Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller in the year 1949. The play tells of man’s disillusionment and despair. The author narrates the story through the mindset of Willy – the main character in the play. Willy, an ordinary salesman residing together with his family in New York, is obsessed with the American dream and making as much money as possible. However, his big dreams fail to materialize and he ends up a depressed man. As a result, he starts to speak alone. He also rants at his sons for failing to follow his vision for them. A critical look at the play, Death of a Salesman, reveals that it scoffs at America’s promise of great dreams which never come to fruition.
In scene 1, Act 1, Willy retreats to his home in New York and appears a little disturbed. When his wife, Linda, probes him the cause of the low self-esteem he says “So I went on againlater I’m dreamin’ again, and I nearly I have such strange thoughts.” Although the real reason for his frustration is not quite evident at first, it appears that he is not comfortable in his job, and feels let down by his oldest son Biff. He says about him “when he was young, I thought it’s good for him to take a lot of different jobs. But it’s more than ten years now and he has yet to make thirty-five dollars a week.”
Tartuffe
Tartuffe is a theatrical comedy written by Moliere in the year 1664. The comedy revolves around Tartuffe and the King’s family. Tartuffe pretends to have some form of divine authority, and this is what makes him indispensible from the King’s circles. Orgon, the King, has fallen for the Tartuffe’s hypocritical behavior, and nothing can convince him otherwise. However, the rest of the family members see right through Tartuffe’s tricks and warn the King that he is not up to any good. In summary, Tartuffe is a play which mainly explores the themes of deception/hypocrisy, and foolishness among others.
Tartuffe is a very deceitful character pretending to speak with divine authority. The King falls for Tartuffe’s deceit, and cannot even make a decision without consulting him. The rest of the family members are not fooled by the antics, and they can see right through his hypocrisy. For example, in act 1, scene 1, Damis says “Do you expect me to submit to the tyranny of that carping hypocrisy?” Dorine also seems to support this statement says “You see him as a saint. I’m far less awed. In fact, I see right through him. He’s a fraud.”
Orgon, the King, on the other hand, feels that the family members judge him unfairly. In fact, when Damis lays a trap to get Tartuffe seducing Elmire, Orgon banishes him from the house because he does not believe him. The King’s foolishness seems to be his undoing, and it takes Elmire’s efforts to nab Tartuffe seducing her. Tartuffe is not left unscathed either. His folly leads him to seduce the King’s wife, and the trap laid down by the Elmire, wife, makes him stumble.
A Doll’s House
A Doll’s House, which premiered in 1879, is a play written Henrik Ibsen. The play generated a lot of controversy at that period because the protagonist, Nora, walked out of marriage - at a time when such an act could have been considered unthinkable. In A Doll’s House, the author lays bare some of the things women undergo in an attempt to better their lives; they sacrifice a lot, but their efforts receive little appreciation.
Nora’s nanny makes a decision to abandon her own child in order to works. As she tells Nora, she thinks that she is a lucky girl to have a job. Another case is that of Mrs. Lindie. She is forced to abandon her true love to go and marry a rich man. Although Krogstad loves her, he is penniless. Back at home, Mrs. Lindie’s two brothers and mother need support. Faced with this hard choice, she has to marry the rich guy to make ends meet and support her family members.
Although Nora is more moneyed than the other female characters in the play, she lives a difficult life because her husband treats her like a junior partner in the relationship. The societal dictates also put pressure on men to play a dominant role in a relationship. When Nora takes a loan, she has to do everything to make sure that her husband does not know about it. In those days, no husband would entertain the idea of a wife who borrows to support the family. This is something which burdens Nora, and she has to work secretly to repay the loan. In the end, Nora has to leave her husband and children because she is not comfortable within that marriage.
In A Doll’s House, the women have to be in a marriage/relationship not because they are in love, but because the society deems it right that way. As one woman states “You have never loved me. You have only thought it pleasant to be in love with me” This is a revelation that the women have in a marriage at the expense their own pleasure.
