The technique of contrasting characterization was used to explore the idea of success in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The two characters contrasted are Biff and Bernard. In the beginning of the play, Biff is a success, he is a jock, he is popular and everybody looks up to him, while Bernard is a nerd and he is called “anaemic” (Pg. 25) by Willy. In the middle of play Biff starts to become a failure as a result of his father’s affair and he loses the desire to continue to succeed, whereas Bernard still knows the importance of study. At the end the contrasting of characters by Miller, shows the success of Bernard, because he is a lawyer arguing in the high court, he is humble in his success. Whereas, Miller shows the unsuccessfulness …show more content…
Miller used symbols by contrasting Linda’s stockings with Willy’s mistress’s stockings. In the beginning Linda is found by Willy mending her stockings and he yells at her, “I won’t have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out!” (Pg. 31). This is because the stockings are a reminder of his affair and a reminder that he is not providing for his family. In the past with the affair the stockings are shown again by Miller when Biff comes to the hotel where his father was cheating on his mother. In the hotel, Willy buys his mistress a new pair of stockings, while Biff realizes that his mother is at home mending her old pair of stockings. In the present when Willy sees his wife mending her stockings he once again gets angry. The stockings become a symbol of betrayal, because each time they appear in the play they are representative of Willy’s disloyalty towards Linda, his cheating on his family and cheating on himself. Willy does not like to see the stockings, because it is a reminder of his affair, it arouses feelings of guilt and betrayal of all of those he loved and should have been loyal to. Miller uses the idea of betrayal through the use of the technique of symbols, to emphasize to his audience and make them aware of the fact that one can betray another, but everything around them will make them remember it
Linda and Willy’s relationship in the play is characterized by deep love and affection, but Willy does not frequently show the physical manifestations of such feelings. After thirty-five years of marriage, both characters have come to know each other’s subtle quirks and dreams, but Linda’s thorough understanding of Willy cannot be reciprocated. At first glance, she resembles a stereotypical housewife who passively stays home while her husband maintains his role as the breadwinner of the family,
Often times, people view individuals by the way they handle situations and their responses to others. Every character in a story can be summed up in about three to four characteristics based on their actions and speech. In the short story “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst, the narrator reveals his true character through the way he treats his younger brother. He possesses characteristics including authority, pride, and cruelty, and readers know these traits through Hurst’s dialogue and actions.
Symbolism in any type of short story, poem, novel, or drama, can help a reader to better understand a character and their associated background. Through a symbol intricate details of a characters psyche can be revealed. For Jimmy, the letters he carries helps the reader to come to the conclusion that he is just a young kid at war; he does not necessarily believe in violence and surely does not wish to be in Vietnam. The reader can infer this because he is constantly distracted by thoughts of Martha and how he wished he were with her, “ Kneeling, watching the hole, he tried to concentrate on Lee Strunk and the war, all the dangers, but his love was too much for him, he felt paralyzed, he wanted to sleep inside [Martha’s] lungs and breathe her blood and be smothered.” (O’Brien 328). Similarly Kirsten carries a comic book that she uses to escape her reality. Despite not having much recollection of the Arthur, the man who gave her the comic, she finds purpose in this item. Readers can deduce this from the fact that although she should only carry what she needs to survive Kirsten still lets the comic take up storage space. PROOF QUOTE 11. Kirsten also finds solace in another thing that reminds her of Arthur; preforming Shakespeare plays. Similarly Christopher Thurman proposes the idea of the importance of Shakespeare within the post-apocalyptic novel Station Eleven: “Shakespeare and classical music are
you analyze how the novelist reveals the values of the character and the nature of the character’s
In the novel A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines, there are many literary devices in which create significance in the story. One as such, is characterization. “Reverend Mose Ambrose was a short, very dark man whose face and bald head were always shining. He was the plantation church’s pastor. He was not educated, hadn’t gone to any theological school; he had heard the voice and started preaching. He was a simple, devoted believer. He christened babies, baptized youths, visited those who were ill, counseled those who had trouble, preached, and buried the dead” (100-101). By using this rhetorical device the author is descriptive of
On the whole, the writer creates an immense contrast between both of these characters. The use of immaculate description, as well as short, sharp phrases assists the reader in gaining a vivid image of how these
Characterization is a literary element used by the author to present qualities of characters in a literary piece, the purpose of characterization is to make characters credible and make them suitable for the role they play in the work. Authors present various characters possessing dissimilar qualities, to emphasize different aspects of the work. In the novel “The Scarlet Letter”, the author Nathaneil Hawthorn’s depiction of the two male characters, Arthur Dimmesdale and Roger Chillingworth, emphasizes the moral problems of the seventeenth century puritan society. Hence, their different characters contribute vitally to the plot of the novel.
Unlike character, characterization can be defined as methods an author uses to create the characters. Two examples an author can use are direct characterization where a character is directly described by the author, and indirect characterization where the character is revealed by their actions, reactions of other characters, thought, and speech. There are a few scenes in the play where the author directly describes a character. One example of major direct characterization comes from scene one in which Stanley is first introduced and described. Tennessee Williams writes, “Branching out from this complete and satisfying center are all the auxiliary channels of his life, such as his heartiness with men, his appreciation of rough humor, his love of good drink and food and games, his car, his radio, everything that is his emblem of the gaudy seed-bearer.” (Williams 84). His description of Stanley gives the reader a picture of how he acts and how he will act throughout the rest of the story. Much of the indirect characterization of the play can also be centered around the heated topic of sensuality. Blanche is an important character whose characterization heavily relies on her actions related to sensuality, and other’s reactions to her actions. “Blanche waltzes to the music with romantic gestures. Mitch is delighted and moves in awkward imitation like a dancing bear.” (Williams 97). This quote shows the relationship between Blanche and Mitch, a potential love interest, after she
In William Shakespeare's play, Othello, he teaches the audience a valuable lesson and gives insight to how flaws in our character can be used to bring about our downfall. He uses clever characterization methods to teach that a human's inner turmoils and characters flaws can be used against them and lead to their downfall. His use of characters such as Othello, the tragic hero, and Iago, the villain, work together to create the overarching theme and lesson of this piece.
Biff asks Happy to leave the city with him, but Happy says that he's going to stay in the city and beat the racket, and show that Willy did not die in vain. Charley, Happy and Biff leave, while Linda remains at the grave. She asks why Willy did what he did, and says that she has just made the last payment on the house today, and that they are free and clear.
The works of literature Death of a Salesman and “American Beauty” are intertwined because the protagonist in each work are contraries. Willy Loman and Lester Burnham are inverses because Willy has regrets and bases his success on his job, while Lester has dreams and bases his success on happiness.
The literary technique of characterization is often used to create and delineate a human character in a work of literature. When forming a character, writers can use many different methods of characterization. However, there is one method of characterization that speaks volumes about the character and requires no more than a single word - the character's personal name. In many cases, a personal name describes the character by associating him with a certain type of people or with a well known historical figure. Therefore, since the reader learns the character's name first, a personal name is a primary method of characterization; it
There are several symbols used in Death of a Salesman intended to represent abstract meanings and connect to the overall theme. Stockings appear in a number of contexts throughout the play. The stockings themselves can be connected to several characters, most importantly the protagonist, Willy Loman. To Willy, the stockings serve as a reminder of his betrayal and infidelity to his wife, Linda. The first time the stockings appear, the reader learns of an affair between Willy and another woman.
In the play Death of a Salesman, the author investigates human nature and represents his main character as a person whose dissatisfaction with his own life leads to his tragic end. The plot of
Characterization is an important component in short story writing. In the short story "Lamb to the Slaughter" written by Roald Dahl, we are introduced to Mary Maloney, a pregnant housewife who recently found out that her husband is going to leave her. Mary develops into a very complex character as the events of the short story unfold. Mary is a typical housewife, waiting on her husband hand and foot. She loves him dearly, but as the short story unfolds, we see that he does not share the same feelings. Mary, unable to handle the rejection, lashes out and kills her husband. We then see Mary’s character transform before our eyes and the once loving, dutiful housewife becomes a very devious, manipulative and cold hearted character. She manages