Themes and Life Lessons

Blog Post #5- 8/2/11

     Bernard is always there to remind Biff and his family that school is important. He is trying to give them a reality check and remind them that if Biff does not do well, especially in math, he will not be able to graduate. Biff cheats his way through and uses his fame to get other students to do his work. Willy disregards Bernard's advice and never says no or reprimands him. Willy says, "I never in my life told him anything but decent things." He is obsessed with Biff and molding him into the perfect man Willy wishes he could have been when he was young. He never says no because he is oblivious to his flaws and only focuses on his potential as a popular, successful man.
     In one scene, Willy says, "The world is an oyster, but you don't crack it open on a mattress!" This is a huge theme that relates to reality. His witty saying basically says that one has to work very hard to achieve success. It is never easy and one cannot just breeze through life if they want to have ultimate prize. Another theme was spoken by Ben when he said, "Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way." In my eyes, the jungle Ben frequently speaks about symbolizes the harsh reality of life. He basically says that you have to do what you have to do in order to make the most of life. If it takes being sneaky, then so be it if you can attain what you want. This quote is a very interesting thought and I like the way this life motif was phrased.
     Happy says for the third time that he has lost weight. This shows he is still trying to be noticed by Willy and praised. Willy later says that he feels, "kind of temporary," about himself. To me, this is a confession of his insecurities. Similar to Biff, he has not yet found himself. Also around this time in the play I was starting to understand that Willy is having flashbacks. At first it was very hard to determine what was the past and what was the present. Willy also talks to himself which was at first odd, but then became occurred frequently. His family is worried about his sanity because he is inside of his head and sometimes thinks he is in the past.