Death of a Salesman blog

Hi folks.  Once again, I will express how totally proud I am of you all, regarding your mock-test scores. :)  Well done!!! 

For this blog, I would like you to tackle Death of a Salesman in three different chunks:

- Choose one of the characters to analyze and identify what his or her "American dream" seemed to be, based on his/her behavior throughout the play.  Please discuss this character's complex "relationship" with  this American dream; what drew the character towards this dream?  What hinders the character from achieving this dream?  (Please don't hesitate the Use CDs to support your response in this paragraph.

- Then, identify how this character's struggle with his/her dream informs the meaning of the work as a whole.   (This is something we need practice in discussing.)  Consider: what over-arching themes of the play does this character's journey play into?  What message might Arthur Miller be trying to convey through this particular character's "reckoning" with a dream?  What's the "so-what" factor here? Once again, use CDs to support your response in this paragraph.

- Lastly, discuss your own American Dream.  You can either choose to identify what you feel the current "American Dream" is (I think most of us would say the current dream being pitched by our society/media is no longer the suburbia/white-picket-fence/Ford in the driveway/2.5 kids, etc.-- so what IS it now?) and discuss the merits or pit-falls of this American Dream.  OR, you can choose to spring-board off the essay you wrote for Mrs. Harris last year and discuss your personal dream in new depth.  If your "dream" has changed since that Junior-year essay or if you have more than one you want to reflect on, feel free to write about a different dream than you did last year.  Once again, consider: what about this dream appeals to you?  What about this dream scares you?  What about this dream will challenge you?  And so on.

Looking forward to reading these!