Willy, Happy, Biff

These names are so immature and reveal an immense amount about the characters. Happy is a name that parents would call their children when they are little because they smile a lot. Not one that a grown boy would have. Biff on the other hand, well I do not even know how to explain this one. No wonder he has trouble excelling in his life. His name is Biff. I would be apprehensive about hiring a boy with that name as well. Willy is short for William. At some point in a boy's life he goes from being Willy to a more mature, William. Willy never made that transformation. More than just that, he also remained childish in his mannerisms and deameanor. He is trying to achieve the American dream, but just can not seem to make it work.

Flasssssshback!

The Death of Salesman makes use of flashbacks frequently throughout the text. Whenever Willy is in a serious conversation with someone in his family, he flashes back to another scene in his life where he is a different person. It is almost as if he has an alter ego that controls a portion of his life. This is sad because he is trying to live the American dream, but soon figures out that is not it is all chalked up to be. In addition, these flashbacks seem to trigger the memmory and then control how he lives his life as a family. These flashbacks also include his sons, who are defenseless in this story. It seems to me that they are begging for their father's acceptance. Willy just will not give it to them.

Drama Mamma

The Death of a Salesman is a drama. Not only is it a drama in the sense that Willy dies in the end, but also because of his family. Yes, everyone knows Willy is going to die. Hence the title. However, this is also a tragedy because of the death of his family. Willy was trying to be the traditional father figure that cares for his family; however, he fails epically. He neglects his sons in a sense. Yes, there are many flashbacks of him spending time with his sons, but that amounted to nothing. Happy is always telling his father that he is loosing weight and his father ingores him. How immature.

A dysfunctional family?

When looking at the Wingfield family as a whole, I am think that Amanda, who I cannot picture as a grown woman because that is not an adult name, spends too much time and energy picturing what she wishes her children would be instead of accepting what they are. She is the girl who has the rest of her life planned out when she is twelve years old. EVeryone knows that things never turn out the way you think they will. If Amanda would just accept the fact that she has no control of the personalities her kids have now that they are adults, then she would not be as stressed. She could then embrace them for who they are and work with them as a family to be a unit. The mothers who are the ones that believe they have complete control over what their children do and how they act and believe they can dictate who they are by restraining their actions are the ones who have children that do not follow their standards. Instead Amanda could influence her children by her own actions and leading by her example. Eventually her children will catch onto the acceptable way to behave in society. I know I am talking like her kids are little, but I just cannot picture them as being adults in my head.

Tommy boy

Tom Wingfield is the protagonist of the play. He is the one who is the bread winner of the family. The story is told through the eyes of Tom. I find Tom as an interesting character. He was forced to take over his father's role as the man of the house when he left. I do not know anyone who lives with their parent and younger sister who are in charge of making sure the electrical bill is paid. In addition, Tom was thrown into the situation of being the father figure of the family. He is the one his mother leans on when she needs support, and he is the father to his sister who does not have a father figure in her life. Throughout the entirety of the play, I was wondering when Tom would leave like his father. It seems as though he followed his father's life in every aspect up until that point, and it was inevitable he would leave in the end.

What kind of play is this?

When evaluating the type of play this can be viewed as, I think many different ideas are possible. With the two major types being tragedy and comedy, The Glass Menagerie falls into both. It has aspects comedy, for the whole idea that Amanda is trying to seek a caller for her daughter who has quit school and this is her last alternative for being anything in like. In addition, it is filled with irony. The scene where the father's picture is lit up when they talk about being able to escape from a coffin. On the other hand, the play is a tragedy. Laura does not find a potential man to marry, and Tom ends up escaping from the house, following in the steps of his father. However, if I was FORCED to choose which one it is, I would have to say a comedy. After all the whole dynamics of the family is rather humorous.