from his high school reputation, his rank on the football team, and the way his dad sees him. Happy is constantly talking about his weight and perhaps society puts pressure on him to do so because in the 50's people were much thinner and since his brother is built tough he feels he has to be the same. Lastly, Willy has the pressures of being a good father and husband and also doing well in the business world. He does not feel ready to settle down and this is clear because of his affair. He must deal with the pressure of keeping a steady job, supporting his family, raising his children to be successful men of business, and being a good husband. He has the social pressure of dealing with his weight problems and being made fun of for his many jokes and strange mumbling as well. Because he is at the moment unsuccessful with all of these things and has the largest amount of responsibilites, Willy feels the most pressure out of all the characters.
ReplyDeleteAs a teenager living in 2010, society pressures you to know the latest gossip about everything; friends, relationships, celebrities, music, fashion, etc. It can be overwhelming because the internet is the basis for getting a lot of this information and it can take over your spare time and invade yours and other's privacy. Our generation tends to want answers fast because technology allows us access to information quickly and easily. We tend to look at the surface rather than find out more about something or back it up with evidence so we jump to conclusions. Also, there's pressure to rebel at a certain age and experiment because it is something we are told not to do. Peers have the biggest influence on how we live and teens will usually split into categories of leaders and followers. We use less of our own judgement and more of the assurance that if some one else our age can do something we can too.
As an artist my pressure comes from committing to my work and finishing by a deadline. This is similar to the pressure Willy feels to do better with his business in order to meet the needs of his family. Like an artist, Willy also thrives on being appreciated and admired so he feels pressure to impress his boys and be an example to inspire them.
Everyone seems to be getting at a common point so far so i'll just reiterate whats been said and hopefully add a little different insight. Societal pressures in general affect people differently. Some people succumb to them while others do their best to carry on their lives while resisting them. But then rises the question of acceptance. If you aren't following the ways of society and changing your ways to agree with that of the society you are in than you won't be accepted. Thats not necessarily a bad thing but who doesn't want to be accepted. The Lomans thought that they were doing all right and as the boys got older and Willy became more fragile they sort of cracked under the realities faced by society. Biff was the high school star who his parents thought would become sucessful. But the bar seemed to be set too high for him and he was never able to meet it. Did Biff not reach the success his parents wanted him to reach because of his parents? I think so. And they were lead to do this because of society. Every family wants sucess in whatever form. And the Lomans haven't been able to achieve that. Willy can't find it in his job, Happy in his relationship with his father, and Biff respectivley with the same problem as Happy as well as finding a path and more meaning in his life. Society pushes for perfection. Families to lead the perfect lives, with the sucessful jobs, and perfect kids etc. The pressures put on the parents then reflects upon the kids and then everything kind of reverses. They worked so hard to try and find sucess that in the end it never found them.
ReplyDeleteI firmly we believe that we face societal pressures today. Always trying to be whats right at the time. Always looking for acceptance. We as artists face this with our arts. As someone said earlier with academics, finding the right school, making the grades etc. As teenagers not screwing up...and making the right choices for our futures. The pressure to not be different is one that faces many of us and i think its one that does not need to be faced. Even though there are societal pressures it doesn't mean you have face them, you can always fight them.
I think it is important to see the pressure Linda faces as the wife of a suicidal man in this time period. I know we discussed this in class, but the pressure she faces in the roll she plays in keeping Willy alive is similar to what people in that situation today. Not that i have ever been what JCK called an "enabler", but it seems to me that it is a dilemma people close to a suicidal person or an addict face: whether or not to seek help. There is a lot put at risk in terms of the relationship between the person who needs help and the person seeking it for them. Because problems like this aren't usually conscious and are often accompanied by denial, forcing someone to seek help is threatening and confusing. It seems easier not to deal with that aspect and as we said just let them be and be happy. Even today with all the options and plans to "recovery" practically waiting, this situation still exists. And in order to protect someone from the embarrassment and shame that addressing the problem would bring, the role Linda plays in that respect still exists.
ReplyDeleteWhat effect does living in mid-twentieth century society have on Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy? How does each one of them respond to those pressures? Without revealing too many personal details - this blog is not meant to be like a group therapy session - discuss some of the societal pressures that you feel as a person, as a student, as an artist. How are the pressures that the Lomans feel similar to or different from your experience?
ReplyDelete-I will first address societal pressure in my own, personal experience and then I will discuss the relationship it has to "Death of a Salesman". I think it's fair to say that almost everyone receives societal pressure at some point in their lives for a lot of different reasons. I think those who put societal pressure on others are looking for a way to fit in or try to act "cool" or just get their friends to do something they feel strongly about. To receive this kind of pressure is not an enjoyable experience because you have two options. Say no and face the potential risk of having those who are asking you to tease you; or you could say yes and suffer the potential consequences that come with the decision. I agree with catie fraser when she says "As a teenager living in 2010, society pressures you to know the latest gossip about everything; friends, relationships, celebrities, music, fashion, etc. It can be overwhelming because the internet is the basis for getting a lot of this information and it can take over your spare time and invade yours and other's privacy. Our generation tends to want answers fast because technology allows us access to information quickly and easily." This is a very accurate and correct statement.
-Relating back to the story, we've already discussed how Willy has been having issues with everything he comes into contact with and he seems to be creating his own societal pressure and telling himself that he needs to live up to the expectations he seems to be setting for himself and his family. The same rules catie mentioned seem to apply to willy and his life with his family.
Well in the beginning of the play, it seems that each character is relatively happy with themselves and the lives they live. But each of them seems content. But as we move further into the play, we learn how destroyed these lives really are. I think the biggest pressure that we see so far in this play is to be socially excepted. I think Willy has the greatest desire to be socially excepted. He may say at times that people love him but whether it is just insecurity or just him being crazy, we know that he actually is a horrible salesman and that no one likes him. Even his sons don't like him. It just appears to be Linda that still has the ability to love him. Linda also deals with the pressure of society. She HAS to be the perfect housewife and cook and clean and make the rest of her families lives seem perfect. And it goes along with Biff and Happy. They are told from society that they need to have steady business jobs and then settle down and have children and carry on the Loman name when, at this time, that is far from what they actually want.
ReplyDeleteI think we all, as students, feel this pressure. To be perfect all the time and always make the best appearance. There are always kids that dress better than you, or talk more intelligently, or are just all around more liked and we always push ourselves to be like them. So we can fit in with society, which when you think about it is really dumb. But even though we may know this, it doesn't defeat that pressure from society.
Everyone has common point, which is having a preessure in their lives. Willy gets pressure of working as a sales man,and also get pressure on Biff's unsuccessful life. Everytime, he feels pressure he talks himself or yelling at Linda or Biff. However, Linda always try to put things away and tries to make everything positive. And Linda is the character who always try to make Willy happy and calm down. Moreover, Biff still doesn't know what he nedds to do for his future and still considering between what he wants do and what he has to do. Happy is the most positive person who wants to be success in his work. Through these characters, Loman tries to show what is like to be have a pressure in mid-twentith society. As an artist, when get pressure or stress on doing art, I try to calm to and have positive mind. Unlike Willy, yelling at people or talking myself isn't really helpful to calm down my pressure. But everytime when I get pressure, I try to ginore it and have some rest like Linda.
ReplyDeleteEveryone wants to be perfect on their job and position, and according to be like that, people obviously get pressure on what their doing, and l belive people should accept the pressure and live like Linda.
In the dictiobary perfection means" an exemplification of surpreme excellence" or "an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence." In the book that we are reading "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller, the Loman family are striving for perfection. Willy Loman faces societal pressure because wants to have a pefect family, but he is stuggling to get it. Wanting perfection leads to Societal pressure I think. We learn that Willy wants to live the American Dream, you know, the husband works and gets good money, wife does house work and greets the houseband when he comes home, and kids follow their dad or moms foot steps. Happy faces societal pressure because he wants to compete other working men in his job so he can be respected and be the man who steps into work while other wor man look and move out the way when happy walks. Biff and Linda too faces societal pressure. I have read my classmates and students that are in english class comments and I really do agree with them about the Loman family and their societal pressures.
ReplyDeleteEverybody in the whole entire world faces socieatl pressure. People face societal pressure at work, school, etc. Even I face pressure, mostly school related pressure. College,SAT's geeting good grades, finishing homework, etc is is already pressure for me.
Yeah....(@_@)
I agree with everyone that in Death of a Salesman, there is a huge societal pressure which affects the Loman family.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I think Linda is the character who faces the strictest societal prssure in this story. The fact that the characters are living in mid-twentieth century effects Linda to stay at home all the time without doing anything outside. Her "work"(greeting Willy and helping him to rest) starts when her husband Willy arrives at home. She don't communicate with the outside world and even at home, she is always ignored. When the boys and Willy is having a conversation about their plan related to business, she is not welcomed to join them. Willy always gets mad at her when she starts to talk and he asks her to be quiet all the time. Furthermore, Linda, in fact, accepts the situation. She doesn't get upset at all!! This example shows that Linda is very affected by the societal pressure(Women were not allowed to care about the outside, business world).
Just like Linda, both of her sons, Biff and Happy, faces societl pressures. They are very expected to become successful in their business and everyone worries about them when they are not doing anything outside. Their father Willy asks and encourages them to go out and work all the time.
Willy is also treated in the same way. He must be successful in the society. However, it seems like the societal pressure is not a bad thing for him all the time because he has the power as the father, the oldest male, at home.
Thesedays, certain societal pressure still exists. A person who is smart, successful,kind, handsome, and rich is considered as a better person while a person who is stupid, unsuccessful, mean, ugly, and poor is considered as a failed one.
The societal pressures effects me too. For example, I'm always worried about my grades and my test results and I wear nice clothes before I meet others.
Thus, societal pressure effects not only the characters in the Death of a Salesman but also the people who are living in this real world.
I agree with everyone saying that the reason why all of these characters are in such disarray is because of societal pressures. However, I think that's only part of it. Society created the conflict, but it is themselves as individuals that has now taken over the problems that arise within their family. When Linda finds the gas tube, she keeps it a secret. What everyone seems to be saying in the blog, as of right now, is the reason why she doesn't take action is most likely because she wants to maintain that "perfect housewife" image that women were expected to have. However, we see on page 50 (and before this) that Willy continually tells Linda to be quiet. He says "Will you let me finish?" (page 50) even before Linda has a chance to get a decent word in. Willy wants all the credit and wants to prove himself. What they are discussing here is solely heard by their immediate family, no one else. So, it's not as if their conversation now has to convince anybody that they live this perfect nuclear family, Leave-It-To-Beaver lifestyle. Therefore, Linda doesn't have to maintain this perfect housewife image. Even still, she shuts up. It could be that Linda is more afraid of her husband than she is for maintaining her image. Linda's too scared to confront her husband and stand up to her family because of the conflict between all of them, not just society. Society may have been a catalyst for the beginning of this conflict, however, it is them now that is what's causing the drama.
ReplyDeleteI also believe this idea that personal relationships have taken over what society started initially is what's happening in the character's minds, as well. Our classes are blaming everything on society, but we forget that they may actually be a little messed up to begin with. This whole time, we believe that Willy is trying to support his family to create a good image for himself: he has to be the big man on campus bringing home the bacon for his perfect family. But when it comes down to it, we see that Willy is ultimately trying to please his brother, Ben, and his family. Willy tries to show off his boys and his boy's accomplishments on page 33:
"Boys! Boys! [Young Biff and Happy appear] Listen to this. This is your Uncle Ben, a great man! Tell my boys, Ben" (pg. 33).
Willy wants the recognition from his boys that he's giving them the best resources possible. And, he wants Ben to see just how responsive his boys are, too. The societal pressures only go so far, but here we see that the pressures that Willy is facing are much more prevalent and rooted in the home than they are in the bigger world.
There is so much to say about pressure. I agree with all the comments and different ideas struck me from each entry:
ReplyDeleteKatie Robinson: "Social pressure will always exist. Society will always pressure people into something. Fight it! We all suffer from the ideals of society and we always will. "
Society is a social contract, and will always have a tension between individuals and the group. It’s the values and beliefs of the group that make a meaningful contract. America believes we’re evolving toward a better contract. So it is a fight! It’s been a fight to extend the rights that are guarantied in the Declaration of Independence and the constitution for example, to “the negro”, “queers”, “chicks”, “retards”, and “cripples” . . .. And the fight goes on.
Catie Fraser: "The speed of information and opinion and all our time with media (gadgets) make us want everything fast. We want to see what everyone else thinks."
It’s hard to think for yourself because there’s no time to reflect.
Conor; "Pressure of external expectation makes all the Loman’s miserable; nothing is enough."
Yes, and nothing can ever be enough if it’s defined from the out side, it’s phantom you can’t grasp. Linda conforms to an image of the “perfect wife”. Again an idea that is imposed by a false ideal of women, look good and have fun and run a clean house and take care of the perfect children (think of image - Margaret Bourke-White).
BMoon: "There is the choice to either conform or resist and acceptance is important. "
There is a paradox; it is that you have to be an individual, that is, the right kind of individual that is accepted by the group. The Think Different adds for Apple illustrates what I mean. That is you have to conform to the right nonconformity.
Katemaxted: "The pressure to conform makes enablers out of people, especially wives who have to make their husbands look good, it is really hard to get help "
(if you even know where to go for it) and sometimes it seems impossible to accept reality, so you live in denial. (Yes, And it’s all the harder if there are societal pressures that make you ashamed of not looking strong in everyway.)
Social pressure comes from values we agree on as a society and how we choose to live by them. (We live in a consumer society, but I don’t think economic value is always good value, i.e. if it sells it’s therefore good) How do the voices that need hearing get heard?
Death of a Salesman shows people warped by grasping at the impossible, and believing in false ideals. The American Dream is based on getting material things and living up to false standards.
I think that the time period the Lomans are in had much more strain on societal pressure. For example, Willy being crazy (from what we assume so far) is a big pressure on the family. Getting proffesional help was usually a last resort. Back then, being crazy was embarrassing to a family and it people were not always sure how to handle situations. Also, Willy has the pressure to support his family. Another way he tries to handle his pressure is by always leaving suicide as an option. Linda has to keep her family together and preventing them from fighting. The boys are pressured to please their father but they cannot seem to find a job to keep them content. Happy, especially wants to please his father. Biff is always getting the attention. As a student, I think the only societal pressures I face are to get good grades and try to show itelligence. People assume too quickly that someone is "dumb" or "smart" and it's hard to prove myself worthy. I think that's the only real pressure I face because I don't follow much of society's rules anyways. The Loman's pressures differ from mine because in my generation, things are more accepting, but some things remain the same, such as getting good grades. Pressure to support a family is still the same, especially in this bad economy and metal illness is a more open subject than back then.
ReplyDeleteThe background of the story ‘the death of a salesman ‘ is twentieth century America after world war Ⅱ, when all the economic booms began and the idea of American dream was so popular that people worked so hard to be successful. Miller well applied this social theme into a story by introducing Loman’s family. Willy Loman is a father who has lots of social pressure on his shoulder for his family and for his own ambition. His cantankerous characteristic explains frankly about how much he is striving to be a successful role model in both outside in the world and inside in his home which he is belongs to. Linda Loman is Willy’s wife who always understands her husband’s behavior in spite of his grumpiness. She has to endure all the matters inside a family. Women have no power to raise their voice up in a man’s society. However, they are playing a central role in the house by supporting their husbands and organizing the household. Ironically, though, the men are exhausted by society, and therefore the women have the power inside the family. She gives advice to her two sons Happy and Biff and rather takes care of them more than her husband Willy.
ReplyDeleteIn my own experience, I’m the only child so all the attention is focused on me, which means I have to do well in everything I’m doing. Good GPA, good college, good SAT and TOEFL score, good friendship, good manner… etc. Basically, I have to be like a perfect figure to my parents and people. All the pressures are on my shoulders; this makes me more nervous. This society sets a standard to make all people to fit in, and when this order is ruined more pressures are given to the people.
Well there is not much more to say about this, but I will do my best to add something...
ReplyDeleteAs Laura said Linda is the “perfect wife” that truthfully doesn’t exists in my opinion. She follows the definition of the “perfect wife” to the ‘T’. I feel that the pressure from society has made her this way. If she were to have grown up in a different time period she would most likely be a completely different person… but then again wouldn’t we all? If we grew up in a different time we would all be completely different because societal pressure affects the way you grow up and the person you become. To prove this I feel that a lot of us have changed since our first year here at walnut hill. The societal pressure is different here than at a public school so we all grew and changed into slightly different people. I don’t think anybody does this consciously, but because of societal pressure it just sort of happens. This is why Linda is the “perfect housewife”. As Maggie said Willy is always trying to push himself to bring in more money and to be better. Society expects the man to bring in the money and because he can’t bring in what he should be able to it seems as if he feels like a failure. This feeling of failure leads him to his thoughts and actions of suicide. Willy clearly does not do well with societal pressure compared to Linda. As Catie said the boys Biff and Happy are under the pressure of getting good grades in school and being “well liked” as there father always tells them to be. The boys do the best they can under this pressure… I think they do as well as any kid does. Societal pressure is always going to be there in every day and age and it is going to affect everybody differently, but it is going to effect everyone.
So far in the book, Death of a Salesman, I agree with everyone that the story is mainly about pressure in people’s lives. And from the book, Willy is the main character that gets the most pressure in his life, although his two sons, Biff and happy get pressure of finding their happiness. Around the year of 1949, men had dreamed of their ideal family and house; having a well supporting wife who respects their family and them, and children who look up to them as if they were a hero. As a result, I think in Willy’s mind, he is imagining the ideal family. Linda, his wife doing house chores, his two sons look up to Willy and learn how to be successful and rich. However, in the real world it was a just a dream of a man. Even though Willy had a wife who loves him and respects him in every way, he has two son who is lost in the world doesn’t know what to do. By looking at them his expectation went down but still hoping that they could be rich someday. In the story when Willy talks to Ben. Willy asks him about their father. From this passage, it made me feel like in order to be rich they need to get influence from their father. And Willy is believes that since, he didn’t has any influence of his father he isn’t successful. Because of his strong believes he is expecting more from his boys who are Biff and Happy. Furthermore, on page one the setting of the play has been described as “An air of the dream clings to the place a dream rising out of reality.” This sentence gives us an idea that Willy’s pressure made him to go back and forth to reality and dream which confuses the readers in most of the story. And I think blending past and present together is telling us that he is trying to change his real family into ideal family that he has in his mind.
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with all the comments posted up here. Based on what I learned about the society in the mid-twentieth century, the social pressure was somewhat high because of the baby boom and of lack of employments. In Death of Salesman, each family member of Lomans receives certain social pressure on him or her.
ReplyDeleteFirst, Willy is a typical salesman who never had chance to challenge higher position or his dream in real life. He has been always in between new ages who rapidly catch his position and his spot in the company and high class people of authority. He also has received always implicit pressure from his family. Even though his family never imposes any burden on him, he keeps remind himself of the responsibility of the head of a family. Like every other people, he even considers about starting his own business, even though he fails to do. He also gets nervous because his elder son who supposed to be more settled in his middle age is still unoccupied and seems not to have any vision in his future. Willy gets most pressure under his job, salesman and the head of a family. He is now old and sometimes not in a normal mental condition. He talks himself, suddenly gets tempered, and criticize his elder son, Biff, in a crucial manner. He releases all the stresses to his family.
Second, Linda is a typical ideal house-wife in this play. She just listens whatever her husband complains and she always tries to keep peace in her family. As the social pressure on women was very harsh at that time period, Linda is described as both very calm, patient, and nice wife and mother. Since she always interprets in the argument of her husband Willy and her son Biff and ends it up in a good mood, and she carefully listens to what Willy says and tries to respond each word from him, she is the one who, in fact, controls the durability of peaceful harmony in the family. Even though she gets pressure in the family, she never reacts against it any further. She keeps her position by enduring it by herself. We don't see any clear evidence how does she think about any issue or event occurring in the family. Third, both Biff and Happy get social pressure the most, an expectation to get a fine job after school and to get high income to save for their future life. Each one responds differently to the pressure though. Biff does not want to sacrifice himself to be settled in a certain employment and stuck in one area; he prefers freedom. Unlike Biff, Happy just reacts simply to follow it. He first gets a settled job after school even if it does not seem to be extremely successful. I think Biff reacts against social pressure more bravely by staying firm in his preference no matter what others expect him to be, and Happy is willing to adjust him to fit into the society by giving up what he prefers to do.
In these days, in twenty-first century, people still receive social pressure, and it became even higher and heavier. Unlike before, these days, the competition in life became more harsh and aggressive. Going to college is the same. It is not enough to be just good as many other people in the art field. Students have to prepare more unique and their own stylish work, and they even have to be good at academic studies. Even if people study hard and get into good schools, they are not assured to be able to get a good job afterwards. Also, the basic theory of the salesmen's social pressure squeezed between both new young and old people in higher positions applies to everyone. I think the pressures that the Lomans feel are similar to my and many other people's experience.
I agree with a lot of the posts above, so I will try not to be too redundant.
ReplyDeleteOne of the situations that, I feel, has been aggravated by the societal pressures of this period is Willy's mental illness. Clearly, he has had and continues to have many problems functioning within his life. Unfortunately, in the mid-twentieth century, there were basically no resources for families dealing with psychological problems of this kind. To the public, the issues that Willy has in the book would have made him a complete outcast if exposed. Ironically, his behaviors that would be seen as unhealthy within society were, to some extent, caused by his desire to fulfill what society demanded of him: a good career, a doting wife, successful children, and a stable home.
I think that societal pressures today are no more or less strong, just different in terms of what is expected of us. However, due to the media, there are constant reminders of what we should be doing, instead of encouraging us to pursue what we want to do.
Some of the pressures Willy faces are that he is from a different time period, and things dont work the same as they used to for him. Therefore he no longer "fits in" and is unalbe to be a good salesman. Some of the problems artists face Willy too incounters; competition. In any art or job form there is sence of competition to be the best, to be the most liked, etc. and Willy realy struggles with that in the play. Sociatal pressures as a student are not as intense, I believe, as in music, and most definatly for Willy in his sales. The pressures are more about orginazation and balance for me. Willy, however, had to deal with his deteriatering mind, lack of social connetions in his personal and work life, and trying to make financial ends meet.
ReplyDelete-Sam Hankey
Each of the Lomans faces a kind of societal pressure:
ReplyDeleteWilly faces the role of the Father and the one who should "bring home the bacon." And, as a salesman, he desires to fulfill his status by being "well-known," and he often struggles with the concept of being "well-liked." He wants to die the "death of a salesman," in utter comfort and idleness.
Linda is faced with the societal role of the Woman: the matronly, submissive housewife that cooks, cleans, and makes babies. We see signs that there is more to Linda than meets the eye, like when she is talking to Biff and Happy.
Biff and Happy are children who are confused by their father's own twisted view of the world, which mingles with society's twisted view of how they should be. Biff seems to be the one who actually realizes what he is (a loser), but by discovering who he truly is, he is liberated. Happy is still blinded by his father's false hope, and vows to carry on the "Loman Legacy."