[lit-ideas] Re: Death of a Thinker
- From: "Veronica Caley" <vcaley@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:15:45 -0500
<Is it possible that Willy could have found his bliss in his family
instead of his job? I suspect it would have been more satisfying in the
long run.>
I was astounded to hear a statistic about how the vast majority of the
public was poor in the US until the '50s. I sort of suspect that Willy
took either the only job he could get or the job that paid the most. Many
people do this thinking that it is for their families, college tuition,
good clothes, nice house etc.
I think the reason that 'Death of a Salesman' was such a hit is that
millions of people who saw it either could identify with Willy's economic
as well as family situation, or knew someone who was in the same position
as he.
In my case, my father was an independent businessmen who had $2,000 when he
died at 88 in a nursing home paid for by the state. My brother-in-law was
a Belgian who work for a company satisfactorily for the grandfather
and his son in the company they owned. When the grandson took over, he was
fired, probably for his age. Of course, I only heard my brother-in-law's
version of the story. For all I know, he might have been telling the
grandson how to run his business.
Nevertheless, I think the fear of poverty and coming down the ladder after
one has climbed it, is something that haunts millions of Americans.
People remember or have read or experienced themselves bank failures,
Enrons, stock market failures, dollar devaluation, etc. And now, with
Social Security in jeopardy, that just about finishes safety nets.
> [Original Message]
> From: Andy Amago <aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>; <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Date: 2/15/2005 9:08:00 PM
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Death of a Thinker
>
> In all seriousness, drawing one's own lines outside the bounds of
decency or societal restraints, otherwise known as abandoning a family,
seems a prerequisite for greatness as well as for being true to one's
dreams; responsibility seems the path to mediocrity (a house, a paycheck,
playing with the kids, etc.). Today a man like Shakespeare who abandons
his family for his career would be considered a lowlife. On the other
hand, rappers and many others do it all the time and are quite the
celebrities. Do our changing standards for mainstream behavior mean that
greatness is a thing of the past, except for those willing to sacrifice
their children?
>
> I think complicating matters is that greatness and happiness are not
always synonymous. Is it possible that Willy could have found his bliss in
his family instead of his job? I suspect it would have been more
satisfying in the long run. I have heard Joseph Campbell say life is about
following one's bliss. I still think that is what life is about, but the
sentence needs some definitions I think.
>
>
> Andy Amago
>
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: William Ball <ballnw@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Feb 15, 2005 11:45 AM
> To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Death of a Thinker
>
> We draw no lines. The artist does.
>
> Could have been someone like J. J. Rousseau who abandoned his family and
> wrote "Emile, ou lEducation," then helped launch a literary movement
> called Romanticism.
>
> William Ball
> Norma Ball=20
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: lit-ideas-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:lit-ideas-
> > bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Andy Amago
> > Sent: Tuesday, February 15, 2005 10:30 AM
> > To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx; lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Death of a Thinker
> >=20
> > I agree completely. I wonder, though. Shakespeare followed his
> > dream, as did other writers and people of his day and other days. To
> do
> > that he had to abandon his wife and young children and head for
> > London to be a playwrite. We are richer for his self-centeredness and
> > abrogation of responsibility, but his children suffered. Where does
> one
> > draw the line?
> >=20
> >=20
> > Andy Amago
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> >=20
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: William Ball <ballnw@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> > Sent: Feb 15, 2005 10:02 AM
> > To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > Subject: [lit-ideas] Re: Death of a Thinker
> >=20
> > Willy took the road well worn, not "The Road Not Taken". He chose
> > the
> > worn road that leads to nowhere, the road of any salesman, or safe job
> > in the civil service. He should have gone to Alaska to mine for gold.
> He
> > should have made flutes, like the one we hear in the play, he should
> > have had the courage to follow his dreams.
> >=20
> > Lines: Willy, "The woods are burning I tell you." Willy's wife at
> > graveside, "Attention must be paid to this man."=3D20
> >=20
> > See the production with Lee J. Cobb as Willy. It's on tape, I think.
> > Cobb played it on Broadway in 1949,
> >=20
> > We all have some or all of Willy in us. That's what scares hell out of
> > us.
> >=20
> > And I tell you right now, the woods are burning.
> >=20
> >=20
> > Bill Ball
> >=20
> > P. S. The play has very little to do with communism/capitalism. It's
> > about all us low men, the tragedy of the common man because he's so
> > common.
>
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