1988. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological; for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.
Waking up after a very vivid dream can be very disturbing, that is, until we realize that it was only a dream and everything is okay. But what if you couldn't distinguish the difference between reality and these vivid occurrences? In the play a "Death of a Salesmen" by Arthur Miller, the main character Willy often goes into very vivid flashbacks allowing the audience to understand Willy's struggle and constant strive for perfection.
Willy Lowman seems like an average man, until you observe his actions for more than a couple of minutes. One minute Willy is over-the-moon extatic, and the next minute he is screaming and yelling. But these are not the strangest of his actions. The strangest is when Willy begins to talk to himself about the past or repeats his words from very intense moments in his life and imagine that these moments are happening over again. Although these actions are not always kept inside of Willy's head, the hallucinations and flashbacks are purely a creation of Willy's mind.
Miller uses these "internal events" to shape the entire plot of the play. When Willy sees, thinks, or hears about something that reminds him of a past event, he automatically segues into a memory. In the beginning of the play, when Willy is talking about driving, he starts to think about the past. He thinks of the red car, Biff and Happy's youth, and successful business days. Then, later on in the play, when Willy is talking to Biff and Happy at the restaurant with their dates about Biff's current failure, Willy is reminded of Biff discovering Willy's affair. This shapes the play by tying the current issues of the play with the issues of the past allowing the reader to understand the tribulations of both Willy's life and his family's life.
These "internal events" put a great deal of strain on Willy, and allow us to understand the breakdown of this man. Because Miller puts in these events, and because they are often the most dramatic parts of the play, we are able to look further into the mind of Willy Lowman and see how this man has died before reaching success.
Great examples and analysis! Your opening is good too, because it's something that almost anyone can relate to. The last sentence of your 1st paragraph is well thought out, but your other paragraphs don't really support the claim in that last sentence. Like I said, they're great observations, they just don't really make that final connection to prove what your saying. Lastly, it may just be me, but I feel like your conclusion is saying something different than the thesis sentence (the last one in your 1st paragraph). Other than that, good work! Way to use specific examples, it really helps convince the reader of what you're saying!
ReplyDeleteYou have some good examples.
ReplyDeleteYou also missed the "so-what" question. You should do some more anaylis. I am not sure you prooved your thesis. And I know this is hard to do but do not forget about DIDLS.
I really like how you introduced the topic of the paper, it was smooth and understandable. Once you have explained what the paper is about, it would be great is you could include more specific details. Instead of concentrating on summarizing the whole plot, concentrate on a few specific important elements the define the whole piece.
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