Sunday, November 4, 2012
Response to Course Material November 4
I feel as though this unit on Death of a Salesman is beating a dead horse a little bit. There are two reasons I think that: first, Death of a Salesman is part of the curriculum for American Lit. and a lot the students have already had a class in which the story and its symbolism were discussed in detail. Secondly, it seems that this play the exact same thing as The American Dream in a lot of ways. Both center on a family obsessed with consumerism and the capitalist system, and in both the author makes a powerful message about how this attitude leads to death and destruction. Admittedly, these two plays are still quite different in style even though their themes are the same, and it seems that we will still be able to learn a lot from doing a close reading and analysis of both, and then comparing the two. However, I feel it would be more interesting to branch out from the theme of the horrors of capitalism instead. There is such a huge variety of good literature out there, and we have such a short time to cover it this year, it seems almost a waste to spend so much time on two plays that are so similar. For this reason, I like the reading from the textbook more than a lot of the other assignments we do. The textbook gives a lot of excerpts from various texts; in chapter four we got to read work from Amy Tan, Langston Hughes, and several other well-known authors. The textbook gives a much better all-around knowledge of literature than reading the specific texts in detail does. Obviously, we have to study the texts that will allow us to pass the AP test, but I sometimes think we could gain more from the course if we didn't have the exam to worry about.
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I actually found Death of a Salesman to be a very good addition to our curriculum, although I did not take American Literature. I do admit that there are quite a few aspects of it that correspond to those discussed in The American Dream, but I think this play brought a lot more to the table. The story itself is much deeper and there are a lot of themes not discussed (or perhaps just more prominent than) in The American Dream such as familial bonds, stealing/cheating, self sacrifice, selling, success, and American business. One thing that you said, "Both center on a family obsessed with consumerism...", interested me. I wouldn't say that the Loman family was obsessed with consumerism, but rather with the idea of being successful. I feel that they cared more about embodying wealth and success than having material items and sometimes having things like a chevy were just part of that image.
ReplyDeleteOn these responses as a whole: I think that it would be better to write briefly on multiple subjects and the connections they make rather than to write all about ONE subject. As such, we can better grasp what your feelings about the WHOLE course to this point is, rather than just your feelings on ONE facet of it.
ReplyDeleteI actually liked adding Death of a Salesman to our reading, but I can see why you find it repetitive. Cool insight on branching out to capitalism, I think that that would be a great way to expand on this topic!
Personally, the reason I liked adding Death of a Salesman is because it was OVERWHELMINGLY different than The American Dream, but had a similar theme. They differed in plot, setting, tone, characters, and more while keeping to a theme centered around anti-consumerism and (perhaps) anti-capitalism.
First off: I think that you should probably have more than just one subject in your Response. It tells us how you feel about the course as a whole, rather than just one facet of it.
ReplyDeleteI actually liked adding DoS to what we read. I thought that it offered a fresh look at the theme of consumerism, materialism, and -- now -- capitalism. however, I can see why you found it repetitive and boring. Nice idea about expanding into the horrors of capitalism, by the way. I think that that would be a great way for us to spend time (rather than the time-consuming -- though entertaining -- class discussions we have).
Back to DoS, I thought that the reason it was good to read centered around how different it was from The American Dream. They differed in plot, characters, tone, setting, and more, while still focusing on consumerism and materialism.
This is a great response! I completely understand where you're coming from. I've taken American Literature and understood Salesman rather well. This year, I was able to see more complex aspects Miller includes that I didn't recognize before, but I think we could of spent our time more efficiently than watching Salesman for the 3rd time. You make a great point on reading about different themes, doing this would probably make us better readers by analyzing different situations. You support your claims well, good job.
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