$$What is The American Dream?$$

$$What is The American Dream?$$

What do you think the following quote means? Why might it be true? "a man, in America, is a failed boy”  John Updike

Beingwellliked At the time that the play was written (1949) many Americans were reading  ‘How to Win Friends and Influence People’ by Dale Carnegie. The book demonstrated how human relations could be exploited for  practical gain. This is why Willy believes it is important to be ‘well liked’, because people  will then trust you and buy what you sell.

Worn out confused Willy - Act 1 a pitiful character? delusional about  himself delusional about  family

alone dependent Linda: a pitiful character? caught in the middle

Not suited to the  world he works in. dreamer Happy: a pitiful character? women Has what he  wants.

dreamer defeated Biff: a pitiful character? lost boy

Can you add more ideas now that we are familiar with the opening of  the play? "a man, in America, is a failed boy”  John Updike

SelectedScene – Act One - Pg 8 - 12 From - Happy:He's going to get his licence taken away… to Biff:I'm  tellin' you, kid, if you were with me I'd be happy out there. Discuss in detail, how you would play the character of Biff in the selected scene. You will need to refer to voice, movement, gesture and facial expression as well  as to how your chosen character responds to others on stage.

Willy'spriorities Put these into the order that Willy would consider most  important, based on what we have just read. beingwellliked that the boys admire him building a home being good looking and athletic that Linda admires him academic success (at school)

Pages 15-24 Answer the following questions in full sentences. 1 Can you find any examples that perhaps show that Willy is not  giving the right values to the boys? (page 17) 2 How much does Willy originally say he sold? and what did he  really do? (p21) 3 What does Willy think is important in the business world  (p20)? 4 What happens to Willy´s confidence on pages 22 and 23? 5 Can you find any evidence in the stage directions that distinguishes between the  ´dream sequences´ and ´real time´?

Fantasy Real time Divide the points list below under the 2 headings given above. "apartment houses  look down from  behind" (p26) "the entire house and  surroundings become  covered with trees" (p14) "from the darkness  is heard the  laughter of a  woman" (p23) "goes through a wall- line of kitchen to  doorway at back and  calls down" (p21) "the leaves  are gone"  (p26) "angrily taking them [stockings] from  her [Linda]" (p25)

Importance of the two characters. supportive talkative sympathethic humble Match the words below to the correct character. rich proud judgemental

Figure of Dave  Singleman Willy's desperation  grows business is business if I had forty dollars a week selling was the greatest career a man could have they're working on a very big deal well sixty five dollars a week, I could  swing it those days there was personality You're father came to me the day you were born Role of taperecorder shows how out of touch Willy is with new  generation 'they're only a hundred and a half'

How else does Miller show Willy´s growing desperation at  the start of Act 2?

Start of Act 2 > Past and present Page 50 to 73 Make a flow chart diagram of the main scenes and  changes in perspective between different events in the  past and present. Spacing your ideas out well, note page numbers, events  and detail of timing (if past when exactly) Example P54 / Willy goes to visit Howard where he gets increasingly desperate Page 50 - Willy at home with Linda, discussing their financial problems p61 appearance of??

Who says the following lines? Ben "I have never kept books" "he likes to have a letter. Just to know  there's the possibility of different  things" Linda "cause you gotta admit business is business" Howard "sometimes ...it's better for a man just to walk away" Bernard "he don't have to - he's gonna do it" Charley "but he's a human being and a terrible  thing is happening to him" Linda "the only thing you got in this world is what you can sell" Charley

Important questions at the end of Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman – Questions on the ending Answer the following questions in full sentences, using your text to answer ? in detail. 1 What is the wider significance (importance) of Willy being out in the garden at the end of the play planting seeds? Why would he do this when he is thinking of killing himself? 2 On page 96 what is the "twenty thousand dollar on the barrelhead" that Willy refers to? What are the different opinions of this money that Ben and Willy discuss? 3 How does Willy's vision of his funeral (p97) tell us about his self perception and how does it match with ideas from earlier in the play about what is important to succeed in the world? 4 What is spite (use a dictionary to define) ? Why and how does Willy think that Biff has spited him (p99)? Do you agree with him? 5 Ben says "you've got to be sure that you're not making a fool of yourself"(p97) In what ways does Willy not manage to follow his advice? Does this make Willy more of a tragic figure? Explain how. 6 At the end of the play, which of the brothers, Biff (p101, 102 and 107) or Happy (p107), has understood their place within America better? Where do you see them 10 years from now?

$$What is The American Dream?$$