In Death of a Salesman, the central character, Willy Loman, suffers great misfortune due to his denial of reality. His denial of reality leads to the absence of concreteness in his life. For example, he advises his son, Biff to be serious when going to talk to Bill Oliver, not to use boy's words like 'Gee', be modest or look worried. Instead he should begin with a few jokes to lighten things up, for personality always wins the day. "And if anything falls off the desk while you're talking to him - like a package or something - don't you pick it up. They have office boys for that." (Miller 64-67) The contradiction between advice to be serious and to tell jokes shows that Willy does not follow his own guidance. He starts his final speech in Act I with 'Gee', which he repeats soon after Act II begins and uses again when he enters the restaurant. Willy is worried and modest if not subservient when he sees Howard, his employer. At one point, Howard 'looks for his lighter. Willy has picked it up and gives it to him.' (Siebold 119).
With nothing concrete in his life to hold on to, Willy has little choice but to cast all his hopes on his sons. Willy had always viewed his children as his future life. (Siebold 100) His own social failure was to be compensated by his sons' success and popularity. It is because of this that Willy stops creating dreams of his own success and replaces them with lies about Biff's success. "How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there?" Biff tells Happy about his visit to see Bill Oliver. "I even believed myself that I'd been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and - I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been! We've been talking in a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk." (Miller 104) Towards the end of the play, Biff blames Willy for his unsuccessful career, "And I never got anywhere because you blew me so full of hot air I could never stand taking orders from anybody! That's whose fault it is!" (Miller 131) With his lies about Biff's success that the entire Loman family came to believe, Willy is in great part responsible for Biff's failure and therefore the failure of his future as well.
The Greek drama Oedipus Rex is clearly a tragedy. ... Oedipus Rex clearly meets the first of these five criteria. ... The tragic flaw, or mistake that a character makes, in Oedipus Rex does not actually take place during the story. ... In these five ways, the story Oedipus Rex classifies as a tragedy. However, in my opinion at least, you don't really need a standard checklist to see if Oedipus Rex is a tragedy or not. ...
"Oedipus Rex Essay Number 1- The stories Antigone and Oedipus Rex were written by a Greek philosopher named Sophocles. ... In Oedipus Rex there was a very interesting prophecy. Before the prophecy, Tiresias and Oedipus had an argument. ... In Oedipus Rex the prophecy Tiresias gave Oedipus was a foreshadow of what was to come. ... Oedipus had become blind. ...
Oedipus Rex is Greek tragedy written by Sophocles. The main character, Oedipus Rex, is a man who is trying to escape destiny. ... Oedipus is born the prince of Thebes. ... Oedipus Rex is a perfect example of the tragic hero. ... Oedipus Rex is a powerful play and will continue to influence generations for a long time to come. ...
The contrast between light and dark, and blindness and sight plays a large role throughout Oedipus Rex. ... Oedipus Rex is a play full of paradox. ... During the exchange between Tiresias and Oedipus near the beginning of the play, constant reference is made to Oedipus" sight and Tiresias" blindness. ... Oedipus Rex is an account of Oedipus" quest for truth. ... Yet it is only in his blindness that Oedipus finally truly sees. ...
The entire concept of Oedipus Rex is enough to leave a sour taste in a reader's mouth. ... Contrary to this, however, Oedipus Rex is one of the most highly regarded plays in literary history. ... The mix of pleasure and disquietude create the volatile emotions that make Oedipus Rex a legendary play. Before the play even begins, Oedipus murders his father. ... Overall, the tragic nature of Oedipus Rex incites more sympathy from the audience than the initial disgust. ...
All of the tragedies, including Oedipus Rex are considered outstanding for their powerful, intricate plots and dramatic style. ... Oedipus Rex is a tragedy written by Sophocles. ... Oedipus's tragedy extends to his entire family. ... Such an ironic reversal occurs in Oedipus Rex when the messenger's speech unsettles rather than reassures Oedipus about who he is and what he has done. ... The major conflict occurred when Tiersias tells Oedipus that Oedipus is responsible for the plague and Oedipus refuses to believe it. ...
In Sophocles's play "Oedipus Rex- Oedipus Even though "fate" seems to determine Oedipus' life, . he does infact have a free will. ... Oedipus does not believe (his choice). ... Oedipus Essay (Fate) Sophocles "Oedipus the King- is a tragic play which discusses the tragic discovery of Oedipus that he has killed his father and married his mother. ... Oedipus Rex - Bliss in Ignorance Oedipus Rex - Bliss in Ignorance One of the most memorable and meaningful Socratic quotes applies well when in context of Sophocles' Theban Trilogy. ... Yet in terms of Sophoclean drama, specifically Oe...
Iokaste the Downfall of Oedipus Rex From the beginning of Oedipus Rex there are prophecies that insist the ultimate fate of Oedipus. Although these prophecies are excruciating, they are prophecies that in the end all come, true and lead to the destruction of Oedipus Rex. ... Iokaste through love and concern for her son tries to prevent these awful prophecies from happening, but in the end she is the ultimate cause of Oedipus Rex's grief and downfall. ... The Iokaste says Oedipus! ... Iokaste although it is not obvious was really the cause of Oedipus Rex's downfall. ...
Oedipus Rex is a fascinating insight into the nature of a human being's need for control. From the opening lines of the play we see King Oedipus as the strong leader of his city. ... We know that Oedipus fled his home town to avoid a prophecy that foretold that he would kill his father. It is later revealed that he did in fact, albeit unknowingly to Oedipus himself at the time, kill his father. ... The story of Oedipus Rex teaches this moral brilliantly. ...
