Jungian Psychological Profiles in Glenngarry Glen Ross Essay

How can two people watch or read the same story and yet, interpret it completely differently? Does it have to do with the author’s intentions, or maybe it has to do with the viewers’ own backgrounds and ideologies? Whatever the case may be, viewing one piece of work can lead to a wide array of opinions and critiques. It is through the diversity of such lenses that Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller has become one of the most well-known plays in modern history. There are many different ways in which a play can be criticized, however, criticisms from the approaches of a Marxist and reader-response will be utilized to further dissect Death of a Salesman. Marxist criticism sees pieces of works as a struggle between different socioeconomic classes; what better way to see Miller’s play than for what it is at face value, the struggle of a middle-class man trying to achieve the American dream (1750). On the other hand, a reader-response criticism comes from either an objective or subjective view; in this case Death of a Salesman will be viewed with a subjective lens based on Willy’s deteriorating mental health (1746).

• What are the characters’ emotions, attitudes, and behaviors? What do these indicate to the reader about the character?

The play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, takes issue with those in America who place too much stress upon material gain, at the expense of other, more admirable human values. Miller uses flashbacks to provide exposition, to foreshadow the upcoming tragedy, and most importantly to reveal character traits. An analysis of the main character, Willy Loman, illustrates the underlying theme that the concern over material success breaks down the bonds between men that form the basis of a smooth-functioning society.

“The secret to doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe.” This is one of the many inspirational things I have heard Bob Ross say on his show, “The Joy Of Painting.” Bob Ross is one of the most beloved American painters and is known by thousands of people across the world. His show was all about teaching his viewers how to paint and enjoy themselves while doing it. However, many of us tuned into the show not to paint, but to just listen to his calming voice and watch him form a masterpiece on a blank canvas. It is crazy to watch all the things he can do with a brush. He is also known for using the “wet-on-wet” painting technique which he learned from his mentor William Alexander. This is the process of putting oil paints directly on top of one another to create complete paintings in less than an hour. Bob Ross practiced this so much that he got it down to under 30 minutes for his show.

In the play “Death of a Salesman”, by Arthur Miller, the primary theme can be seen as a conflict between man and society. In which the ambition to achieve the “American Dream” controls the life of Willy Loman and the influences he has. When success is not reached, sends Willy’s mind on a mental ride.

Individuals explore their responses to conditions of internal and external conflicts throughout literature. Going in depth to a character allows the reader to better understand that character’s internal and external conflicts. Arthur Miller uses this technique in several of his plays, including Death of a Salesman. Miller portrays the character of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman through his internal and external conflicts.

In 1949, Arthur Miller wrote a play called “The Death Of a Salesman”. This play is known for its compelling view on the mind of the middle class working man. The characters in “The Death of a Salesman” all have various dimensions of development throughout the story. These characters can all be seen as components one collective mind using Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory; the Oedipal, Id, Ego, and Superego. These characters all strive for success by way of the American Dream and all of it’s inconsistent factors and betrayal that personify it so well.

Kurt Cobain was the lead singer of the Seattle based grunge rock band Nirvana. As Nirvana's lead songwriter, guitarist, and singer, Cobain took the music industry by surprise and is considered the godfather of the grunge rock movement. Cobain and his band had a prevalent influence on young teenagers of the 1990s and were considered idols by numerous individuals. Nirvana took the popular music industry by storm when they were able to revamp the genre of grunge rock and cause a dramatic shift in music, away from the dominant genres of the 1980s. The success of Kurt Cobain was overshadowed by numerous of his psychological problems including drug addiction, his unstable marriage to music celebrity Courtney Love, and constant pressure from the

Innumerable literary critics are of the opinion that archetypes, which represent the universal patterns of human nature, shape the structure of a literary work. In his world renowned novel, The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald has readers and analysts attempting to understand the truth behind the enigmatic Jay Gatsby. Throughout the story, it is evident that Gatsby is deeply in love with Daisy Buchanan and his actions are mainly focused on winning her over. Much more subliminally, Gatsby buried secrets that accounted for his mysterious persona; nobody knew his true self. Although there is evidence that shows Gatsby could be a variety of distinct archetypes, it is clear that he mainly presents both the qualities of a classic romantic and a sinister gangster.

Thesis: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald depicts the American society in the early twentieth century consumed by lust and avarice. In order to better understand the rational and motives behind the actions of individual characters, the use of literary lenses offer a closer insight behind each character's desires. Through the psychoanalytical perspective and the use of Freudian psychology, the behaviors of these characters can be explained by identifying the id, ego, and superego. Similarly, through the Marxist perspective, economic exploitation by the wealthy can also be incorporated in analyzing the character's actions.

Glengarry Glen Ross and Death of a Sales man were two extraordinary plays that were released decades ago and are still the basis of many conversations and debates today. The main protagonists in these plays are Shelley Levene; a middle aged sales man who was once very successful in his line of work, and Willy Lowman; a 62-year-old salesman who has been chasing after the American Dream his whole life. These two shared a lot of similarities, the main one being that they are not tragic heroes. Many writers have debated over the past decades whether or not Shelley and Willy are meant to be tragic heroes. From the views of Aristotle and Miller, they are not tragic heroes.

The Author can describe characters in many ways and they usual do that. In the novel/play Arthur Miller all my sons the character Chris looks up to his dad and looks at him for leadership and he respects his dad and loves him.The way Joe keller's family views him is he is a trustworthy man and would sacrifice himself for his family. He has always worked hard in life so his family could have a good life and he always puts his family first. In Arthur Miller's play All My Sons Characters are developed through the use of archetypes such as Joe Keller as the martyr.

Miller amalgamates the archetypal tragic hero with the mundane American citizen. The result is the anti-hero, Willy Loman. He is a simple salesman who constantly aspires to become 'great'. Nevertheless, Willy has a waning career as a salesman and is an aging man who considers himself to be a failure but is incapable of consciously admitting it. As a result, the drama of the play lies not so much in

Mamet's unique writing style reflects the characters anxieties; his use of 'Mamet speak' emphasizes how the characters portray themselves. The use of short sentences and frequent profanities demonstrate their underlying insecurities, mainly within their career, just like when Levene pleas with Williamson to give him ‘the hot leads’ as the ones he currently has are ‘toilet paper’. All the salesmen are competing to get the top prize on the board, and as the reader we notice they’ll go to great measures to achieve this. In a way it emasculates the males, in this case particularly Levene as he has to beg in order to have a chance of success, and here he realizes that in his attempt to break an ethical code of business, he also sacrifices his personal integrity and identity. Levene not only comprehends he now has a damaged ego and reputation through his recognition of failure; he also recognizes that he’s lost respect and assertiveness

For instance, the theme of one’s loss of identity is seen in Willy’s tendency to hallucinate about retroactive memories. More specifically, Willy hallucinates about uncle Ben who, at the time of the play, was played by Louis Zorich. Uncle Ben, in this case, represents the epitome of success as his attire, masculine yet soft mannerism, and large physical stature are well suited to his role in the play as the successful individual Willy looks up to in his consciousness and consciousness only. Both roles acted by Dustin Hoffman and Louis Zorich were appropriately cast. In the play, the audience observes Louis Zorich as a handsome, tall, soft-spoken, and well-built man who effectively portrays the character of uncle Ben. As for Dustin Hoffman, who’s role is also appropriately cast, the audience perceives Dustin has a small statured man who, at the time play, is incredibly vocal in expressing his conscious opinions. More specifically, Dustin Hoffman adequately carried out his role by behaving erratically, being contradictory, and either angry or joyful throughout several specific scenes of the play. Without the calm, and graceful acting of Louis Zorich and the spontaneously sporadic behavioral changes of Dustin Hoffman, the theme of the play not would as easily be observable to the naked eye of the layman audience member. All in all, Hoffman and Zurich were great contributing actors to the drama titled “Death of Salesman”. Without the former actors, the play would not be as dramatic as it is with