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DEATH OF A SALESMAN: BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM Arthur Miller’s play Death of A Salesman addresses complicated historic topics such as the American dream, the growth of capitalism, and the difficulties of the typical suburban family. Some of the most delicate and difficult parts of Miler’s life are also reflected in the work such his complicated relationship with his relatives (the man who inspired the character Willy), the affects the Great Depression had on him and his family, and his eventual relationship with Marilyn Monroe.   Author Arthur Asher Miller  was born October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York. He was the second of 3 children to a wealthy middle-class family and lived a comfortable life until the Great Wall Street Crash of 1929 when his family lost everything, just like everybody else in the country. As a teenager, Miller had to work two jobs while he attended school to help support his family and save up enough money for his college tuition. During the Great Depres...

Question: Who is  Ben? Why is he important to the story and what affect does he have on Willy’s relationship with his family and Willy’s business philosophy? Quote: “When I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty one. And, by God, I was rich!”

Dearest Britt, I’m so glad we finally get to read another book together and send each other these letters. Writing down my ideas like this snail mail style really helps me form new ideas and opinions about the book we’re reading. The first thing I noticed and appreciated about A Midsummer Night’s Dream was its vastly different setting and time period from the other plays William Shakespeare wrote. A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in ancient Greece and mentions ancient Greek heroes like Hercules and the Amazons. Ready a Shakespeare play that doesn’t take place in Elizabethan England is refreshing and makes me instantly more interested in the story and the characters its about. One of the other first things I noticed about this play is how poorly the women are treated. Early on in Act 1 Scene 1 Egeus comes to Theseus seeking advice regarding his daughter’s love life. She has fallen in love with one man and despite his merit, benevolence, and high social standing, her father wants her ...

I've never really like New Years and the concept of New Years resolutions because the whole holiday seems so pointless to me. Tons of people partying and drinking and at the same time promising to completely turn their lives around the next day? It just seems weird to me. But with that being sad, my dad is a sucker for New Years resolutions. Every year he makes a list of his new goals and puts it on the fridge and pretty much forces us to come up with resolutions of our own. Usually I really really hate it but this year it was good because it gave me something to "reflect" about on my walk. Obviously I started the walk at my house. In the past I've hated where I lived. Its not because of my house or my neighborhood or anything like that, I love my house. It's because I live in Bonney Lake so my house always seems so far away from everything. However recently my Dad has been thinking about taking a job in Cincinnati, Ohio and even though I'm going college n...

Dearest Brittany, I’m so happy that we are coincidentally reading the same literary piece as each other, what a coincidence! I really enjoyed discussing and comparing ideas about Fahrenheit 451 with you so I think we should give it a try with the play Alcestis. I have only read about a quarter of the play but so far, I’m liking it (and surprisingly enough I’m actually understanding it too). I find it fascinating how Ancient Greek writers would use universal characters throughout their works such as the Greek gods because it gives the characters a lot of depth and personality since the reoccur so often. Many ancient works give the gods flaws and human-like characteristics to make them more relatable, and this play is no exception. Alcestis begins with the story of how Apollo did something that displeased Zeus and he is now being punished to serve a mortal master. Apollo’s relationship with his master, King Admetus, dictates many of the actions and decisions within the play. Apollo is...

Wassup Homie G? I think it’s impossible for the members of this futuristic society to make real relationships in this type of environment. They’re encouraged by their leaders to devote all their time and energy into the technological world around them and that makes it practically impossible to create real relationships with those around them. I think this is the main reason why Guy decides to leave his life in the city. The emptiness and uselessness he feels in his current lifestyle leaves him yearning for something deeper and more real. I don’t think his departure from society really has anything to do with his love for literature or his need for justice. At the end of the day, Guy is hoping that the books will bring meaning to his life. The old professors and intellectuals he meets while running away in the wilderness kind of encourage this idea through the way they idolize literature. This makes sense because their old careers were built around books and teaching and because...

To Whom it May Concern, You’re 100% right, Captain Beatty is a shifty fellow and his vast knowledge of literature and books is suspicious. I seems like he has enough power to break the law and get away with it so I think that Captain Beatty might have a personal library of his own that he is hiding. One of the most interesting things about Beatty is his logical description of how books became illegal in the first place. Beatty tells Guy that the reason books were banned was because people began to get offended by ideas that conflicted with their own so they wanted to get rid of those “offensive” books. This partial censorship lead to total censorship and the outlawing of all literature. I find this particular discussion really interesting because I feel like something similar to this could eventually happen in our world if society continues to prioritize being “politically correct” in all circumstances. Captain Beatty and Milly’s eventual betrayal of Guy isn’t surprising at all bu...

Greetings Brittany, I think you’re right about the conflict between Guy Montag and the society he lives him being the most important conflict in the novel, it seems to be the driving force behind all of Guy’s actions. It appears as if Guy has been uncertain and weary about his lifestyle and the society for a while and it just kept building up until it finally led to his eventual rebellion.   I think the influence of both Clarisse and Milly caused him to finally break away from society. Clarisse was his inspiration and showed him what life is like when it is not lived “normally” and Milly was the reason why he finally felt that life within the society was meaningless. His relationship with both of these characters pushes him over the edge because they instill in him both inspiration and desperation. When Betty comes to visit Guy while he is sick in bed, Mildred discovers a book that Guy had saved from the recent burning. Instead of turning him in to the Captain right then and...

I’ve always wanted to read Fahrenheit 451 so I am more than happy to use this project as an excuse to finally read it.   I’ve heard mixed reviews on Fahrenheit 451, I think it’s one of those books where you either love it or you hate it. Some people get distracted by the futuristic setting and the strange ideas and they completely miss the point because they’re too caught up in the details. I’m really loving the book so far. The book begins with the main character Guy Montag burning a pile of books he confiscated form a nearby home.   In this futuristic society, firemen start fires instead of putting them out and owning or reading books is illegal. Guy’s life as a fireman is anything but fulfilling for him. He doesn’t seem to quite realize why he is so sad at this point but I’m sure the author will elaborate on that later. The moment Guy realizes that he is unhappy with his current lifestyle is during a conversation he has with Clarisse McClellan. Clarisse and her family a...