Treatment of escapism in “A Street car named desire” by Tennessee Williams and “Death Of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller Essay Example For Students

Treatment of escapism in â€Å"A Street car named desire† by Tennessee Williams and â€Å"Death Of a Salesman† by Arthur Miller Essay The two plays â€Å"A Street Car Named Desire† and â€Å"The Death of a Salesman† show the extreme desperation wrought in the lives of the protagonists-Blanche Dubois and Willy Loman. The playwrights give the audience an insight into the social and cultural background of their work so as to have a better understanding behind the tragedy of these characters. Blanche and Willy Loman are characters that are stuck up with their fantasies and imaginations, and as a result they escape the harsh realities of life. Blanche tries to hide her past, thinking that there exists an â€Å"Elysian Fields† (paradise where she can regain her joy) her in New Orleans. She lives in dreams and illusions, and tries her utmost to erase her past. But she forgets that she is not a part of the new America, and hence the more she pretends to be safer the more she is endangering herself. She loses her balance of mind and ends up in a lunatic asylum. We will write a custom essay on Treatment of escapism in â€Å"A Street car named desire† by Tennessee Williams and â€Å"Death Of a Salesman† by Arthur Miller specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now Willy Loman is never able to confront his failure as a Salesman, and lives in the American dream. He tries to cover his failure through a number of show off, and harbors false hopes for his sons. Realizing that he is a broke, and that his sons are not tailor made to become salesmen, he commits suicide. Thus the two characters have been portrayed by the playwrights as escapists, who are willing to compromise more with their consciences than reconcile to the realities of lives. They escape not knowing that the more they are running to their fantasy worlds the more they are drowning themselves in the bog of reality. Desire and imagination lead them to death whether literal or metaphorical. The dramatists are successful in showing that such a tragic ending is the only solution to characters that are escapists. The American dramatists â€Å"Tennessee Williams† and â€Å"Arthur Miller† deal with the theme of escapism in their respective plays. Escapism is not an uncommon theme in the American plays of the 19th century. American drama during this era often showed the hopelessness of characters that could not live up to their hopes and expectations. But more than dealing with the theme of escapism I have chosen these American plays to analyze how playwrights’ treatment of this theme is different in each play. I feel that this research question is very significant, as it will help me understand the characters that tend to be escapists in their particular circumstances. This assignment will also bring forth the social and cultural atmosphere prevailing in America at that time. I will try to show that the characters of Blanche Dubois and Willy Loman are no ordinary characters; they have a lot of heroic element despite the odds swaying their destinies. Is it not heroic that un til the denouement of the play they have hopes? They depart physically or metaphorically from the stage optimistically, lost in their illusions, never once caring for their sufferings on body and soul. The characters-Blanche and Loman, although flawed, have substance that makes them unforgettable character heroes of the American Stage. In order to analyze the question how they take subterfuge of escapism, this essay will explore the settings, structure, symbols, characters and theatrical devices as used by the two dramatists. In order to better understand the difference in their treatment to the theme of escapism I will make use of the autobiographical accounts of the dramatists, and try to relate them to the tragedies of their protagonists. The stage directions are also of a great help while understanding what goes in the mind of the protagonists at the final hour. A thorough study of the life of â€Å"Tennessee Williams† reveals a number of incidents that appear to have been cast in his masterpiece â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire.† His life during the Second World War is a contrast between the opposites. He has to shift from Mississippi to New Orleans, the south, far removed from the grandeur of the Mississippi. There can be drawn a parallel between his journey and Blanche’s journey to New Orleans. His homosexuality makes him an outlier in The American society, and he takes refuge in New Orleans, where alcoholism, prostitution and homosexuality are condoned. Blanche’s life is destroyed by the suicide of her homosexual husband, and subsequently by her misdemeanors, and therefore she too has to migrate to the New Orleans American society. The â€Å"prefrontal lobotomy on Rose1† can be equated with Blanche’s journey from sanity to insanity, and her psychological breakdown. To sum up all these incidents and events make Williams an escapist, a fugitive and an alcoholic, a trait soon to be witnessed in his play â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire† in the character of Blanche. 1. Miller too weaves the autobiographical elements in â€Å"Death of a Salesman†, and conjectures the character of Willy Loman after his first hand experience. Like Tennessee, he too had to migrate to Brooklyn, struggling under Great Depression, when his father’s business plunged during the Wall Street Crash. Poverty, Depression and post World War scenario influenced Miller to write a play on the everyday and vulnerable people. â€Å"Death of a Salesman† is a reminder of Miller’s â€Å"riches to ragged childhood†. In the words of his sister Joan, â€Å"Arthur carries scars from that time. It doesnt take a great observer to notice that. It is a memory, in his nerves, and in his muscles, that he just cant get rid of2.† 1. â€Å"Death of a Salesman† is a tragedy of a common man, a tragedy somewhat removed from Aristotelian notions wherein the protagonist is essentially from a noble and elevated background. In his essay â€Å"Tragedy and the Common Man† Miller says, â€Å"today few tragedies are written due to the lack of heroes among us. Approach to the tragedy as being suitable for kings only is archaic, and that the common man can also be a subject of the tragedy3.† Miller’s experience with the harsh realities of life made him write other plays as well such as â€Å"All My Sons†, â€Å"The Crucible†, â€Å"A View From the Bridge†, and â€Å"After the Fall†, all of which revolve around the theme of â€Å"fragility of human relationships—especially between fathers and sons4.† Miller creates the character of Willy Loman after his uncle Newman5, a man who always compared his son, Buddy, with Miller. Newman never accepted the fact that his son was a failure, and had always lived in the illusion that Buddy was doing very well. We can see a parallel between Newman’s elusive approach to his son and Willy’s to his son Biff when he finds that Charley’s son, Bernard has become a Supreme Court advocate. Just as Newman stuck to his illusions, favoring pride over the truth, Willy stuck to his lies and illusions about his sons. The legend of Newman helps Miller write the tragedy of a common man, who cannot see the reality, and as a result must escape in a dream world. Newman and Willy are characters that cannot cope with realities when their â€Å"capitalist belief that if you work hard enough you can be a success in America6† is reduced to ashes. The setting of the play â€Å"A Street Car Named Desire† is vital to what fate has in store for Blanche. Blanche, who grew up on a plantation called Belle Reve, is out of sorts when she faces the crude people living on the Elysian Fields. For her this place is uncivilized, as is natural for a â€Å"Southern Belle.† The contrast between Belle Reve and the Kowalski apartment shows the audience the wide split between illusion and reality. It is here in New Orleans that people of mixed races thrive in poor and clumsy lodgings. It is obvious that the one time owner of Belle Reve cannot cope up with the harsh realities of life. Moreover, the action takes place on the first floor of a two-bedroom apartment, a place without any privacy. This male dominated place is stinking and rotting in the eyes of Blanche, and she cannot put up with the way the men treat their wives. Thus the settings are important in that whatever hopes and prejudice Blanche had on her mind before coming he re are shattered. Since she cannot accommodate herself in this new culture and society, she loses herself in illusions and imaginations. Williams uses a number of symbols and motifs to show how Blanche takes respite in escaping from reality. The very title of the play serves as a device of foreshadowing to the audience. She tells Eunice, â€Å"They told me to take a streetcar named Desire, and then transfer to one called Cemeteries and ride six blocks and get off at – Elysian Fields7†. This quote shows the vulnerable condition of Blanche, and her faith in the words of the strangers. We don’t know who â€Å"they† is but we can understand that Blanche is out of sorts, and full of desire, and she clings to hope like a dying man. Blanche is full of desire to love and to be loved, and it is for this reason she boards the trains â€Å"desire† and â€Å"cemeteries.† â€Å"Elysian Fields† refers to the abode of the dead in Greek mythology. Thus through the title alone the audience can see that Blanche’s journey to New Orleans will be nothing but her metaphorical death. .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 , .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .postImageUrl , .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 , .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:hover , .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:visited , .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:active { border:0!important; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:active , .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269 .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u47c8baa9cafdc15fbb8f601750157269:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The play which Shakespeare wrote was a romantic tragedy called 'Romeo and Juliet' EssayHer family plantation Belle Reve means â€Å"beautiful dreams† and it appears many times in the play how she clings to her dreams and illusions. Her name means â€Å"white woods† a reference to purity and innocence. She maintains and stresses her purity through her dresses before everyone. She uses â€Å"white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat8† but Williams compares her to a moth, a short-lived creature that dies when exposed to light. The moth like Blanche keeps herself distant from light, and she uses â€Å"Chinese la nterns† to hide her age and appearance. She hates light and says â€Å"And turn that over-light off! Turn that off! I won’t be looked at in this merciless glare9†. By avoiding light She wants to escape the reality that she is middle aged woman, past her prime, and that truth cannot be hidden. Eventually Mitch becomes suspicious and tears the lantern off to have a look at her in light. This sight is too much for Blanche, and for the first time the audience sees her hatred of the reality of life, â€Å"I don’t want realism†¦I’ll tell you what I want. Magic! Yes, yes, magic! I misrepresent things to them. I don’t tell the truth. I tell what ought to be truth. And if that is sinful, then let me be damned for it! – Don’t turn the light on10. She sings â€Å"its only a paper moon, sailing over a cardboard sea11†, which again shows how she believes that life can be led by the lovers in their imagined reality. When Blanche claims, â€Å"After all, a woman’s charm is fifty percent illusion12† it can be seen that her life is diametrically opposite to reality. Blanche resorts to bathing repeatedly in an effort to cleanse herself of her promiscuous past. She claims that baths soothe her nerves but as she cannot erase her past from her mind her bathing is never done. â€Å"In the bathroom the water goes on loud; little breathless cries and peals of laughter are heard as if a child were frolicking in the rub13.† These words show the audience that Blanch loses herself in her childlike innocence while taking hot baths. In order to further delude herself she has to resort to drinking. â€Å"Suddenly she notices something in a half-opened closet. She springs up and crosses to it, and removes a whiskey bot tle. She pours a half tumbler of whiskey and tosses it down. She carefully replaces the bottle and washes out the tumbler at the sink.14† Since drinking is not allowed for homely women, Blanche has to resort to lying and deceits also, â€Å"No, I, rarely touch it15.† But rather than helping her forget her past, alcohol removes her from the path of sanity. Miller too employs a volley of symbols and motifs in â€Å"Death of a Salesman† to depict the journey of Willy Loman’s escapism into a dream world. For Willy, woods and jungles refer to a world of success. Although he could not take the initiative of entering the woods with his Brother Ben, he often explores this forest through his imagination. After he is fired from his job, the land parts under his feet and he cries, â€Å"The woods are burnin16.† Burning refers to the end of his dream as well as his clinging hopes that he can realize the American Dream by becoming a famous salesman. When he hears Ben proclaiming that â€Å"the jungle is dark but full of diamonds16†, Willy is influenced to change this dark into light by committing suicide. Again the diamonds found by Ben in the jungle are a symbol of success for Willy. Although a complete failure, Willy still sees the hopes in the diamonds and plans to â€Å"fetch a diamond17† for Biff by committi ng suicide. He is not aware of the fact the insurance company may forfeit his claim on the insurance money in the event of discovering that his death was a suicide. But he is preoccupied with his imagination and says, â€Å"I see it like a diamond, shining in the dark, hard and rough, that I can pick up and touch in my hand18†. The settings of Brooklyn resemble a forest of concrete highly populated by people from all walks of life. Willy’s apartment lies in a congested place where there is no sunshine. But lost in his illusions he hankers for a garden in order to create a better and healthy life for his family. He is utterly disappointed â€Å"The grass dont grow anymore, you cant raise a carrot in the back yard19.† Miller uses the garden as a motif, and Willy tries his utmost to sow the seeds in the garden of his imagination, never for a moment realizing that there is not a blade of grass in the concrete of Brooklyn Willy is taken on a flight of his imagination toward his past whenever he sees Linda mending her stockings. The stocking reminds him of his sexual liaison with a woman, and of his happy times when he could afford to give stockings to his mistress. Willy is surrounded by other symbols that remind him of his status, and also the fact that how much engrossed he had become in acquirin g the American Dream. He has all the brands in his house, â€Å"Chevrolet, Simonize, Hastings, Studebaker20.† The name of the Chevvy makes his heart swell with pride, as it is â€Å"the greatest car ever built21† Equating the brands with success is a folly not only of the salesman but also of a common man. The hosepipe hidden by Willy is the immediate symbol of the end of his American Dream, and his ardent wish to commit suicide. But even in this symbol, Willy has elusive hopes; he thinks that with this benevolent gesture his will make his family rich. The stage directions in â€Å" A Streetcar Named Desire† switch from light to dark and vice versa indicating that Blanche tries to run away from her present, and takes refuge in her past. The dark shows her desire to lose herself in ignorance. Williams uses a Blue Piano in the background, and he uses its music to show the emotional state of Blanche. She is lonely and broken, and wants to catch a straw like a dying man. The music is played when she recounts the loss of Belle Reve and the deaths of her family members through â€Å"epic fornications.22† The music is again at its loudest when she kisses the paperboy. May be she sees her young husband â€Å"Alan Gray† in the boy, a fact which again shows that she cannot be separated from her past, and that she is not willing to take any lessons from it. Blanche has a deep interest in the young boys; a fact that indicates her desire to make up for her dead husband. Williams makes use of the â€Å"Varsouviana Polka23â €  to further show her falling condition. When she loses herself in the contemplation of Shep Huntleigh, â€Å"The Varsouviana is filtered into weird distortion, accompanied by the cries and noises of the jungle24.† Varsouviana swings her back to the time of her husband’s death, and it is only with the sound of a gunshot that her reverie is broken. Thus Polka helps the audience realize the intensity with which she is tied to her illusions forgetting the stark reality of life. Like Tennessee, Miller’s stage directions are also the flagship of his success. He employs impeccable theatrical devices to make the audience realize the transition of Willy from the present to the past. Through flashbacks, time switches and memories, Miller depicts a detailed picture of Willy’s last twenty-four years following the Greek unity of twenty-four hours in a drama. Like the Stanley’s house in New Orleans, the Lomans’ house too looks like a skeleton of a house, whose walls are transparent. The characters walk through the walls to indicate the past and through the doors to indicate the present. â€Å"Whenever the action is in the present the actors observe the imaginary wall-lines, entering the house only through its door at the left. But in the scenes of the past these boundaries are broken, and characters enter or leave a room by stepping ‘through’ a wall on the forestage25.† Miller makes specific use of lighting to show Will y’s descent into the past. The lighting is warm and soft when Willy transcends into the past but harsh and bright when he is transported into the present. Lighting is very helpful for the audience to realize Willy’s oscillation between the present and the past. At the end of the play all the apartment buildings surrounding the Lomans’ house â€Å"rise into sharp focus26† thereby signifying that Willy does not have to travel anymore to his past either through the flashback or his memories. Similar to the Varsouviana Polka, Miller employs the music of the flute to show Willy’s infatuation with the past. The music of the flute reminds Willy of his father who made and sold the flutes. â€Å"A melody is heard, played upon by a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon27.† Willy constantly hears the flute although sometimes he is not aware of it. The music of the flute is used by Miller as a motif to show that the memory of Willy’s father haunts Willy. The music transports him to the past, and he wonders why he cant become as crafty a salesman as a flute player his father was. By the time he comes home, the flute fades away. The flute is the last thing in the requiem, and keeps on playing until the curtain falls. The flute indicates that Willy has perhaps become not only the part of dust but also a part of his past. .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 , .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .postImageUrl , .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 , .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:hover , .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:visited , .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:active { border:0!important; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:active , .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9 .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u614f2266932f123eb3141a690e2c54b9:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: "This days black fate on moes day doth depend" EssayTennessee shows that Blanche is so blinded to reality that she does not understand what it is to be happily married. She does not understand that Stanley and Stella make a happy couple, and that nobody can pull them apart. But for an educated woman like Blanche, sex cannot be the basis of a married life, and hence she tries to disintegrate them. She dislikes Stanley and declares, He acts like an animal, has an animals habits! Eats like one, moves like one, talks like one! Theres even something -sub-human-something not quite to the stage of humanity yet!28† She calls Stanley a brute, an ape and a â€Å"Polack† and asks Stella to come over to her. In the deep recesses of her mind she is still the Southern Belle who can shelter her sister in Belle Reve. The clash between Blanche and Stanley is a clash between realism and fantasy. Stanley the realist cannot tolerate her tearing his domestic happiness, and under the effect of alcohol and Blanche’s provocation he rapes her. It is to Blanche’s dismay that when she tells the reality to Stella and Eunice, they turn a deaf ear to her. Thus reality does not go hand in hand with Blanche. She is happy in her illusions, and at the time she is sent to the lunatic asylum, she again loses herself in her imaginations. As she leaves, she says, â€Å"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers29.† Thus she escapes reality even during her mental breakdown. A Streetcar Named desire ends with Blanche’s insanity but the audience feels that this insanity is what can make Blanches sane. She is not a product of reality; she is a part and parcel of her illusions, and may be she will live happily in her madness. The character of Blanche is that of a strong woman who prefers to live in her illusions rather than face the harsh realties of the cruel patriarchal society. After the death of her husband and her family members, she is lonely and desperate. But She tries to resurrect herself in every possible way rather than surrender or lead the role of a passive woman in the society. She tries to overcome the lack of Alan’s love by surrendering herself to â€Å"intimacies with strangers30.† In a world where a lonely woman is nothing but a commodity, she craves for recognition. â€Å"Men don’t – don’t even admit your existence unless they are making love to you. And you’ve got to have your existence a dmitted by someone, if you’re going to have someone’s protection31.† It is the tragedy of her life that the more she craves for protection the more she becomes vulnerable. She is not the â€Å"Tarantula that brought her victims to32.† She is a simple, strong but frustrated woman who is entrapped in a vicious web by the patriarchal society. Her madness is her metaphorical death, and may be her exemplary salvation from the brutal world of New Orleans. Williams uses dramatic irony when Blanche says of Stanley â€Å"The first time I laid eyes on him I thought to myself, that man is my executioner33!† and to some extent this execution will help Blanche lead a happy life lost in her illusions in the mental asylum. Thus the escapist Blanche gets the better of a realist Blanche in Williams’ play, and it is the beginning of a new end for her. She will live once again in her illusions happily aided by a stark madness. If the patriarchal society is the root cause of Blanche’s tragic fate, Willy Loman is victimized by the capitalist system of America. Willy is not only a salesman; he is a metaphor for the failure of American Dream. He fails as a seller but who does not? Miller once said during an interview, â€Å"We are all salesman, meaning that we are all trying to impress others so that we can be popular (or â€Å"well-liked,† as Willy says)34.† Having failed in achieving his dreams, he is left with ruminating his past when he had been a successful man. Fantasizing and reminiscing give him momentary respite, but he has to face the realities also. He is ashamed of his misdemeanors. His high expectations of his sons, infidelity with his wife, his inability to pay the bills, begging Charley for every expense make him aware of his flawed character, and he finds the reality too cruel to cope with. Gradually he loses balance of mind, suffers a psychological breakdown, and contempla tes suicide as the last resort. Miller describes Willy as â€Å"literally at that terrible moment when the voice of the past is no longer distant but quite as loud as the voice of the present35†, a condition Tennessee presents in the character of Blanche. Both the characters are haunted by the past, and escaping into the past again and again makes them aloof, chary and indifferent to reality. The dramatists have used various literary devices to show the theme of escapism in their respective works. The protagonists are tragic figures that have to take the subterfuge of escapism under the different social, cultural and economic conditions prevailing in America. Blanche suffers from illusions as her hideous past haunts her while Willy escapes down the memory way to regale his past. If Blanche takes to sex, alcohol, baths and Chinese lanterns, Willy dreams of diamonds, gardens, stockings and the childhood of his sons. Both the characters Blanche and Willy are tragic in that they become a victim of their own flaw s, a fact that makes them misfit in the American society. They are trapped so viciously in the intricate webs of their lives that they have to physically or metaphorically die in order to exonerate themselves from the gossamer of realities. The two dramatists deal with the theme of escapism, and no doubt show that Blanche and Willy are reduced to a tragic fate by the forces of society. Both are haunted by their past, and they want a perfect dream world, a fairy island for them to exist somewhere. The dramatists write of the American society of the post world war era, and show how war, modernism and capitalism can harm the lives of ordinary people. Although the main theme of the dramatists, and the writing style is the same yet they deal with their themes differently, with a different purpose on their minds. When it comes to their writing style we find that â€Å"Death of a Salesman† has very less to do with â€Å"A Streetcar Named Desire.† Miller writes the play in a more expressionistic manner, and invents a new style that helps him deal with the theme of escapism in a unique manner. It is a play where there is no transition. Miller says, â€Å"There is a direct thrust of the story from the first minute, each scene is cut at its earliest moment, and succeeding scenes begin at the latest possible moment.36† The way Miller writes and directs the scenes helps the audience understand the delusions and memories of the protagonist Willy in a more sympathetic manner. Blanche is an individual who suffers on account of the social influences on households; Willy is a universal man, who represents everyman and dreams of success and fame. Blanche symbolizes the disappearance of Old America while Willy symbolizes the disappearance of American Dream. Blanche meets with her tragic ending as she is at war with a patriarchal society represented by Stanley, a symbol of New America, but Willy is at war with himself. There is no antagonist in â€Å"Death of a Salesman†; hence it is the inner conflict that leads Willy to such desperation. In the Aristotelian canons of tragedy, it is Tennessee who reaches the mark closely, as besides the tragic flaw of Blanche the audience sees Stanley as the personification of evil. The plays are realistic in nature but with a degree of variation which helps the dramatists to mold their characters as perfect escapists. If Tennessee calls his work â€Å"a tragedy with the classic aim of producing a catharsis of pity and terror37, Miller calls his work as â€Å"a tragedy of the common man.† They are escapists, no doubt, but they are tragic heroes in that they do not lose hopes until the very end. For Blanche, there is Shep Huntleigh while for Willy there is a hope â€Å"Ben, that funeral will be massive! Theyll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire38!† Having realized that they are not part of the Darwinian society of America, Blanche and Willy escape to their dream worlds in their fantasies, leaving the readers sympathize with the root cause of their sufferings-the American socio, cultural and political conditions after World war II.

Frank and Alice Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay For Your Child

Frank and Alice Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay For Your ChildThe sampling of Frankenstein or Alice (the kids' classic novel about a monster creating) for your child's English Criticism Evaluation essay is a very cool and fun assignment that you can complete as a way to make your child's English Criticism experience that much more fun. Unlike some other writing assignments, this one will help develop your child's ability to write on many different levels. It will also help you strengthen your communication skills. However, you have to do something first.You have to decide whether your child needs to be a child in the sample Frankenstein or Alice critical analysis evaluation essay. If you choose not to do this, the sample assignment may be boring and frustrating. You will need to consider how you feel your child will feel when he or she completes the essay, how many times he or she has been able to complete the essay before, and the level of success he or she has had.Even if your c hild is well into middle school, it would be a good idea to do the sample Frankenstein or Alice critical analysis evaluation essay as soon as he or she enters high school. Many of the questions in these essays will help your child to learn to analyze and critique critically. This is the time when you will be able to benefit the most from this exercise. Remember, any critical analysis essay will help your child to apply critical thinking to all types of texts, regardless of the content.One of the biggest benefits of writing a critical analysis evaluation essay for your child is that your child will get to use a vocabulary that he or she may not otherwise be familiar with. By using words that are not common in their English Language Arts courses, they will be exposed to new vocabulary and concepts every day, helping them learn new words and concepts. In addition, by writing to the paper, your child will be spending time writing about the things he or she finds interesting. Thiswill he lp your child to keep notes about what he or she reads in class, as well as writing about her experiences while reading.The Frank and Alice Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay will also help your child to learn how to read properly. By analyzing, critiquing, and writing about what he or she reads, he or she will learn about grammar, punctuation, tone, and language. Even a child who has not completed all of these skills yet can use the samples in his or her English Criticism Essay by reading through it and noting the ways in which he or she did not do it right.If you choose to do the Frank and Alice Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay for your child, you should also consider how often you will be doing this kind of writing for him or her. If you are writing it for yourself, then you may want to take it one or two steps further and really use your knowledge and experience to help your child to really get it.If you decide to work with a writing coach to write the Frank and Alice Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay for your child, your child will still benefit from doing this critical analysis evaluation essay on his or her own. What is really nice about this is that even though your child may have completed the essay, his or her work will still be of great value to you and the rest of the teachers in your child's English class.So, whatever you decide to do, just make sure that you are doing the Frank and Alice Critical Analysis Evaluation Essay for your child. Your child will benefit, and you will be writing a great essay for yourself.

Toltec Weapons, Armor, and Warfare

Toltec Weapons, Armor, and Warfare From their mighty city of Tollan (Tula), the Toltec civilization dominated Central Mexico from the fall of Teotihuacn to the rise of the Aztec Empire (approximately 900-1150 A.D.). The Toltecs were a warrior culture and fought frequent battles of conquest and subjugation against their neighbors. They warred in order to take victims for sacrifice, expand their empire and spread the cult of Quetzalcoatl, the greatest of their gods. Toltec Arms and Armor Although the site has been heavily looted over the centuries, there are enough surviving statues, friezes and stelae at Tula to indicate what sort of weapons and armor the Toltecs favored. Toltec warriors would wear decorative chest plates and elaborate feather headdresses into battle. They wrapped one arm from the shoulder down in padding and favored small shields which could be quickly used in close combat. A beautiful armored tunic made of seashells was found in an offering in the Burned Palace at Tula: this armor may have been used by a high-ranking soldier or king in battle. For ranged combat, they had long darts which could be launched with lethal force and accuracy by their atlatls, or javelin throwers. For close combat, they had swords, maces, knives and a special curved club-like weapon inlaid with blades which could be used to batter or slash. Warrior Cults For the Toltecs, wars and conquest were closely linked to their religion. The large and formidable army was likely composed of religious warrior orders, including but not limited to coyote and jaguar warriors. A small statue of a Tlaloc-warrior was unearthed at Ballcourt One, indicating the presence of a Tlaloc warrior cult at Tula, much like the one that was present at Teotihuacn, the predecessor of the Toltec culture. The columns on top of Pyramid B are four-sided: on them they show gods including Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl in full battle gear, providing further evidence for the presence of warrior-cults at Tula. The Toltecs aggressively spread the worship of Quetzalcoatl and military conquest was one way to do so. The Toltecs and Human Sacrifice There is ample evidence at Tula and in the historical record that the Toltecs were avid practitioners of human sacrifice. The most obvious indication of human sacrifice is the presence of a tzompantli, or skull rack. Archaeologists have unearthed no fewer than seven Chac Mool statues at Tula (some of which are complete and some of which are only pieces). Chac Mool statues depict a reclining man, belly-up, holding a recipient or bowl on his abdomen. The recipients were used for offerings, including human sacrifices. In ancient legends still told to this day by locals, Ce Atl Quetzalcoatl, the god-king who founded the city, had a dispute with the followers of Tezcatlipoca, mostly about how much human sacrifice was needed to appease the gods: the followers of Tezcatlipoca (who favored more sacrifices) won the conflict and were able to drive Ce Atl Quetzalcoatl out. Military Iconography at Tula It seems that nearly all of the surviving art at the ruined city of Tula has a military or warlike theme to it. The most iconic pieces at Tula are by far the four Atalantes or mighty statues which grace the top of Pyramid B. These statues, which tower over visitors at 17 ft. (4.6 m) high, are of warriors armed and dressed for battle. They bear typical armor, headdresses, and weapons including the curved, bladed club and dart launcher. Nearby, four pillars depict gods and high-ranking soldiers in battle dress. Reliefs carved into benches show processions of chieftains in battle gear. A six-foot stela of a governor dressed as a priest of Tlaloc bears a curved mace and dart launcher. Conquest and Subject States Although historical data is scarce, it is likely that the Toltecs of Tula conquered several nearby states and held them as vassals, demanding tribute such as food, goods, weapons and even soldiers. Historians are divided concerning the scope of the Toltec Empire. There is some evidence that it may have reached as far as the Gulf Coast, but there is no conclusive proof that it extended more than a hundred kilometers in any direction from Tula. The post-Maya city of Chichen Itza shows clear architectural and thematic influence from Tula, but historians generally agree that this influence came from trade or Tula nobles in exile, not from military conquest. Conclusions The Toltecs were mighty warriors who must have been greatly feared and respected in central Mesoamerica during their heyday from about 900-1150 A.D. They used advanced weapons and armor for the time, and were organized into fervent warrior clans serving different ruthless gods. Sources Charles River Editors. The History and Culture of the Toltec. Lexington: Charles River Editors, 2014.Cobean, Robert H., Elizabeth Jimà ©nez Garcà ­a and Alba Guadalupe Mastache. Tula. Mexico: Fondo de Cultura Economica, 2012.Coe, Michael D and Rex Koontz. 6th Edition. New York: Thames and Hudson, 2008.Davies, Nigel. The Toltecs: Until the Fall of Tula. Norman: the University of Oklahoma Press, 1987.Gamboa Cabezas, Luis Manuel. El Palacio Quemado, Tula: Seis Decadas de Investigaciones. Arqueologia Mexicana XV-85 (May-June 2007). 43-47Hassig, Ross. War and Society in Ancient Mesoamerica. University of California Press, 1992.Jimenez Garcia, Esperanza Elizabeth. Iconografà ­a guerrera en la escultura de Tula, Hidalgo. Arqueologia Mexicana XIV-84 (March-April 2007). 54-59.

Introduction to the Economic Term Supply

Introduction to the Economic Term Supply In economics, the supply of a particular good or service is simply the quantity of the item that is produced and offered for sale. Economists refer to both individual firm supply, which is the quantity that a single firm produces and offers for sale, and market supply, which is the combined quantity that all firms in the market together produce. Supply Is Based on Profit Maximization One assumption in economics is that companies operate with the single explicit goal of maximizing profits. Therefore, the quantity of a good supplied by a firm is the amount that gives the firm the highest level of profit. The profit that a firm makes from producing a good or service depends on a number of factors, including the price that it can sell its output for, the prices of all of the inputs to production, and the efficiency of turning inputs into outputs. Since supply is the outcome of the profit maximization calculation, its hopefully not surprising that these determinants of profit are also the determinants of the quantity that a firm is willing to supply. Implicit Time Units It doesn’t really make sense to describe supply without mentioning time units. For example, if someone asked â€Å"how many computers does Dell supply?† you would need more information in order to answer the question. Is the question about computers supplied today? This week? This year? All of these time units are going to result in different quantities supplied, so it’s important to specify which one you are talking about. Unfortunately, economists are often somewhat lax about mentioning the time units explicitly, but you should remember that they are always there.

Good Communications in architectural practice and management Essay

Good Communications in architectural practice and management - Essay Example So what is an architect Dispensing with the usual academic recourse to etymology, an architect is simply "someone qualified to design buildings and supervise their construction." (Collins, 1991). Adding dryness and formality to this raw definition, we can further say that: "An architect produces detailed workings and drawings so that buildings are designed effectively, manages the building project according to tight specifications, negotiates and coordinates with other professionals involved in the project, prepares planning applications, ensures that damages to the landscape and environment are limited, and appraises and consents listed buildings and conservation areas according to the needs of the client" (Hobsons, 2006). To put it simply, an architect is a planner, draughtsman, technical designer, a building supervisor, contracts negotiator, bureaucrat, manager, environmentalist, and conservationist all in one. But even then, considering the number of roles that an architect needs to fulfil to high standards, there is one trait that runs through all these and that determines whether the architect will forever be dabbling in mediocrity and penury or living decently and in comfort whilst being good, or be a successful virtuoso with pen, manual or digital, designing buildings at the cutting edge of genius. That singular trait is the ability to communicate. Yes, a good to great architect must be a good communicator, for the simple reason that architecture is a form of communication, and how the architect handles this important component of the job determines to a large extent how successful the practice would be. Why do we say that architecture is communication And what do we communicate Our answers to these questions lead us to the creative answers to our first two questions. What is Communication Architecture as Communication Communication is the process of transmitting information from an individual or group to another (McCloskey, 1993). Ants do it; even the birds and the bees do it. Any creature with information finds the need to communicate it to another, and this is how things get moving in our world. The whole animal kingdom (let's not go into genetics, please) depends on communication for their existence, growth, and survival; great civilizations have come and gone because of it. So important is communications to life that a successful architectural career depends on it. The architectural profession lives and thrives on communication, because architecture in itself is an expression of ideas, a manner of transmitting information, using a combination of technical and artistic languages, a mode where the message and the medium blend into one material structure that often lives long after clients, architects, and builders have gone. An architect is not merely a designer of buildings but an interpreter of dreams, a professional artist who in a design captures visions both simple and complex. Architects are masters of technology, and by their work they transform our imaginations, making them visible for the whole world to see, admire, live in, and use. Like messages trapped in the mind that goad listeners to action, architecture traps minds and allow

CCTV Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

CCTV - Research Paper Example es will be analyzed, such as whether hidden CCTV cameras reduce security breaches based on people’s perception, the specific perceptions these people have with regards to the importance of CCTV to security, reactions of these people when in establishments that have CCTV cameras, their level of confidence regarding their security in these places, and how their attitudes have changed since the introduction of CCTV. This research report will seek to show that CCTV systems increase productivity in terms of controlling security breaches, as well as providing psychological benefits to civilians by allowing them to feel secure in places with CCTV. While CCTV systems are not physical barriers that limit access to some places or make it more difficult to commit a crime, it is a highly situational crime prevention tool (Guagnin 89). In the right situations, most people believe that they have some capacity to reduce security breaches. Although the CCTV is multi-functional, its primary utility is to arouse in the potential offender a perceptual mechanism. The perception of the offender can be changed so that if he/she commits a crime, he believes that he will be traced down. In other words, there is evidence that the majority of civilians believe that CCTV can increase the potential offender’s perceived capture risk. Assuming that the offender is behaving in a rational manner, this may de-motivate them. However, most people believe that in order for CCTV to reduce security breaches, the offender needs to be aware that there is a camera in the vicinity and that the offender needs to believe that the presence of the cameras a re enough of a risk to negate any rewards for the crime they intend to carry out (Guagnin 90). Most people interviewed did not believe that hidden cameras were any deterrent to the offenders to reduce security breaches. In fact, evidence is suggestive of the fact that, even with the installation of cameras, there is no guarantee that people will be

Comparing Christianity and Buddhism :: Papers Compare Contrast Religion Essays

Comparing Christianity and Buddhism This paper is a comparison between two very different religions. Specifically Christianity and Buddhism. Coming from opposite sides of the globe these two religions could not be any farther apart in any aspect. I will discuss who Christ is for Christians and who Buddha is for Buddhists. I will also get into the aspects of charity, love, and compassion in both religions and I will be looking at the individual self and how christians see resurrection where the buddhists feel about the afterlife. One thing to keep in mind is that the two religions are very different but they seem to have a very similar underlying pattern. Both believe that there was a savior of their people, Buddha and Christ, and both believe that there is something good that happens to us when our time is done here on earth. This is a very generalized summarization but in order to go in to depth I need to explain the two religions more to fully convey this theory. The Christian religion, like all other religions has its strengths and weaknesses in our modern society. Perhaps the strengths out weight the weaknesses as this is one of the largest religions in the world. Hundreds of people follow the Catholic/Christian religion yet still a greater number follow yet other religions. Perhaps this is because they see the weaknesses or perhaps it is simply because their parents have taught them that it is a sin to follow this religion. The Christian religions do however present much more of an appealing atmosphere than such other religions which are as large as the Christian. The Christian religion is one of few religions where punishments for sins are not severe. In the Christian religion, even if you have lived a life of sin, so long as you repent in the end, you will be saved and given eternal life. This is not so in other religions. Such religions as Hinduism for instance do not believe this. For everything you do wrong you will be punished. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, if not in this life, then the next. Hindu's also believe that punishing the body is part of the path to salvation. Christianity is nothing like this. Many Christians live in high class society. Christianity is one of the most appealing in that any sins may easily be corrected and that Christians may live comfortable, if not wealthy lives without guilt.