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 and an overall feeling of success.
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. We see both the up and downs in his life and realize that even in his happiest moments, he still is not successful. These events cause the reader to visualize the events in his life and how they have influenced the present day Willy Lowman. 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.
Original: Open Prompt #5
Original: Open Prompt #5
I think you forgot to mention techniques in the thesis that Miller uses to create this "Awakening" affect on the audience. You did a good job of mentioning it in the body paragraphs though, and good examples to support these claims.
ReplyDeleteI really liked where you were going as you got to the last paragraph. Did you think of maybe adding something about what the flute music represents in the play? This could add a little more substance.
ReplyDeleteYour opening is fantastic. You don't place enough emphasis on the "how," as Alina pointed out--the prompt asks you to show how Miller creates excitement, suspense, and so on in these internal events. You show this by talking about technique. Then, toward the end, you really don't address meaning enough. You do, however, have a well-developed central argument--it's just that the argument doesn't go far enough in addressing the actual question that the prompt is asking.
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