Biographical Lit Crit

Arthur Miller was born in New York in 1915. Growing up, Miller was part of a well-to-do family. He lived a good and stable life until the stock market crash in 1929. Miller’s father lost his business and his money, so his family was forced to relocate outside of the city in a smaller house. The hard work that Miller’s father had put into his job was all for not. In Arthur Miller’s most famous work, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is plagued with a similar fate. Miller drew events from his childhood to create a story that people could connect to. Willy Loman works his whole life but never gets ahead. In the same way, Miller’s father worked only to have everything that he worked to build fall apart. Miller’s idea that the working world is a tragic place comes from his first hand view of the system failing his family. 

The story is set in Brooklyn, New York which is the very place that Miller moved after the financial fall. The play takes place in the late 1940’s, a time of great prosperity for the United States just coming out of war. With such a great economy to support Willy, his job as a salesman should have produced great results. In reality, Willy is never able to earn enough money for his family. Miller’s critique of the American Dream reflects his family’s personal downfall in the same way. Miller shows the audience that capitalism does not help everyone because it is possible to work your whole life for nothing. By looking past the gold covering of the time period, Miller showed that not everything was as perfect as society often made it out to be. The critique of capitalism, the American Dream, and society shows Miller’s disdain for a capitalistic system which had spurned him in the past. 

Works Cited

"Arthur Miller Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.biography.com/people/arthur-miller-9408335#synopsis>.

"Arthur Miller: Private Conversations on The Set of Death of a Salesman." PBS. PBS, 23 Aug. 2004. Web. 04 Feb. 2016. <http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/arthur-miller-none-without-sin/56/>.

Death of a Salesman Question

"My own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I'm lonely" (12).

How does the pursuit of the "American Dream" affect each character so far in the play? What point is Miller ultimately trying to make?

New Year Photo Walk

I decided to do my photo walk at night which was very cold, but I didn't mind. My dog, Riley, and I were all cuddled up, but she was excited to go for a walk.  The first thing that I noticed was my neighbor's Christmas lights that are still up. Usually they put up a 12 their front yard, but they didn't do as much this year. It was still pretty and added a little Seahawks flare to the neighborhood which I appreciate. They are the last remnant of Christmas as well. That leads me to the next thing that I saw which was a chopped up Christmas tree. It was really depressing and signified the death of Christmas 2015. With Christmas being my favorite holiday I never want it to end. This was a sad representation of the end of another Christmas season. The last thing that I reflected on was my neighborhood. I have lived there my whole life and it hit me on the walk that I won't be living there for a majority of the next year. It is a year of new beginnings which is scary but exciting. I can't wait to see what new things 2016 brings with it!

Music Tuesday

"Get'cha Head In The Game”

Coach said to fake right and break left

Watch out for the pick

And keep your eye on defense

You gotta run the give and go

And take the ball to the hole

But don't be afraid

To shoot the outside J

Just keep yah head in the game

Just keep yah head in the game

And Don't be afraid to shoot the outside J

Just keep yah head in the game

You gotta get'cha get'cha head in the game

We gotta get our get our get our get our head in the game (x4)

Lets make sure that we get the rebound

'Cause when we get it the crowd will go wild

A second chance gotta grab it and go

Maybe this time we'll hit the right notes

Wait a minute

It's not the time or place

Wait a minute

Get my head in the game

Wait a minute

Get my head in the game

Wait a minute

Wait a minute

I gotta

Get my, get my head in the game

You gotta

Get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game

(Repeat 4x)

Why am I feeling so wrong

My head's in the game

But my heart's in the song

She makes this feel so right

(Spoken)

Should I go for it

Better shake this, yikes! 

I gotta

Get my, get my head in the game

You gotta

Get'cha, get'cha, get'cha, get'cha head in the game

(Repeat 4x)

In this song we see the aphorism of getting your head in the game. This shows us how important the mental aspect of the game is. Getting Troy’s head in the game is something that the team needs and something that he is trying to do, but also gives us a universal truth.

We also see an aside as Troy discusses his true feelings for basketball and singing. His teammates are still on the court with him but they cannot see the true extent of his feelings during this song. The audience gets to see into Troy’s internal struggle. 

The atmosphere of the song also helps to set the mood of the song. It is very repetitive but also chaotic. This mirrors Troy’s internal conflict between music and basketball. His thoughts are chaotic and he can’t focus on practice. The atmosphere also makes us feel pity for Troy and sympathize with his confusion. 

Reflection on the Trial of Antigone

I thought that the trial went very well! It was something that I had originally dreaded doing, but I think it turned out well in the end. I was glad that we got to do it for the other classes because it made it seem more realistic, and it seemed like there were real stakes. I was somewhat surprised by the jury's decision that Antigone was innocent. I think that gender did have a lot to do with the voting. One girl told me afterwards that she thought the prosecution had a more logically argument but she still sided with Antigone because of the pathos of the argument. I think that the directors did a marvelous job at keeping things on track and making sure that the time went smoothly.

Antigone Discussion

"My heart was long since dead" (141).

"There she may pray to Death, the god she loves" (147).

Do you think that Antigone had already accepted death before she buried her brother?

Antigone Discussion

"You ought to realize we are only women, not meant in nature to fight against men, and that we are ruled, by those who are stronger, to obedience in this and even more painful matters" (lines 70-74).

What is the view on women/ their role? How does this view effect Ismene and Antigone's actions?