Willy Loman Syllabus

Although Huck is a bit racist to Jim at the beginning of their journey, the negative attitude held by Huck begins to fizzle as their adventure continues on. The more Huck and Jim go through together, the closer the two become. Huck begins to see Jim as a friend and vice versa. By the end of their journey, Huck disagrees with society's idea that blacks are inferior. One example of this is evident when Huck doesn't tell anyone of Jim's whereabouts. Huck doesn't tell anyone because he knows that if he does, Jim will be forced to return to slavery. Instead, Huck chooses to "go to Hell" for his decision. He has shied away from society's acceptance of slavery.

As the play progresses, one begins to feel sorry for Willy and his problem, but at the same time angry and frustrated with him for his foolish pride. With this trait, it prevented him from accepting a job from Charlie, something that could have saved his life. Also, it is with this false pride that has been sparking the family flame for years, the fact that the Loman name was well known and well-liked. The family lie that was amongst themselves is revealed during the climax of the play. One example is the way in which Willy led Biff to believe that he is a salesman for Oliver, which at the end left Biff disappointed. The reason for this estimation of the truth may be because of Willy’s idea that he has not raised Biff and Happy the right way.

Unfortunately, other complications soon arise. Huck happens upon Jim soon after his own escape. Jim had run away from Huck's aunt after learning of her intent to sell him south to New Orleans, and once these two fugitives cross paths, their companionship is maintained for most of the book. Jim's presence presents several problems to Huck. At first, when Huck initially runs into Jim, he is simply glad to find a companion for his idle days on the raft. Indeed, Jim does prove a loyal friend to Huck, and his companionship comes to be deeply appreciated by the latter. However, it is soon evident that Jim's company is rather dangerous as well, for he is sought after by slave hunters, and, in those days, any person caught harboring a runaway slave was just as much a

The novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, covers the situations and people Huckleberry Finn encounters after he runs away. Huck prevents his alcoholic father from getting his fortune and is able to run away after his father, Pap, kidnaps him and leaves town. It has many colorful characters that exhibit several facets of society at that time in history. It is anti-racist although it uses the word "nigger" frequently. Huck seems to struggle throughout the book with what he has been taught and what is morally right. His main and most consistent interaction is with Jim, a runaway slave. Although he had been taught differently throughout his entire life, he eventually makes the choice to go against what society deems to be right and be Jim's

Anyone living in the time period Huckleberry Finn was alive for would be taught that black people should seen as slaves, not people. They were treated like objects and property instead of humans with feelings. Very few people were able see black people for who they really were. Huck eventually met Jim and got to know him as a person, instead of a slave. Huck was able to view Jim as a friend, a father figure, and a slave.

At a young age, people were programmed to believe that slaves were inferior human beings that were void of thoughts, intellect, feelings, etc . Huck first sees Jim as another half-witted slave, but as they spend more time together on their trek, he realizes that what was once a mindless slave below him, has become a good companion and friend to him. Huck’s relationship with Jim is very intriguing overall. In chapters 1 through 3, Jim is introduced into the novel as a simple, superstitious slave to Mrs. Watson.

Jim is ignorant but kind. In the book, he takes care of Huck. Once, the fake Duke and the fake King ask Huck and Jim to stand the night when they go to sleep. It is nice of Jim that when Huck is tired, he stands for Huck and let Huck sleep. According to Huck: “I was pretty sleepy by that time, so Jim said he would stand the first half of it for me; he was always mighty good that way, Jim was” (P138). And there is another time Jim stands for Huck, and Huck says that “I went to sleep, and Jim didn’t call me when it was my turn. He often done that” (P165). Jim is just so kind to Huck, makes Huck be grateful for him. Huck appreciates what Jim done for him. Huck realizes that friends take care of each other because he sees Jim taking care of him. He would not be lonely any more. Also, Jim is a black slave; it is different from a white friend to Huck. This makes him feel the humanity from a slave. He knows the slaves are also humans but not objects because of Jim’s kindness. Huck learns those when he thinks Jim is always mighty good. It is a good environment of having Jim there, Huck is influenced by him to be kind-hearted and selfless. Huck sees the nice side of a slave instead of a bad side which is described by people in general, too. Jim is the friend who accompanies Huck, affects him to feel the

Willy’s mental instability from the neglect of his family and pathological lying has ruined the life of all family. A product of this would be that Willy’s children, Happy and Biff, both have character issues such as being a womanizer and a thief respectively or his wife, Linda, who defends him even though she knows he is an invalid husband. Willy refuses to acknowledge what he’s done to the family and when they confront him he says “Spite, spite, is the word of your undoing! And when you’re down and out remember what did it” (Miller 103). The man, Willy Loman, is clearly a poor father and husband which he neglects but covers it with his career that has

(228). Huck wishes to help Jim escape from slavery because he is finally able to see past the color of Jim’s skin and see the type of person Jim really is, something so few people in Huck’s society were able to do. Huck matures drastically as he is able to identify something more in humans than most people thought possible, something Twain recognizes the Southern Antebellum society lacks. Although Huck thinks of Jim as an equal, there is still the fact that he is black. Huck excuses this fact by saying, “I know'd he was white inside."

Huck’s views regarding black people come into question when Huck and Jim run away together. Their experiences together let them become closer to each other and let Huck recognize Jim as a human being with real feelings. Huck starts to view Jim as a caring individual when they are on the raft. This is a scene taken from when Jim and Huck were working together on the raft and Jim was trying to protect them both from the rain, “Jim took up some of the top planks of the raft and built a snug wigwam to get under in blazing weather and rainy, and to keep the things dry. Jim made a floor for the wigwam, and raised it a foot or more above the level of the raft, so now the blankets and all the traps was out of reach of steamboat waves” (Twain, pg 64). In this part of the novel, Huck seems to be all Jim has, and Jim is also all Huck seems to have, and they work together to build a place that the waves cannot reach them. Their feeling of friendship is born through working together and protecting each other. Even though Huck and Jim are having new experiences together, Huck’s conscience is still going back and forth about the idea of freeing a slave. This quote is taken from when Huck

The heart of the story begins when Huck meets up with the escaped slave Jim. Huck’s first step to overcoming society’s prejudice and racism occurs when he meets Jim on the island. "I was ever so glad to see Jim. I warn’t lonesome, now" (Twain 36). From this point forward, Jim is not a just a slave to Huck. He is a partner.

Willy Loman has the ups and downs of someone suffering from bipolar disorder: one minute he is happy and proud- the next he is angry and swearing at his sons. Their relationships are obviously not easy ones. Willy always has the deeper devotion, adoration, and near-hero worship for his son Biff; the boy, likewise, has a great love for his father. Each brags on the other incessantly, thereby ignoring the other son- Happy- who constantly tries to brag on himself in order to make up the lack of anyone to do it for him. This turns sour however, after Biff discovers the father he idolizes was not all he had thought him to be. Afterward, familial dynamics are never the same, as Willy continues to hope that Biff will succeed, ignorant- perhaps

When Huck runs away from his father, he goes down the river in a canoe that he found until he gets to Jackson Island. There he is able to relax and recharge while feeling “rested and ruther comfortable and satisfied” (44). While Huck is on the island, no one can find him and take him back to the widow or his father. He is safely hidden from everything he was trying to escape from. Jackson’s Island is where Huck and Jim find each other after they’ve both escaped and it’s the place where they first become acquaintances. “…it was Miss Watson’s Jim! I bet I was glad to see him” (49). In this moment, Huck and Jim are no longer on their own. From then on, they both had each other and nature to rely on to help them escape from what was holding them back. The river is the only place where Huck, a white boy, and Jim, a black slave, are able to interact as friends and form a deep level of bonding. Jim even tells Huck, “’Jim won’t ever forgit you, Huck; you’s de bes’ fren’ Jim’s ever had; en you’s de only fren’ ole Jim’s got now’” (106). In normal society at that time, a black and white would never have a friendship like theirs, but on the river there’s no one to see them interacting and judge them for it.

Willy’s relationship with Biff and Happy also becomes strained throughout their lives. Since Biff was the older son and football star he made his father proud, and Happy was left without the praise that he needed and deserved, as he was always second best. Biff also was the one who caught his father having an affair with a woman in Boston, causing friction between himself and Willy. More importantly, Biff is extremely disturbed by his father's later behavior, including participating in imaginary conversations and reacting to his memories as though they were happening in the present. Willy's job also falls apart from the beginning of the play towards the end. Willy had been making enough money to support his family, but his unwillingness to learn new sales techniques or utilize modern technology resulted in lackluster sales and the loss of his job. Willy’s house had a mortgage until his death, implying that the family was not even secure in their own home. Finally, the family car, a symbol of pride within the Loman household, was destroyed when Willy committed suicide. This was the last example of Willy's destruction of all that was once important to him. Willy Loman, in this regard, follows Aristotle's suggestion that the tragic hero has "...a change of fortune... from prosperity to misfortune...." (Aristotle,1303)

Linda Loman is Willy’s loyal, loving wife. Linda suffers through Willy’s grandiose dreams and self-delusions. Happy Loman is Willy’s thirty-two-year-old younger son, has lived in Biff’s shadow all of his life, but he reimburses by nurturing his ruthless sex drive and professional ambition. Happy represents Willy’s sense of self-importance, ambition, and blind servitude to societal expectations. Charley is Willy’s next-door neighbor. Charley owns a successful business and his son, Bernard, is a wealthy, important lawyer. Willy is jealous of Charley’s success. Charley gives Willy money to pay his bills, and Willy reveals at one point, choking back tears, that Charley is his only friend.