PSYCHOANALYTIC APPROACH ON SECRET SHARER

1. Definition

Freudian Psychology theory consist of three big concepts; Id, Ego, and Superego. Prominent among the developments in Freud’s theory of mental structures, dynamics, and processes was Freud’s model of the mind as having three types of function: the Id which incorporates libidinal and other desires, the superego which the internalization of standards of morality and propriety, and the ego which tries as best it can to negotiate the conflicts between the insatiable demand of the id, the impossibly stringent requirements of the superego and the limited possibilities of gratification offered by the world of “reality”.[1]

Id: its function to fulfill the primordial life-principle, naturally the id knows no values, morality, good and evil. Because it’s only an impulse to obtain satisfaction for the instinctual needs, in accordance with the pleasure principle, that’s why Freud defined the id is identical in many respect to the devil as defined by theologians. Other aspect to consider that id could lead us to any length, to destruction and even self-destruction to satisfy its impulse for pleasure, in short it’s the source of all our aggressions and desires, its function to gratify our instinct for pleasure without regard for social conventions, legal ethics, or moral restraints.

Ego is part of mind containing consciousness: in Freudian psychology, one of three main divisions of the mind, containing consciousness and memory and involved with control, planning, and conforming to reality.
"The poor ego has a still harder time of it; it has to serve three harsh masters, and has to do its best to reconcile the claims and demands of all three." (Sigmund Freud The Anatomy of the Mental Personality, Lecture 31)[2]

Ego is the one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality esp. by functioning both in the perception of an adaptation to reality compare id superego.[3]

The superego is the aspect of personality that holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that we acquire from both parents and society--our sense of right and wrong. Freudian conscience: according to Freudian theory, the part of the mind that acts as a conscience to the ego, developing moral standards and rules through contact with parents and society[4]

2. The Story of Secret Sharer according to this theory

The story of the secret sharer is a story about one conflict on the sea. In this story the conflict happen between Legatt who suspected as a murder who escaped from the Sephora Ship and its leader, Captain Archbold. The story begins with a short description of a ship. The main character in the story is the Captain of the ship. One night he meets a man who stops to swim near the ladder of the ship. His name is Legatt. Legatt needs captain’s help because he killed someone from his ship, Sephora. The Captain lets him stay in his cabin without anyone knowing about him for some days. There is a strange existance based on secrecy and similarities between them. And then the ship sets sail for it’s destination to a desolate island where Legatt asks the captian to let him off. Archibold from Sephora came to search Legatt. But the captain hides Legatt. He let Legatt go at the coast of the island.

From the point of view of Id, Ego, Superego, we find Legatt as Id because he is the character who tried to escape from his punishment and get his free, the character who tried to negotiate the conflicts, the captain of the nameless ship reverse to Ego and Captain of Sephora who tried to take Legatt from the nameless ship and bring him to jail is the Superego. To strengthen our statement let us see to some facts that we found in the text.

3. Some facts about Captain’s, Legatt, and Archibald:

Legatt

1)      He runs from his punishment, he murdered one of Sephora’s crew members even though he unintentionally kills him (page, 295,).

2)      Escape from Sephora by swimming because he wants to run from his punishment (Page, 299, line 19; then a sudden temptation came over me…..). 

3)      Why he don’t want to be jailed, he don’t want to be jailed because it will ashamed his father who work as a parson and his family in Norfolk (page 296, line 19). 

What we see from the example is that he doesn’t want to be brought to the jail where he supposed to be, and to avoid such a thing he tried to escape from his sentence. It’s same as the principle of id; it’s to escape the discomfort or other things that is not what based of his wants. And to escape the punishment he jumped from the Sephora ship and swim to nearest islet, bundle some stone with his cloth and throw it to the ocean to fake his death, this is like what is mentioned above, destruction and even self-destruction to satisfy its impulse for something, and in order to achieve such a thing he didn’t care about himself.

The captain of nameless ship

At the first time, Captain of the nameless ship perceives Legatt’s abilities. (293-294)”You must be a good swimmer”, “The self possession of that man”, “a real alternative in the view of a strong soul.”, and, “his expression was concentrated, meditative, under the inspecting light of the lamp I held up to his face; such as a man thinking hard in solitude might wear.”

From his identification, almost all about Legatt is good but the captain not directly helps him. He also considers what Archibold said to him. In page 306 Archibold rejects his opinion about Legatt ability to save Sephora by saying, “Under God-it did…. It was by a special mercy, I firmly believe, that it stood some of those hurricane squalls.” Again Archibold said that he is not like Legatt meant hate. “But do you know-I never liked him, somehow. I am a plain man. You see, he wasn’t exactly the sort of the chief mate of a ship like the Sephora. I had no doubt in my mind.”

Just after that The Captain had no doubt in his mind.”I had become so connected in thoughts and impressions with the secret sharer of my cabin that I felt as if I, personally, were being given to understand that I, too, was not the sort that would have done for the chief mate of a ship like the Sephora.”   At the end of the story, he allowed Legatt to go. Legatt had lowered into the water to take his punishment: a free man, a proud swimmer striking out for a new destiny.

Ego’s ability to consider problems is starting from opening mind and communication for identifying the characters, considering the decisions and takes a decision.

Archibalds

1. In page 306, when the unknown Captain questions him, "you were anxious to give up your mate to the sore people, I believe?"

That question leads us to the point of view that he follows the Conscience to engage this problem into the law. He realized that the behavior of murdering is forbidden and he should be sent to the law.

2. In page 306, Archbold says, “I have been at sea now, man and boy" for seven and thirty years and I’ve never heard of such thing happened in an English ship. And that should be my ship.  Wife on board, too."

It shows the effect of super- ego. Because of the superego that he is followed, he can say that statement, right? If he doesn't act right, we think that he won't say those statements, actually. He shows his pride , value, and accomplishment that in 37 years working on the ship, he never make any mistakes, fallacy or bad behavior or in other words he is a well-mannered Captain who follows the ego ideal.

4. Conclusion

Looking to the characters

Psychoanalytic help people who read this work to see the characters who plays their part in the story. It is started from the beginning of the story until the end of the story. By this approach the reader brought to the way of life of every character. In this case, they could learn how the mechanism of psyche in them self as well as in the story. How the characters stand for their belief and way of life give a better map for the reader to understand the story and its message. The message is something that the reader wants to know.

In this story, the revelation and truth is to accommodate pleasure which performed by Legatt. How to empowering the Ego is by identifying Id and Superego as well as what captain of the nameless ship. And we also see that Superego is not always good to follow. In this story, Superego which is representing by Archbold is not followed. It is because of the law or moral values that struggled by Archibold is not purely for the betterment of society. What Archibold did is right but not exactly touch tauch problem. The problem is from the beginning where he hates Legatt. So that he didn’t account the situation and background of what Legatt did. In his eyes there is only Legatt the killer without any virtuous. There is no Legatt who save the Sephora and There is no Legatt who are in the bad situation, who is fighting in the storm, and because of the insult of person who killed by the worst condition after he left. What archbold see is only a killer.  

While captain of the nameless ship as the main character is a model of goodness, which is experience the process of Ego. Identification, consideration, and make a decision here are clear. This is the ideal person who can solve the conflict in the story. His decision is not only merely that he is comfort and found something in Legatt. His decision came up after he heard Archibold.

Legatt who followed his pleasure is not merely wrong because he just trapped in the unclear situation. He fought in the middle of the storm and after the water of the sea attack them, his enemis lost. It made him jailed to sent him to the court of law in Norfolk. He want to be free because he thought he saved the ship in the storm. On the other hand he also thinks about his father and family in Norfolk.  He did not want to make shame. In this case, he followed pleasure to be free.

Impoverishment

The characters in the story seem not holistic. They are only following their id, ego, or superego. In fact human is complex because all human being has those three elements of psyche. In this case impoverishment happens. The reader trapped in the main character the captain and two major characters, archibold and Legatt who has a conflict. This approach trapped the reader to fulfill the theories without a considering the complexity of all characters.

                Minor characters like the chief mate and steward of nameless ship are not considered as an important part of the story. In fact they are also part of the story and have their complexity. For example like a story about Scorpio which founded in the dark cabin of chief mate drown itself in the inkwell of his writing desk.

                The Psychoanalytical theory centered the story on the human interaction. While the setting, places, and time are also has meaning. In this case, the use of this theory trapped the reader only to focus on human matter and not to the environment where the story is. Tropical forest, nomad tribe of fishermen and bamboo fences contribute big pocket of meaning and influence. The use of items, the use of clothes, how people acts are not explored. They are not considered in this particular approach. In this case we could say yes for the statement that psychoanalytical discussion also run the risk of impoverishing.

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[1] A glossary of literary terms, M.H Abrams.

[2] Microsoft Encarta Dictionary.

[3] Miriam Webster Dictionary.

[4] Microsoft Encarta Dictionary

BOOK REPORT OF A PLAY, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Summary

            William Shakespeare brought us to the story of love between aristocrats and their lady, exactly Demetrius, Helena, Lysander and Hermia. Demetrius and Lysander are trying to win Hermia’s love. Hermia loves Lysander but Egeus, her father want to marry her with Demetrius. It’s a hard position for Hermia. The more she throws Lysander away from her heart, the more she loves him.

            Lysander and Hermia go out of the Athens to “the wood”. He wants to marry her there, outside Athens and the law. There are fairies live in that place. Titania the queen and Oberon the king of fairies have a quarrel. Oberon asks a changing boy from Titania but she doesn’t give him the boy. In order to get the boy, he summons Puck to disturb the aristocrats of Hippolyta that protected by Titania.

            Puck has a juice from a flower called ”love-in-idleness” that make people love the men they see at first after wake up from sleep. But if the spell finished they assume is as a dream. Puck gives it to Demetrius and Lysander. It makes them falling in love with Helena. Successful with it, Puck disturb the artisans by spell Bottom becomes ass-headed. The performance is actually ruined. The artisans go away because they afraid with Bottom. On the other hand when Titania slept, Puck gives the juice to her eyelids. When she heard the voice of the artisans, she wake up and saw ass-headed and suddenly loves him.

            It is a happy ending. At the end of the story, Oberon gets the boy and pity with the queen. At the end Puck cures them all. So that Lysander marries with Hermia, Demetrius with Helen, duke of Athens; Theseus with Queen Amazons Hippolyta and the fairy’s queen and king bless them. On the other hand, Bottom makes a play based on his dream with fairy queen. And he asks for the composer to arrange music about it. Whether sometimes love is irrational, the experience of love also make people creative.   

          

Setting-Place

             Athens, the place of Theseus. A wood near Athens, place of fairies. At the story, church was established showed by the existence of nun. It means that the setting of the story is not in ancient time but around the middle age. At summer because of the title said that.

 

Characters

The major characters are Demetrius, Hermia, Helen, Lysander, Bottom, Oberon, Titania and Puck. The minor characters are Theseus, Hippolyta, artisan players and fairies.

The most interesting characters are Oberon, Hermia, and Hippolyta. Oberon is a king of the fairies. He has power to get everything he wants except a changing boy from Titania. He wants the boy to be a knight under his guidance but Titania doesn’t allow him because her mother died in giving birth to the boy. We can imagine how mad he is. He never performs dance together with Titania so that the weather becomes terrible, it seem more like winter than summer by fogs and floods. He use trick to win it. He summons Puck a mischievous fairy to make it run. The special juice and the spell make her irrational and falling in love with an ass-headed. She looses her rationality and defeated.  His passion make him pity to the queen after he get everything from her. And at the end the story he summons Puck to cure her.

Hermia is Theseus’s daughter. She loves Demetrius and doesn’t want to marry with Lysander. But in the Athenian laws her father has a right to marry him with everyone want. She obey it because the punishments. She didn’t want to death or become a nun. In order to struggle her love she go to the wood outside the Athenian law and marry with Lysander there. Outside Athenian law means a dangerous place. There are no soldiers that protect her. It’s really happen when Puck disturb them. As the result Lysander is suddenly love Helen and reject Hermia. In the confusion and rejection, Hermia is strong enough to survive. She didn’t do anything harm to herself. On the other hand, she still opens her mind to Lysander’s love.

Hippolyta is not a major character. But her story behind is very interesting. She is a queen of Amazon. Amazon is a tribe that has woman soldiers. The women there will train as men to protect their land. We can imagine her as a strong build woman but still beautiful. Four day will quickly steep themselves in night; four nights will quickly dream away the time; and the moon, like a silver bow New bent in heaven, shall behold the night of our solemnities. Her words show us how peace and happy she betrothed with Theseus. She is a soldier and she can protect her people more by marrying and Athenian king.

Theme  Love Commedy

Symbol

            Juice of flower called “love-in-idleness”

It’s a symbol of love without rationality. The effect of it juice is in the spirit level so that they will in dream. The people who receive it in their eyelids when they sleep will lose their awareness of feeling and will. So that they will suddenly falling in love to everyone they see when they wake up. In this case rationality is not use anymore. They completely controlled by the dreams.

It use by Puck that was summoned by Oberon. We know Oberon has a quarrel with Titania. Because they never perform dance together the weather changes. And it is causing chaos to weather in the earth. In this case this device is represents a solution of it. By defeat the rationality Oberon conquer everything and fulfill his needs. On the other hand Lysander and Demetrius fight for a girl they not put any love before. Again Helen recognizes Lysander and Demetrius as mockers. She assumes their words as insults. And again there is a quarrel between Hermia and Helen. They blame each other. They are the victim of the juice.

In our world know the juice means tools that use by people to conquer the world. Many people in the world don’t have awareness because of so many kinds of products. Many people stir up with the advertisement of the product. They are being stirred so that they trust it, buy it, and use it even the advertisement is not rational. Some advertisements said that the people must use their product if they want to be modern, young, loved, and clever. The people who use it mean they trust and love it. Some people depend on it and join the organization established by the companies who produce it. In fact the products are not related to their personality.

The massage is about awareness. All people must aware that the capitalist who have the juice are not Oberon who has passion. They have no mercy to their victim. They use every possibility for their own benefits. And people as like as animal to be hunted, everywhere they go there are advertisements, along the street, school, church, government, under the sea, and up the mountain. People who live in the system only move in Satan circle become consumers without any awareness. If the people aware about it we can cut it directly. Let’s decrease our dependency to the capitalist!     

“I will not stir from this place, do what they can:

I will walk up and down here, and I will sing, that they shall hear I am not afraid.”

(Bottom, act 3, scene 1 lines 120-125)

Book Report of Novel The Bluest Eye

Summary

            The Bluest Eye is a story of Afro-American people in the USA. There is a black girl named Pecola. She is a girl from an Afro-American family. Her parents were not an ideal family. Her father is a drunken man and her mother who was very devout with Christianity. But her mother have misinterpretation of the Idea of God in white culture and as the result, she identified her husband as a devil. And the story told us that Pecola and her family became the victim of the social-cultural system which racist and patriarchal. And as kid she is the worst victim of this social-cultural condition.

As a kid in her family, she became the victim of the violence of her mother and being raped by her father. In her society, she also became the victim of racism. It was drawn well when a white boy cheated and insulted her. Her desire to get the bluest eye though she is an Afro-American was drawing an influence of cultural value which also victimizes her. She wanted to be as like as the white people by having the bluest eyes though it is impossible.  The story also told about the problem of her parents which influenced their relationship and their way of life. As a climax of the story, the result of all problems, Pecola experienced a psychological illness and became crazy. But in the middle of this tragic story we still have Frieda and Margaret who became her friends and trying to help her.

Setting-Place      

            The setting of the story is near at 1941 and the place is in the USA exactly at Lorain in Ohio, in the north of USA near Lake Erie which separate USA and Canada. And there is another place like Kentucky, at the south of Ohio where Cholly Breedlove and Pauline have met before marriage. The climate of this area is consisting of four seasons which became a setting of each part of the story.

Characters

            The major characters in the story are Pecola, Cholly Breedlove and Pauline. Cholly Breedlove is a drunken man with sober eyes. He has no father because his father left her mother when she was pregnant. Cholly was taken by his aunt called Jimmy who gave him name. Cholly did not recognize as the son of his father when he found him and tried to speak with him. He also did not know about her mother. He never knew how to be a parent of children and have a great psychological need of being warm with women. Beside Pauline as his wife, he also has Darlene as his playmate. But it is not enough for him. Because lack of responsibility and awareness of being father and about the psychological matter, he raped his only daughter Pecola. He has a bad habit as a drunken man. And because of the misinterpretation of God in the white culture, Pauline as his wife identified him as devil only because of his skin and bad habit.

            Pauline is a good wife. She was good in housekeeping. She collected egg, repaired the fence, and other housekeeping. The stillness and isolation both calmed and organized her when her parents went for work and the other children went to school. Her parents lived in Kentucky and her mother got a job for cleaning and cooking for white people. Some of her brother are joined the army, one sister died and two got married. She also has a devout life by being a good Christian. She prays and goes to the Church routinely. She directs Pecola not to follow her father and tried to give her a good understanding about Christian life to her. She is a good mother but too possessive to Pecola so that sometimes do violence to her. 

   The minor characters are Margaret, Frieda and their parents as the people who received Pecola after her parents are in the middle of conflict. Margaret and Frieda became good viewers and sometimes gave their point of view in the story. There are also some minor character which became an instrument to draw the unfair society to the Afro-American people such as Maureen, Junior and her mother Geraldine, Woodrew Cain, Buddy Wilson, Janie Bug, and Bay Boy. Samson Fuller a gambler, Cholly’s father who reject his existence.

Theme

            The theme of the novel is the victim of racism and patriarchal system.

Symbol

Quiet as It’s kept, there were no marigolds in the fall of 1941. We thought, at the time, that it was because Pecola was having her father’s baby that the marigolds did not grow.

If we planted the seeds, and said the right words over them, they would blossom, and everything would be all right. (Page 3)

Our flowers never grew. I was convinced that Frieda was right, that I planted them too deeply. (Page 205)

I talk about  how I did not plant the seed too deeply, how it was the fault of the earth, the land of our town.(Page 206)

The author used the symbol of seed of flower which can’t grow as an opening and closing of the narration. Seed is a product of plant which will become a new life if it is planted. But they can’t grow if the way of planting and the soil didn’t support them. This symbol became a good symbol of the whole story. Pecola and all other children are the seeds. They grow in the middle of social-culture where they live. The unfair of the system of the society will hamper them to grow. The children who lived in this system are as like as the seeds which can’t to grow and die in the garden. Pecola, Cholly, and also Pauline are the real victim of this system.

There is two massages from the symbol, first the critics of racism and patriarchal system and the second is invitation to build a better life. The first massage is to change the values which exist in the society. It’s not enough if the white people imposed to change their point of view to the black people. But there are massages to all people to change their point of view about racism by the equality of human being. And the second massage is about the responsibility of human to make a better condition for the children to grow. It’s mean that sex must in the bound of love and marriage. Because of so many cases that make many children were rejected by their parents, so there is a big responsibility of the society to help them. The people must help them to grow because of their potency to become the new Cholly. Their potency to build a better life must be up hold and it must be support by the society.

ICRIEDNIHGTANDDAYHELPMEHELPMEHELPMETOGROWANDGROWHEARMEHEARMEHEARMEICALLYOUTOHELPMEOUTOFTHISSYTEMANDCREATEABETTERLIFETOREACHHAPPYNESSAREYOUHEARME???????????

Book Report of a Play "Death of Salesman"

Summary

            Death of Salesman told us a story about human life and their dream, specifically a dream of an American in the case of salesman life. American dream is about how people to be rich, prosperous, and having a great children. The people believe that work hard will lead them to their dream. Arthur Miller told us that not every dream will realize in every condition even if the chance bigger than other like in the USA. This country gave more chance for every people in the world to realize their dream because of the industry was modern. But it doesn’t work for a salesman as Willy and his family.

            Willy is an old salesman who gave his life to sell products of Wagner Company. But in his sixties, when his ability to sell products (physically and mentally) was decrease, his company didn’t replace him to a better place for him as a floor salesman. In order to get a better life, he asked for that job with higher wages. But in business his wage is measure by his ability to sell products. On the other hand his condition is getting worst. As the result, Howard didn’t give his permission and fired him. Event his condition is getting worst, his idealism and dream never decrease. He kept his pride by reject Charley’s hand because he believed in Biff and Happy. And at the end of the story; when he felt shame with his wife and sons; when Biff failed to get support from Oliver, he decided to run his plan to committing suicide in order to get insurance. It’s the last chance for him to bring his family to a better life, to open the door of his dream, a dream of America, a dream of the people of the world.    

                

Setting-Place

Late 1940s; Willy Loman's house at Brooklyn, Restaurant, and Howard Office. The resident where Loman family live is a place where the population grow fastly. As Willy said, “There’s more people! That’s what’s ruining this country! Population is getting out of control. The competition is maddening! Smell the stink from that apartment house! And other one on the other side…How can they whip cheese?”  New York City and Barnaby River in the USA.    

             

Characters

            There are four major characters. They are Loman Family; Willy, Biff, Happy, and Linda. They were building the story from the beginning, in the middle and the closing. The Minor Character came in the middle of story and became a part of the external conflict of Willy Loman. From the relation with them we got the character of the major character. They are Bernard, The Woman, Charley, Uncle Ben, Howard Wagner, Jenny, Stanley, Miss Forsythe, and Letta.

1.Willy Loman

            Willy Loman is a road salesman, one who sells in a given territory by driving and spent most of his time in the road. He worked for thirty four years at the Wagner Company. It meant that he gave almost of his life loyally in the same company. He wanted to be a salesman like Dave Singleman who the only one salesman in the world have a good way of life, well liked in twenty or thirty different cities, be remembered and loved and helped by so many different people, and at his funeral, many people came to honor. Things were sad a lotta trains for month after that. Willy imitated him and never evaluate his step by reflect his life. It’s because his life almost on the road. He didn’t enjoy and thanks for his life because of his ambition to be like his idol. He searched the dream to be “well liked” and conquered the world. He searched popularity; to be known by many people, prosperity; not only to fulfill his family but also as a standard of success, and to be honored at his funeral.  

He believed that he will get more money and a better life by work hard, driving along the day and sell products.  In fact in his sixties, he didn’t reach his dream. His dream and ability to get money is not balance. This condition made his internal and external conflicts. First, he regretted his decision to be a salesman. He was left his desire to go to Alaska as his Father did. The second, He regretted two reasons which forbid him to go to Alaska; well liked and loved by his sons. He was losing the two of them. He became an admirer of the beautiful moment and the pride in the past when his son, Biff conquered the world with football. Then he never live his present honestly. His memories and felling from the past disturbed him in the present.

He became lack of control when driving and several time almost killed him. At the restaurant, Willy can’t control of himself when Biff told him that he failed to get support from Oliver and again he stole a fountain pen from him. His desire to buy seeds and planting his garden done when all hope seems like disappear. He decided to plant his garden after his son left him in the restaurant. Event he work with modernity, a desire in his deepest heart is longing back to nature. That’s all showed us that Willy run away from his real world. And the final act of his pattern of life is committing suicide. His dream killed him, his world killed him. And like a seed dead in the soil, his death produced fruit for his son. So that Biff and Happy inherited money from his insurance. And In the requiem, Happy said that he will realize Willy’s dream.

2.Linda

            She is the representative of moralist. She became a model of good character. She support and understanding Willy. She has developed an iron repression of her exceptions to Willy’s behavior- she more than loves him, she admires him, as though this mercurial nature, his temper, his massive dreams and little cruelties…(Pg 2).

             Linda care about Willy’s situation. She knew how Willy tired of his job. She asked him to stop driving and get a proper way with his condition. Where were you all day? You look terrible. Well, you’ll just to take a rest, Willy, you can’t continue this way. But you didn’t rest your mind. Your mind is overactive, and the mind is what counts, dear. Take an aspirin. Should I get you an aspirin? It’ll soothe you. And Willy told her how he dreaming and disturbing with such strange thoughts. Willy, dear. Talk to them again. There’s no reason why you can’t work in New York.

            When Willy wanted to meet Howard, Linda supported him by saying, “It’s changing. Willy, I can feel it changing!” She became a good massager from her sons that they invite Willy to diner at Frank’s Chop House. She reminded Willy about his glasses, handkerchief, saccharine, and his careless. “Be careful on the subway stairs.” And again she reminded him about the diner with his sons.     

She has an ability to manage finance. At the end of the story, she finished the payment of their house.  In the requiem Linda said, First time in thirty-five years we were just about free and clear…I made the last payment on the house today.  Today, today dear. And there’ll be nobody home. We’re free and clear.

This ability related to his attitude to say enough with everything she has. “You’re doing well enough, Willy! Enough to be happy right here, right now. Why must everybody conquer the world? You’re well liked, and the boys love you, and someday-(toBen)-why, old man Wagner told him just the other day that if he keeps it up he’ll be a member of the firm, didn’t he Willy?” Her acceptance to the condition made her strong and patience. She accepted Willy with love. She recognized his weakness. She knew that Willy was only a boat looking like a harbor. But she never spited him.

            Linda asked Biff to love their father as he loved her. She was the real bound of the family. She said like this when Biff blamed his Father in the night Willy’s walked alone outside, “Biff, dear, if you don’t have any feeling for him, then you can’t have any feeling for me. You can’t just come to see me, because I love him. He’s the dearest man in the world to me, and I won’t have anyone making him feel unwanted and low and blue. You’ve got to make up your mind now, darling, there’s no leeway anymore. Either he’s your father and you pay him that respect, or else you’re not to come here. I know he’s not easy to get along with—nobody knows that better than me—but...”

3.Biff

Biff is two years older than his brother Happy, well built, but in these days bears a worn air and seems less self-assured. He succeeded less, and his dreams are stronger and less acceptable than Happy’s. In high school Biff is a captain of football team. He conquered the world by winning a championship. It made Willy pride. Willy always support him even he did something wrong like a thief. It showed how their relations close. But in the story there was a quarrel between them. This matter made his relation with his father worst. It happened when Biff looked by his own eyes that his father has a mistress. Happy is a good boy who loved his mother so much so that he didn’t forgive his father. He felt disappointed for what his father done. It influenced him to make up his math in order to study in the university.   

When he came home and talked with Happy, he said that he like a boy. It’s because he like to steal something from every place he worked for. He went from one job to another kind of job; shipping clerk, salesman, and businessman. Until the end he aware that he must suffer for fifty weeks work on the hot of summer for the sake of two weeks on vacation. And then he enjoyed his life by being a cowboy, work at farm in the west, from Dakotas, Arizona to Texas. He said that he enjoy work outdoors for a mare and a new colt. And again when the spring came he was aware that his wage is only twenty-eight a week. He was aware that he didn’t found himself at thirty-fourth. He was better than his father by reflected his life and tried to get a better life.

Biff was hate business because of the discipline. He was like freedom like a boy at outside. “Screw the business world! I don’t care what they think! (Happy said that in the business world some people think Biff is crazy) They laughed at Dad for years, and you know why? Because we don’t belong in this nuthouse of a city! We should be mixing cement on some open plain or-or carpenters. A carpenter is allowed to whistle!” His character made him proper to work outside the office because he could enjoy it. But that kind of job wasn’t suit with Willy’s dream because of low wage and prestige. And he threw away from the house when he fights with his father. 

Biff said to his mother that three month before he came home, he didn’t have any address. In fact he was in jail. Even in one side he is bad, but in the other side he loved his mother so much. Cause of that love, he wanted to help his father. He wanted to respect his father by trying to get support from Oliver. And after he stole a fountain pen from Oliver’s office, he reflected his life and decided not to steal again. But he didn’t brave to recognize his weakness in front Oliver by gave it back to him. It closed his chance to get support from him. But at the end of the story he opened his life before his family and also his father rubber pipe. Biff took a rubber pipe which will be used by Willy as an item for committing suicide. And it showed in front of Willy, Linda, and Happy. This is the climax of his freedom that he found himself; he knew who are himself and his family.

In the Requiem, he was aware that his father made mistake with his dream. It’s mean that he aware that the way his father gave to him is wrong. Biff said, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong. He never knew he was.” He said, “I know who I am.” And with a hopeless glance at happy, bends toward his mother to go from the grave, ”Let’s go mom!”, to starting a new life.

4.Happy

Happy is tall powerful made. Sexuality is like a visible color on him, or a scent that many women have discovered. He like his brother, is lost, but in different way, for he was never allowed himself to turn his face toward defeat and is thus more confused and hard-skinned, although seemingly more content.

Happy knew Biff well. He knew his weakness and power. He supported him but also showed his weakness. “Sure you will. The trouble with you in business was you never tried to please people. Like when you worked for Harrison’s. You don’t raise a guy to responsible job who whistles in the elevator!”Like when you’d go off and swim in the middle of the day instead of taking the line around.”

His acceptance was a big grace inherited from his mom. He accepted his brother so that he invented an idea of sport goods business. This business is really suitable for Biff and also made Willy happy. Happy accepted his father who sometimes speaks alone. He knew his father’s problem. That made him still open conversation with his father even there is problem with him.

Happy had a good confidence to make a conversation with a girl. For the sake of make a close relation with Ms Forsythe, he told that he was a salesman. And again he used Biff as the most famous football player in order to attract her. But the worst thing he did was going with Ms Forsythe and left his father alone in restaurant. He said to Letta and Ms Forsythe, “That’s not my father. He’s just a guy.” It showed us that Happy was longing to be near a girl and didn’t enjoy near his father.

Happy said to his parents that he wanted to marriage. But he told it at inappropriate time so that they both didn’t take it seriously. Linda said, “Go to sleep dear”, and his father said, “Keep up the good work.” From these answer we knew that his father forced him to work and get a good position. He worked well so that he gave her mother fifty dollars at Christmas time and send his father to the vacation in Florida.

At the end of the story Happy received Willy’s dream, the American’s dream, the human dream by saying, “I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in Vain. He had a good dream.It’s the only dream you can have – come out number-one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him.” He is the new Willy. And Happy is the last person who left the grave. It’s mean that he has the biggest emotion with his father.    

Theme

            Tragedy of Human Dream

Symbol

Salesman and the leader of Wagner Company (Conversation between Willy and Howard) is a symbol of injustice in the business world.

            Salesman is men who sell products which manufacture in the company. They were representing the company before customer. So the company searched an attractive, young, and speaks fluently in order to get more customer. And they gave their life time to the company and also paid the insurance of their life. They worked in discipline, obeyed rules, and competed by the other in number of selling. After several years worked for the same company, they couldn’t leave because they would lose their insurance. They were in the hand of company.

            On the other hand they worked for their life and the payment of installment and their house. All they needs produced by the other company. They were giving their life time in their job and never took a time to thinking about their life. And their life run day by day until they old and doesn’t attractive anymore. When their friends are retired and died, they lose their field of work. The new leader will fired him easily because they are not productive. Business is business as Howard says.

            The injustice never looked by the law of the country because of the system in the company was like that. The capitalist, the leader of the company spend many time to joy their life with family and their hobbies. On the contrary his people, salesmen might work hard every day. And he gave them bonus in order to increase their effort to sell the products more and more. Howard never experienced how hard driving seven hundred kilo meters. He enjoyed life by using new item such as wire recorder, sports, and his family. On the contrary, Willy was getting old and almost died in the road.

            As Willy said that a man is not a piece of fruit! You can’t eat orange and throw the peel away. But in the business world it happened. Business world is our world now where capitalism became so strong and conquered the world with their values; competition to be rich, honored and well liked and popular. And everybody went to the city in order to fulfill those values. They were thinking that city gave them chance to reach prosperity like Howard. But the fact they used by the capitalist to make them more prosperous and rich because they will live in the capitalist system. And many city are getting worst environmentally in many countries in the world.

            Massage from this novel is quiet clear; we must follow the right values if we want to be happy in the world right now. We have no power to change the system. So we must aware about the risk if we live in the system right now. Pride, honored, popularity, and richness never gave us the real happiness. The real happiness came from acceptance for everything we had. Our dream was good to help us in order to develop our life. But our Family, life, forgiveness, and also our powerlessness to change the world is the most important thing if want to be happy. We are only a little dust in the eye of entire world. The biggest fault of Willy is he didn’t know himself, never forgave his past, and follow the values of the capitalist world. On the contrary Linda showed us how to accept the condition and happy with it.   

Love is a key of happiness.

Love is about

Forgiveness,

Acceptance,

to say thanks and enough for everything we had.

Dreams are our desire to develop our life. But sometimes it scratches and broke the love.

“You’re doing well enough, Willy! Enough to be happy right here, right now. Why must everybody conquer the world?” (Linda)

At the Holy Saturday, on the day before Jesus risen up from the death,

April 11 2009

References:

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Barron’s Book Notes. 1984

Picture from:

Britannica Encyclopedia the ultimate reference 2008

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia