Digital Journal- Death of a Salesman by Lenges Makenna https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417 Made with good vibes en-us 2022-01-31 16:09:50 UTC 2022-03-03 16:07:07 UTC hello@padlet.com Ikea effect and Willy's American Dream. 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2021691142 The idea behind the Ikea Effect is when an individual creates something and believes that is really great due to the fact of them creating it, while to others it could just be viewed as just another thing and not all as amazing. The article on NPR states "Most of us intuitively believe that the things we labor at are the things we love". This can relate back to Willy in Death of a Salesman because Willy does not like to be helped while he is trying to achieve his American Dream. Willy's dream was to be able to leave an imprint on the world through Biff's life. Within the excerpt from Literary Theory Today, it is stated that an ideology is "a belief system, and all belief systems are products of cultural conditioning". This excerpt also stated "Rugged individualism, which, as we have seen, is a cornerstone of the American Dream, is an ideology that romanticizes the individual who strikes out alone in pursuit of a goal not easily achieved, a goal that often involves risk and one that most people would not readily undertake".  Willy was unable to achieve and succeed in his lifelong career of being a salesman and living under the ideology that being very well-liked was much more important than actually working hard in order to be successful in life and reach and obtain your American Dream. I do agree with the Ikea effect, and personally, I feel as if I had encountered this. Ever since I was younger, my parents would always tell me that when you spend your own money on things, the individual tends to value it more and take better care of them. As I got older, and started spending my own money on clothes, and items I've wanted, and even partly paying my car payments each month. I have learned to value the things I put my money into more than what I used to see as it is my money going into it, and I worked really hard to receive my money.   
(ML)

]]> 2022-01-31 16:35:45 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2021691142 Supreme- Conspicuous Consumption 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2023751636 The ideas introduced within the video kind of show that the items that many people can have, the demand for them are less. While the more people that can get specific items, the people are less likely to spend more money on it. Willy had pretty much dedicated majority of his life to chasing his "American Dream". Willy does believe that the American Dream is equivalent to capitalist ideas and he is often consumed by the capitalist ideas of money and the social status. His obsession with the ideas of capitalism can reveal the negative aspects that encounter with them that are able to be viewed through the social phenomenons. The society that Willy is present in is very materialistic, similar to how he is. Within Death of a Salesman, people are often obsessed with the idea of wanting expansion items and many dedicate their paychecks towards these extravagant products. Many times the society can become blind to the results of getting expensive products and they often times do not realize that these expensive things are not needed. The idea of materialism is a symbol within the story. This is able to be shown through the products that Willy wishes to have, however, these products that he wishes to have are what eventually lead him to his demise of insanity and death. It is okay to want expensive items, and it is okay to work your way towards these items and purchasing them. It becomes an issue when individuals try to make that their lifestyle and the only things that they are working hard for. The society that Willy lives in admires people to work not to survive, and to work in order to make a ton of money in order to buy the more luxury items that everyone desires. 
(ML)]]> 2022-02-01 16:39:37 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2023751636 The American West and Africa (Act 1.2) 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2025737487 The American West and Africa are constantly brought up throughout the act by Willy and Biff. Willy’s father had found a successful life in Alaska, and his brother had become rich in Africa. These exotic places, when compared to where Willy is in his Brooklyn neighborhood, causes him to feel trapped in the city that he is in and leads to a greater obsession with the commercial world. The African jungle is a symbol of Willy’s failure, while the American West is a symbol of Biff’s potential. Within the story, it states “Walked into a jungle, and comes out, at the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich!”. This quote refers to Willy’s brother who walked into the African Jungle and walked out rich. Ben walked into Africa and fulfilled his American Dream by striking it rich with diamonds. Ben is viewed as a figment of Willy’s memories along as fantasies. The success of Ben, had allowed Willy to express the hopeful belief in opportunities, hard work, and success even if he is confronting his own failure. 
(ML)]]> 2022-02-02 16:18:35 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2025737487 Flute (Act 1.2) 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2025768988 The flute is a present within Death of a Salesman as a symbol of nostalgia. The flute begins plating and ends Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. When the flute plays in the story, it is a reminder of the life that Willy could have chosen, one that embraced the natural world and exploration of the unknown. It is stated, “All the characters exit the stage as flute music plays, and the final image is of the apartment buildings that surround the Loman”. The flute represents Willy’s memories that he holds of his father. In the beginning, when the flute music plays symbolize Willy’s life as overwhelming due to his abandonment issues. In act two, when the flute reappears, it is to portray the hardship of Willy faces as a result of his fathers’ leaving him isolated. 
 (ML)
 
]]> 2022-02-02 16:31:39 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2025768988 IKEA Effect and Willy's American Dream 8zlz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2025775662 Willy's actions show the negative side of the IKEA effect. The IKEA effect is when people get a self-esteem boost from creating something all by themselves. But, a professor who studied the effect says that this self-esteem boost can lead to people being "less interested in demonstrating
 to themselves and to others that they are competent" (7). In DoaS willy has episodes of talking as if he's experiencing something that happened in the past. His sons witness one of these moments and start to get worried that he's losing his mind. Willy is also a good example of rugged individualism. This is when someone works “alone in pursuit of a goal not easily achieved” (2). Willy tries to accomplish his goals by himself, but he ends up getting help from his neighbor Charley. He tries to hide this from Linda but she knows. I believe most teens start to want responsibilities and freedom. We're going to be on our own soon. Someone's situation can be considered rugged individualism if they're deciding to start a business or decide to get emancipated. The IKEA Effect is represented in Biff and Willy's relationship. He wanted his son that he raised to be successful. Willy used to be so proud of Biff and had high hopes for his future. 


]]> 2022-02-02 16:34:34 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2025775662 Theme: Appearance vs. Reality (Act 2) 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033436229 One of the more common throughout Death of A Salesman is the idea of appearance vs. reality. Willy often has many illusions and it is difficult for the Loman family to defer the difference between these realities and the illusions of life. These illusions that Willy encounters eventually leads to the downfall of him. Willy has always strongly believed that being well-liked or personally attractive will get people to the top of the business world when it comes to salespeople. Willy also has these illusions that his two sons are attractive young men and are well-liked along with being very successful. However, the reality of this is that these two men are not at all successful and have not gotten far in life. Willy had lied about this occupation to his sons for the longest time, and they started to believe in all of the lies. Biff eventually realizes the truth behind the lies that Willy was telling. Biff starts yelling "Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you!". Willy does not want to believe this and continues to believe his lies and responds back with "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!". Majority of the story is presented through flashbacks, and Willy has the inability to view the reality of their lives and the situations that they are presented with. 
(ML)]]> 2022-02-07 16:04:15 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033436229 IKEA Effect and Willy's American Dream 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033457821 NPR's Hidden Brain reveals the unconscious patterns that drive humans behavior, i'll be discussing Willy specifically. Death of a salesman tells the tragic story of Willy Loman who gave up his own life in hope to pursue the American Dream. The main ideologies seen during the play are the rise of capitalism and that success seems to dictate a man's worth in society. In an experiment, "they have demonstrated that people attach greater value to things they built than if the very same product was built by someone else." This is a similar case to Willy Loman because his values are to be successful and be a known man. In his mindset, he only cares if he is a well known and liked man but when he realizes he's not anymore he starts to be unattached from his own life overall. "Rugged individualism, which, as we have seen, is a cornerstone of the American dream, is an ideology that romanticizes the individual who strikes out alone in pursuit of a goal not easily achieved, a goal that often involves risk and one that most people would not readily undertake." Additionally, rugged individualism is an ideology of Willy, because he desperately wants to pursue the American Dream and be a well-known and successful business man but in the end his desire takes over his life and leaves him hopeless/ wanting to take his life away because it affects "underprivileged people" like Willy that feel they aren't able to accomplish the American Dream. ]]> 2022-02-07 16:12:45 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033457821 Supreme - Conspicuous Consumption 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033490226 In the video, he talks about how hype is associated with the many items people are able to have, but when everyone gets them the demand for them are less. If more people have them, why spend a large amount of money on something that isn't rare? This relates to Willy because he is very caught up in pursuing the American Dream, and caring heavily on materialist things such as having nice things and being successful/ making a grand amount of money. Materialism, technically, is “the belief that money, possessions and physical comforts are more important than spiritual values.” In philosophy, it “means the belief that only material things exist.” Willy believes that he and his sons are well-liked, so they should be successful. Similar to the belief that because there is a limited amount of shoes, you have to have them because only a select amount of people do. Additionally, Willy has a materialistic view on the American Dream which even when he is proven wrong he still pursues it although it is unrealistic to believe such high standards in a life that is not destined to be his. There are many products that Willy wishes to have and those same products are what help lead him to his demise of insanity and death. In Death of a Salesman, Willy is suicidal and his mindset is that if he cannot get hold these products his only way to be able to have them is if he passes away. In this way of thinking, he is very selfish for materialistic things that he cares more about than his family and the good things in life. ]]> 2022-02-07 16:25:37 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033490226 Theme: Individual vs. Society (Act 2) 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033512132 Another major theme present throughout Death of a Salesman is the idea of Individual vs. Society. This is mainly presented through Willy and his struggles to achieve society's whole image of success, despite the impossibility of the tasks. Willy lost his identity and was unable to accept the change within society and himself. Willy is a huge believer in chasing his "American Dream", which would include having the characteristics of a well-respected and humbly attractive business man. In the play it states, "He's liked, but he's not well liked". Willy becomes too focused on the idea of becoming a member of society, and being successful. He is unable to accept the fact that his lust of becoming successful is a distance from him. ]]> 2022-02-07 16:34:29 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033512132 Act 2- Questions 1 & 2 - Group 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033521210
1. How do Willy and Biff work as foils to each other?
A: Willy is a salesman, and wants success and to be well-known. Although Biff is a failure in Willy's eyes who steals, and doesn't try to have a successful future as a well-known and liked business man who Willy aspires to be. Where Biff looks at himself honestly and knows that working with his hands makes him happiest, Willy looks for materialistic things to make success such as being a business man who is classy and very liked by many. Biff does not have the same mindset, meaning he is not as materialistic is his brother and father are. This foils Biff and Willy because they don't have similar values or ideologies of themselves or life. 

2. Now that we’ve finished the play, we can consider the full meaning of the title. Explain how the title of the play help communicate meaning?
A: The title of Death of a Salesman refers to Willy's death of his salesman dream. The dream to be financially successful and a father to well off sons. By the end of the play, Willy is flat broke and without a job because he was fired. In the end, Willy's salesman dream is dead, and relatively after so is he. 
(LC)
]]> 2022-02-07 16:37:52 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033521210 Act 2- Individual Questions 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033686220 (LC)]]> 2022-02-07 17:42:34 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2033686220 Tragic Hero vs. Anti Hero 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035637657 Willy Loman is the protagonist in the play Death of a Salesman and has attributes that qualify him as a tragic hero. Just like Oedipus, Willy Loman goes through his life blindly, never realizing the full truth of himself. It seems that he refuses to admit that he truly is a failure. For example, Willy's delusional personality leads him to his own downfall. And in the end his own delusions cause him to take his own life. Willy made the reader feel empathy for him before his tragic death, since he did everything for his family. Willy overall is a tragic hero because he lets his delusions defeat his life. He only wanted to be a well- liked salesman who was known to most, but he could never come to terms to who he really was, a failure. His delusions are the true facts of his life that he can never face in reality. Though, he sets a bad example for his sons when he seemingly runs away from responsibility and asks others when he is in need. He gets asked "when the hell are you going to grow up?" (Miller, 97). Willy spends his entire life in an illusion, seeing himself as a successful and popular business man that he actually isn't. He dreams of being the man who does all the business from his home and being rich, he is very materialistic. He states, "... What could be more satisfying than to... pick up a phone and call the buyer, and without even leaving his room..." (Miller, 81). This shows that he never lets goes of his regretful life, but has never made another attempt to be the man he aspires to be. These delusions of his ends up killing him at the end of the play, making Willy Loman a tragic hero.]]> 2022-02-08 14:47:02 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035637657 Individual Questions (Act 2) 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035747334 1. Why do you think Biff kept his father’s secret when revealing it could have made his life easier? 
A: Biff decided to keep is father's secret to himself, even though revealing it could have potentially made his life easier. Biff valued his family and their relationships and did not want to see his parents go through the struggles and hardships. Throughout the play, at points Biff can come across as self-centered, however, the fact that he was willing to keep the secret his father had in to himself, reveals that he cares about his family and was trying to protect them from the impact that it could have placed on them. 
2. What is your definition of “success”?
A: Everyone has a different definition of the word success. Success to one person could be to have a well paying job and make a ton of money, while to another person success could be to be happy and content within life and happily married. To me, the definition of success is the accomplishment of major goals that benefit me and lead to a healthier, happier life. 
(ML)]]> 2022-02-08 15:25:57 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035747334 Act 1.1: Willy, Biff, and the American Dream 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035894856 Willy, who values the superficial quality of likeability and attractiveness over learning. He believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, but never can achieve it. He wants his son's to have a good impression of them to hopefully make them successful as well. But nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will be prosperous. The exchange value of his sons would be that it can make him a popular and well-known salesman if his sons could be. This way he could use them for their money and success, also providing sign change value for him if he tells people who become his friends. Therefore, using his sons for their hard work that he didn't achieve himself. In the play, Willy yells at his wife showing that poor mistreatment is acceptable to his sons at such a young age. The children, in turn, viewed women as inferior objects of use. As a result, Willy's sons underestimated women in general. To Biff and Happy, they never knew the moral law of treating others as one would want to be treated. Willy Loman tries to teach his children the things he isn't able to do himself. To be good at sports, take advantage of being good looking, get far in life, get rich quick, and enjoy the American Dream.

1. The characters are affected by political ideologies is specifically Willy Loman. Death of a Salesman is a critique on the American Dream as a capitalistic exploitation of the working class. The main ideologies seen during this time was the rise of capitalism and with it, the idea that success dictates a man's worth. This is shown by Willy taking his life due to his failure in life that was seen through his day to day delusional personality. 

2. The play reinforces capitalism because Willy Loman is fueled like the rest of the American Society for the working class to feed on, as a result of the capitalist system. It provides a harsh criticism on the American people since it presents capitalism which can ruin or dehumanize individuals and their families. The American Dream was what Willy dreamed of achieving but unfortunately he was never able to be the worker he wished he could be, and this internally destroyed him. His mind wanted to forget about his failures, though, his delusions were his reality that he wanted to escape.

]]> 2022-02-08 16:20:11 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035894856 Tragic Hero vs. Anti Hero 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035901302 The protagonist within Death of A Salesman, Willy, shows characteristics of a tragic hero. Characters are often portrayed as a tragic hero when they show the initial virtues of powerful and heroic in the minds of the audience. These characters must also possess a sort of tragic flaw that is a part of their internal make-up that makes them partially responsible for their own destruction. Willy travels throughout his life behind lies and he cannot admit to himself or others that he is actually a failure in life. This causes him and his mental health to go downhill and eventually leads to him ending his own life at the end of the play. Throughout his life, Willy was heavily focused on being a well-liked salesman, and to the audience, it seemed as if almost nothing else in his life really mattered other than this. In the play Willy stated, "I'm tired to the death". To explain this further, this quote was a foreshadow to Willy's death at the end of the play that ironically expressed by the tragic hero himself. Willy was consistently lying to himself about his occupation and being happy and content within life and just lying to himself trying to talk extremely high of himself, that it got to the point where it was exhausting and he eventually took his own life due to how draining it felt. Willy had always dreamed of being that well-liked business man who could work from home and make a lot of money in order to support him and his family and be rich and he kept telling himself that he was that and that his life was exactly how he always thought it was in his head, but this was him lying to himself and the illusions that Willy had constantly within his life and of his life. 
(ML)]]> 2022-02-08 16:22:34 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035901302 Theme: Individual vs. Self (Act 2) 8dnn https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035929861 Willy consistently shows the struggles that he has with himself within the play. Willy is unable to accept who he actually is and his self-pride is way too important to him. He consistently lies to himself about who he is within the plays and hypes himself up to make it seem like he is better than what he is and is doing better than what he is in life. He likes to tell himself that he is a well-liked businessman who is doing really good in his job, when in reality he is just having internal conflict with himself and unable to accept that he is not well-liked and he is not a good salesman. 
(ML)]]> 2022-02-08 16:33:49 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2035929861 SUPREME-Conspicuous Consumption 8zlz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2036907016 People tend to base their opinion of brands on their price or popularity rather than the actual quality of their products. In DoaS Linda tells Willy that the fridge is broken, and he argues that they “should’ve bought a well-advertised machine” (53) Willy’s suggesting that if they would’ve gotten a fridge from a company that spent a lot of money on ads that it would work better than what they have. Throughout the play Willy is shown making money a top priority. Even over his own life.  Before the crash Willy thinks about how much the life insurance money would do for his sons. In the video Hasan mentioned how SUPREME has exclusive items and it makes them more sought after. Some influencers do the same thing with their merch. They advertise it and tell their followers to get their products before it’s too late. This causes people to feel rushed to get these limited and overpriced products I used to work at a store that sold sunglasses. Everyone would go straight to the Ray-Bans case because it’s a name brand. Not because the sunglasses are known for their quality. Some people would also walk in with luxury brands thinking that they were better than the ones that I sold, simply because there’s a high-end brand logo slapped on them. People like when someone points out and compliments their exclusive or luxury items. Some leave the price tag on while their wearing something to flaunt its price and to prove that it’s real. It boosts their confidence to know they have something that no one else in the room has.

]]> 2022-02-09 02:21:07 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2036907016 ACT 2 - Individual Questions 4&5 8zlz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2036930108 4.Why do you think Biff kept his father’s secret when revealing it could have made his life easier?
A: Biff knew that his mom loved Willy and would never think he would have an affair. She would be heartbroken, and Willy would feel guilty all over again. Biff also knew that his dad was suicidal and if he upset the one person who truly cared about him, he would see no point in living anymore.

5.What is your definition of “success”?
A: I believe that if someone has a stable income that can support their preferred lifestyle, they're successful. It's not just about money though. Having people who care about you in life and people whose lives you've impacted is important to success. ]]> 2022-02-09 02:37:17 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2036930108 Image- Willy, Biff, and the American Dream 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038242292 2022-02-09 16:00:04 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038242292 Image- The IKEA Effect and Willy’s American Dream 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038251618 2022-02-09 16:04:04 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038251618 Image- Supreme - Conspicuous Consumption 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038257852 2022-02-09 16:06:35 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038257852 Act 1.2 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038265141 2022-02-09 16:09:34 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038265141 Image - Act 2 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038268633 2022-02-09 16:10:56 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038268633 Image - Tragic Hero 97hz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038270787 2022-02-09 16:11:50 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2038270787 Tragic Hero vs. Anti Hero 8zlz https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2039468205 Willy is the anti hero because he doesn't have hero attributes and ends up being the protagonist.  At first the audience sympathizes for Willy and Biff for their failed dreams. But, later in the play one of the flashbacks reveals that when Biff went to see him, Willy was too busy trying to hide the woman he was having an affair with. Biff went to his dad to talk about making up his grade in summer school so he could graduate but after he left, he gave up. This proves that Willy lacks integrity because he lied about his affair and that he is a main reason for tragic heroes’ downfall. Anti heroes also lack in courage. The audience doesn’t think of Willy as being courageous because he is constantly being called “crazy” by the other characters. Willy also does things that seem like selfless acts but are meant to benefit himself. Linda explains to Biff that Willy is "all smiles, and talks about the future... But you no sooner come in the door than you’re fighting"(38). This could be partially because he is scared about Biff telling Linda about the affair. It's also an example of how Willy only got excited when talking about Biff being successful. He used to brag about how successful Biff would be. Kind of like the IKEA affect, he feels validation when something he put effort into succeeds. Biff is the tragic hero because he has heroic qualities and has his own flaw that is partially the reason for his failure. When Biff was younger, he stole a football. When he went to his first interview after moving back home, he stole a pen. He mentions that he felt regret before leaving the building, but it was too late. This keeps readers sympathizing for him because he showed remorse.]]> 2022-02-10 04:42:17 UTC https://padlet.com/8dnn/y3q12px1c4at8417/wish/2039468205