Students will construct a chart comparing family life in the medieval times to family life in modern times covering the following topics:
a. affection
b. marriage
c. parental roles
d. nature of childhood
e. education
Introduction to Plays
As stated previously in our introduction we chose plays over novels and short stories for their readability and for their ease at following characterization. We chose three specific plays for several reasons. These plays portray families from three different ethnic backgrounds (Black, White, Hispanic). The families have some similar economic difficulties, lack of money, success, and ability to lock into the American dream. Yet, each family follows its own course in dealing with these difficulties.
A central question that might be asked concerning the families in each of these plays is ‘What makes some families fall apart in the face of severe difficulties, while other families are able to pull together, and stay together?’ Above all else, above color, class, and opportunity, these plays represent families struggling with universal and timeless issues that concern all families. Though these works and the families contained within them are creations of the writer’s mind, they speak truths to us in our own lives, and certainly reveal insights to us in remembering and thinking about our own families. We hope to help our students in perceiving some of these insights in our discussion of these plays.
Death of A Salesman
Death of A Salesman is the story about a white working class family. Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, is the head of the family. He has worked for thirty-four years. He thinks of himself as being very important to his company, traveling across New England and selling his goods.
The play begins with Willy returning home from what was to have been an extended trip to New England. He returns after only a few hours. He talks to his wife, Linda, about the deterioration of the things around him, his ability to keep his mind on his driving, and most importantly he talks about their son, Biff.
Biff has just recently returned from home after being away for fourteen years. Willy continually thinks about Biff, not as the man he has become, but as the Biff of high school days (playing football and courting scholarships). Biff hasn’t really become a man; he never really found himself.
In high school, Biff was a very good football player, but he flunked math in his senior year. Biff journeys to Boston to explain to Willy his failure. But because of Willy’s own failures and weaknesses Biff is unable to really talk to his father and Willy is unable to reach out to Biff. Biff and Willy never have true closeness nor can each trust the other after this incident. Both Biff’s maturation and Willy’s remembrance of past days are frozen in time.
Biff, after fourteen years of menial jobs, gets together with his brother Happy and tries to think up some better jobs for himself in New York. He thinks about asking a former employer for a loan of ten thousand dollars. Willy for a while dreams with them thinking that they really can make a go of it. He tries for another less demanding job himself within his company. Not only is Willy rebuffed by his employer, but is removed from his present position as a traveling salesman. Even though an old friend of Willy’s offers him a job in New York, Willy refuses. His pride is crushed and yet it is his pride that will not allow him to accept this other position. Biff doesn’t get his loan and makes an attempt to talk honestly with Willy about himself and his failures. Willy is unable to hear Biff, listening only to his own voices and believing in his own illusions. Biff makes one final attempt to reach out to Willy later on in the play but Willy is beyond reach. Willy is locked in his own private world, imagining things that can’t be, unable to see the truth around him.
Finally, possibly seeing beyond the illusion that he has carried with him for years, Willy commits suicide. His death will give his family twenty thousand dollars. Willy, who throughout his life wants to be well liked and remembered, dies a forgotten individual because no one attends his funeral.
Affection, while not synonymous with responsibility, does strongly imply it, particularly in the context of the family.
Willy loves Happy and Biff but fails to give them a sense of responsibility. He gives them style over substance, image over reality. When Happy and Biff are children they are shielded from the consequences of the world, but as they grow older the flaws in their upbringing become more evident with increasingly negative results. Happy grows into a foolish, irresponsible adult, and Biff into a distant, cold, and unconnected individual. If it is true that no one is happier than the parents when their children succeed, then the opposite must be true—no one is sadder than the parents when their children fail. Willy sets his children up for failure because he is weak and transfers his weaknesses and illusions to his children. He senses their failures as adults but can’t admit them and he is truly a sad man because of it. If any lesson is to be learned, it may be that parents must love their children wisely, recognizing that children need discipline, moderation, and reality in order to grow into responsible adults.
Linda loves Willy inspite of all his failings and difficulties. She takes very much a secondary role to Willy and maintains a sad, yet loving affection for her sons. She acts as a mediator between the sons and their father but really keeps a low profile throughout their interactions. She defends Willy to her sons as she senses the great rift between them. She is the faithful wife and loving mother. In spite of her attempts to speak about the issues that are destroying her family, she is unable to bring about a lasting reunion. Her character is hopeful in spirit but too passive by nature, and she like her sons and Willy can only hold onto dreams that will never come true.
Willy and his family are to an extent like many families who live on the fringes of the economic mainstream: hard working and proud, yet unable to quite succeed to a level where financial pressures cease to become an obsession for living. Willy is an extremely proud man, who invests part of himself in everything he buys. His house, his car, even his refrigerator become symbols of accomplishment. When these fail, Willy takes it very personally.
The house Willy and Linda own is a place of good memories and comfort, a refuge from the intensity of the outside world. When Willy laments the construction of larger buildings erected on the sides of his little house, he is speaking for everyone who has had to cope with the push of an often times impersonal modern expansion intruding into a community.
When Willy loses his position as a salesman, he loses not only his source of income but his connection to what made him tick as a person. This isn’t just a job that Willy works from eight till five; it is Willy; it is his life. When he loses this and all the illusions he had built around it, he essentially loses much of what is important to him in life. He has every right to expect better treatment from his company. It isn’t unreasonable to expect to be treated with dignity when you have invested a large piece of your life in a job. Yet, we know all too well the stories that appear with regularity concerning factory closings and layoffs. Individuals and their families dependent upon such unskilled jobs for their livelihood would seem the most vulnerable to this situation. Willy’s personality flaws predisposed him and his children to a life of frustration and struggle. Society in its often callous and unforgiving way (particularly life in the American business world) also shares responsibility in dooming Willy and ultimately his family to their tragic end.
Questions we will discuss with our students concerning
Death of A Salesman
are:
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1. What are the problems faced by Willy and his family and all families when the head of the house loses his/her job?
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2. What are the problems faced by Biff and his family and all families when adult sons/daughters can neither find a good job nor hold a job?
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3 How do Willy and Linda raise their children? What are the issues parents must face in promoting a sense of responsibility in their children?
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4. What is affection and how is it expressed in the Loman family?
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5. How are families affected by a death in the family?
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6. What are the responsibilities of a father to his son, and a son to his father? What are the problems in the relationship between Willy and Biff?
The Oxcart
The Oxcart
is a play about a puerto Rican family which moves from the mountainous region of Puerto Rico to the city of San Juan and finally to New York City. The family consists of the mother (Dn. Gabriella), eldest son (Luis), teenage daughter (Juanita), youngest son (Chaquito), and the grandfather (Don Chago).
The play indicates that the family once owned a large farm but because of hurricanes, and later the taking over of the land by the government and corporations, they now live on three acres of land in a small dwelling. Since the father had passed away, their economic situation became worse and they cannot afford the mortgage on the land.
Luis, the eldest, decides they would move to San Juan where he could work in a factory and where Chaquito can get a better education. The new home in San Juan is a disappointment to the whole family. They are now living in a shack where there is no land for planting crops. Chaquito resorts to stealing, and Juanita’s attitudes toward life and family change because of unfortunate experiences and influence of undesirable friends. Dn. Gabriella is very unhappy by the change in the family. Luis feels responsible for all the unhappiness and suggests that a move to America will solve all their problems because America is the land of opportunity. He believes that their only hope is to begin a new life.
They are now living in a low income apartment building in the Bronx. Luis works long hours in a factory to maintain the needs of the family. Juanita, although working, resorts to prostitution to make extra money and doesn’t live at home. Chaquito remains in San Juan after being arrested for theft.
The play ends tragically with Luis’s death as a result of an accident in the factory. Because of his death, Juanita finds an inner strength and decides to return to the “land” (Puerto Rico’s mountainous region) with Dn. Gabriella and begin a better life for Chaquito.
We find that inspite of the difficulties the family encounters the family is the main source of emotional support. This is expressed by Luis’s intense love for his mother and the constant desire to make life easier for her. Luis loves her even more than if he had been her own son, because he was grateful for her raising him as her own son.
The grandfather, Dn. Chago symbolizes the strength of traditional values. Although he loves the members of the family and wants very much to be with them, he cannot leave the land which is part of his existence.
In this culture, it is evident that the male portrayed by Luis is the dominant figure. Although Dn. Gabriella influences her children and they respect her, she never tries to change a situation once Luis decides on it. He makes all final decisions and the family members adhere to his authority.
Dn. Gabriella, because she loves Luis so much, never lets on that she is unhappy but reminds him constantly that he is doing the best he can for the family. She is caught between a culture where women cook, attend domestic chores and give support to their family and a culture where women are free to voice their opinions and also have the right to engage in social activities.
The children are viewed as a hope for a better future. The mother has hopes of Chaquito becoming educated. However, the only important factor considered for Juanita is that she find a good husband. The young lady portrayed in this play is to remain a virgin until marriage; if this is not the case, it is a disgrace to the family as a whole.
Dn. Gabriella, unhappy with the many changes the family has encountered, loses her zest for life and just exists. It isn’t until she receives a letter from Puerto Rico where her brother is encouraging her to return and work the land, that her spirit is somewhat lifted.
Questions we will discuss with our students concerning
The Oxcart
are:
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1. How does the love of the land affect the family? How does each move affect their lives?
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2. What does it mean to be the head of the family? What role does Dn. Gabriella play? How do you feel about her raising a child as her own since he was the son of her husband’s mistress?
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3. Would we view the character of Luis any different if the hints that he was not Dn. Gabriella’s son were not there?
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4. What pulled this family together? What pulled them apart?
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5. Can you give some reasons why Juanita resorted to prostitution? Can you sympathize with her actions?
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6. How does progress affect the family? How does history affect the family?
7. What evidence can we find that shows the affection between the family members?
Comparative questions between
Death of A Salesman
and
The Oxcart
:
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1. How do the families in
The Oxcart
and
Death of A Salesman
compare regarding raising their children and teaching them a sense of responsibility?
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2. What is the importance of work to the Loman Family and the family in
The Oxcart
; how did it affect their lives?
A Raisin In The Sun
A Raisin In The Sun
, the story of the Younger family, is about the affirmation of the human spirit. The play details the efforts of the Youngers, a poor black family struggling to overcome the barriers of poverty, prejudice, and adult irresponsibility on their journey toward the fulfillment of a dream. Their dream is to move out of their small, rundown apartment and into a house with a yard. Though the dream of buying a house is not shared initially by all the members of the family, it eventually becomes the focal point for pulling the family together.
The Younger family consists of Ruth, Travis, Beneathea, Walter Lee, and Lena (Mama). Each contributes a certain viewpoint and strength that helps this family succeed, but it really is Walter Lee’s and Lena’a story.
Lena Younger, the mother of the family receives ten thousand dollars from her late husband’s insurance. With this money she plans to put a down payment on a small house so her family can have a real home and help her youngest daughter, Beneathea, so she can attend medical school. Walter Lee, her son, has other ideas for the money; he plans to invest in a liquor store. Although, Mama refuses at first to give him the money, she relents and entrusts him with $6500.00, of which $3500.00 is to go into an account for Beneathea’s education and $3000.00 is to do with as he chooses. She has wisely used the remaining $3500.00 as a down payment on her house. Although the house is in an all-white neighborhood where the residents have made it plain that the Youngers are not welcome. Walter uses the money his mother gave him neither wisely nor honestly. He invests all $6500.00 in his liquor store, only to learn that the man who was to be his partner disappears with the money. Walter is crushed and the other family members are in shock. Only Mama is able to see beyond the hurt of the moment. She summons her inner strength and love to forgive Walter and admonishes her family for not doing the same.
As the family tries to make some sense of their dilemma, the movers arrive to carry their belongings to their new house. At the same time a representative from the white neighborhood has come to the Youngers’ apartment to buy out their investment in their new house. Walter has called him. Mama, in one final attempt at saving Walter Lee, lays the future of her family in his hands. She lets him make the final decision to sell our or move into the house. Her faith is not misplaced, because Walter Lee tells the man that his family is moving after all.
This is a family filled with emotion—emotions often explosive and frustrated, yet also filled with gentleness and a true sense of love and commitment. Mama and Walter’s affection for young Travis is genuinely touching. Mama and Walter’s affection for each other throughout the play carry the true weight of a love burdened with a mother’s hope for her son to find himself, and of a son trying desperately to gain his dignity as a man. All the family members including Walter’s wife, Ruth, his sister, Bennie, and young Travis give voice to a deep sense of family commitment and purpose. In spite of differences with the family,
their
family is the ultimate setting for their expressions of love, nurturance and support.
Walter desperately wants to head his family. He thinks it is his duty as the man of the household to be the source of leadership and strength. Yet he feels himself a failure. Without monetary means he senses he is powerless. When his dreams of a quick investment backfires, it furthers reinforces his sense of frustration. That he ultimately finds his leadership role is a tribute to his inner strength, as well as to the strong influence of his mother. Mama is in fact the true strength and leader of this family, yet her gentleness and wisdom allow ample room for the growth of Walter as the head of the family.
Ten year old Travis is the joy of Mama’s life. Her grandson is one to be protected, nurtured, and forgiven. She truly loves him and revels in his innocence and youth.
Walter also loves Travis deeply. His love is as genuine as Mama’s and one can sense his feeling for his son and his hopes for his future. He is very giving to Travis and very physically affectionate. Throughout the entire play, we get a sense that in spite of having very little in the way of material wealth, Travis is indeed the most precious possession any family could have.
That Ruth considers an abortion of her unborn baby is not to be seen as a rejection of life, but,rather an affirmation of it. She doesn’t want to bring a child into a world of poverty without hope. She decides not to have the abortion because she senses that there is a ray of hope and that possibly children themselves are this hope.
Both the economic and social pressures on this family are immense. They have little money, and what money they do have almost tears the family apart. In fact the crisis they are to have concerning the money ultimately pulls their family together after mush reflection and discussion. Money, ultimately is not very important.
Prejudice provides another obstacle, one which could have dissolved this family unit had they buckled under to its narrow thinking. The family and particularly Walter take the challenge and decide to confront it with dignity and some backbone.
A family of real inner strength and character!
Questions we will ask our students concerning
A Raisin In The Sun
and overall family issues:
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1. What are Walter Lee’s feelings and what are the concerns he faces in trying to become the head of his family?
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____
How does Walter finally become a man?
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2. What is the importance of Mama’s role in this family?
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____
What does she bring to her family from her position of age and experience?
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3. How does the Younger family deal with the issues of poverty?
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4. How does the Younger family deal with the issues of prejudice?
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5. What is the importance of having a job, particularly a good job to the members of the Younger family? What is the importance of an education?
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6. How are the issues of being an adult and responsibility connected for Walter Lee and all the Youngers?
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7. How is affection displayed in the Younger family?
Comparative Questions between the three plays:
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1. How are the issues of being the head of the family portrayed in the three plays?
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2. How does poverty affect these three families?
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3. How do individuals in each of the three families differ in their attempt to obtain respectability?
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4. What is the role of the mother in each of the three plays?
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5. What importance does owning a house or a piece of land have in each of the plays?
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6. What are the contributing factors in each of these three families that either pull them apart or bring them closer together?
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7. To what extent are these three families victims of an indifferent society and how does each resolve this conflict?
