1990. Choose a novel or play that depicts a conflict between a parent (or parental figure) and a son or daughter. Write an essay in which you analyze the sources of the conflict and explain how the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. Avoid plot summary.
One very famous play that comes to mind when thinking about conflicts between a parent and their child, is Death of a Salesman. Willy Loman doesn't approve of his son, Biff's, actions. Biff doesn't believe that Willy, Happy, his brother, and he can make it out in the business world. These father-son conflicts began at a young age, and have become worse since then. The conflict between Willy and Biff puts a huge weight on the rest of the family, and forces the whole family to see the truth about who they really are.
Willy and Biff's problems started after Biff graduated high school when Biff went to Willy, who was on a business trip in Boston, about failing his math class. This was when he caught Willy having an affair. Things weren't the same since. It wasn't just the fact that Willy was cheating on Linda, Biff's mother, though. Biff felt betrayed by the person he loved most in the world. He looked up to his father so much, and on that day when he found out his father's secret, he realized that everything his father had told him since he was young, was a lie. Willy was not as good a man as he talked himself up to be.
The affair was definitely a source of the conflict, but another source would be how Willy tried to teach Biff and his brother, Happy, his superficial idea of the American Dream since they were young. Willy always told them that as long as they were well-liked, then everything would work out for them in life, and they would be rich. He also told the boys that they were the best out there and no one could tell them what to do. Biff believed this, but it backfired on him. He realized that he is nothing special, he is just an ordinary man. Biff even says to his father in the play, that what Willy had been telling him was all wrong, and that this dream of his should stop before someone gets hurt.
Biff and Willy disagreed on a lot of things, but the main one, was about Biff going out West and working. Willy had always dreamed that his sons would both become big, successful businessmen. Although Happy did go into business, he wasn't too successful. When Biff came back from out west, he tried to please his father by trying to get a job in the city, but when it didn't workout, it blew up in everyone's face. The whole family was forced to face the truth that the Loman men, were indeed "low men" and there was no escaping it. This put a lot of pressure on Linda too because she was constantly trying to mend Biff and Willy's relationship, but ended up just getting pushed to the side.
All in all, Biff and Willy's put a tremendous amount of pressure on the family, and pushed them to the breaking point. It showed that Willy's idea of the American Dream is very superficial and unrealistic. They shouldn't have tried to be what they were not just to be well-liked, because that clearly did not help any of them in achieving their ideal American Dream.
Mehar, I think that your introduction could be used to provide more of an overview of what you're about to say, as that's the style of writing I prefer in AP-type essays, but it could just be personal preference so don't feel obligated to change anything about your style. I think that your introduction sort of throws out an example of how Biff and Willy's relationship is stressed, but it would be better just to use the initial paragraph as a place where you can say what you think and leave WHY you think it (the evidence) for later. The statement that Biff would prefer to be out West seems to be a reference to a piece of evidence, but it could be stronger if you say that Biff and Willy have contrasting visions as to what valuable work is and that their systems of values are what are at conflict, rather than a decision to move to a different area of the country.
ReplyDeleteOther than this focus on big ideas vs. smaller details, I thought that your essay did a great job with drawing details into the essay to add to your evidence, like where you said that the Loman family were "low men" in one of the later paragraphs. Overall, a really good Open Prompt essay.
I agree with Chris that the first paragraph could be more fluid about the topic you are about to present overall. I think you should not just right away focus on the relationship but what about the relationship that makes it relate to the book. I loved the details that you brought into the story about his relationship when he went to Boston and how Biff felt about his father having an affair, that really showed how their relationship was coming to conflicts. Overall you did a really good job.
ReplyDeleteHey Mehar, I really enjoyed reading your piece. Death of a Salesman definitely contained a strained relationship between father and son. I wouldn't really have a good idea about what to write about if I got this prompt on the AP test but I think you certainly did a good job with it. I think in your first paragraph just adding a clear cut thesis that really pulled all of your thoughts into one or two sentences would be good. Other than that, I thought your writing was really good!
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