Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Charley Death Of A Salesman Essay Example

Charley Death Of A Salesman Paper Miller makes Requiem a moving and appropriate ending in many appealing ways. This ending of his reveals the even more strenuous situation of Willy. Although the audiences have known him as a salesman with no glorious achievement in life but with a conclusion like this, the funeral highlights the focus on Willy’s isolation and failure. Furthermore, it also issues the doubt in the vague American Dream of our departed salesman. It appears that at Willy’s funeral, there was only his loyal wife Linda; his two beloved sons: Biff, Happy; and Charley with his boy Bernard. Yes, his only friend who’s at the funeral was Charley-the man that was yelled, swore at by Willy throughout the whole play. However he ended up being the only one Willy can go to and ask for help, for money. It is shown that Charley is the one who cares and keeps on offering Willy a job but what he gets is always rejection. In this final scene, Miller clarifies to the audience about how much Charley comprehends the job of a salesman in this kind of world, especially the one like Willy. Charley Death Of A Salesman Essay Sample We will write a custom essay sample on Charley Death Of A Salesman specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Charley Death Of A Salesman specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Charley Death Of A Salesman specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Death of a salesman Death of a salesman Death of a salesman Specifically, Charley says: â€Å"For a salesman, there’s no rock bottom to the life†. The connotation of â€Å"rock bottom† is the lowest level. This suggests that for a salesman like Willy, it doesn’t matter what his social status is, he just have to get down low and serves his job. â€Å"He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine† The color blue means hope. This indicates that Willy was a person with the desire of reaching success. But to do that â€Å"a smile and a shoeshine† are what it takes. A smile refers to the fact that he must always be delighted and satisfies what customers need in order to sell his products. â€Å"Shoeshine† is the act of polishing one’s shoes. To many people, this job is low and â€Å"cheap†. Link back to the salesman’s circumstances, his position is low, the lowest; all of this highlights Willy’s sacrifice just so his dream would come true. However, â€Å"it comes with the territory†, the unavoidable result. Maybe Willy just was not in luck. Or maybe he was just a little man, unable to handle such gigantic pressure. That’s life, with the reckless society, which only place strain on our shoulder. Charley is not the only one who understands Willy’s predicament, but so does Biff. He appears to be wiser, more sagacious and sensible through his words. Biff knows precisely his father’s situation: â€Å"The man didn’t know who he was.† – he said. As the audience, we are already aware of that all the way through the story. Biff signifies that Willy â€Å"had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong†. While it is beyond doubt that Willy’s destination, where he aims to is the wrong way. However it is vague to no one but him. He kept on heading blindly so this is the end of everything. Thankfully, Biff realizes the mistaken error in his father’s life. Biff knows that there’s more of Willy when he â€Å"makes the stoop, finishing the cellar; putting on the new porch; when he built the extra bathroom; and put up the garage.† This specifies that Willy â€Å"was so wonderful with his hands†. He should have chosen the path that was right for him. In spite of that, Happy has the total contradict point of view. He still believes that Willy had a good dream. â€Å"It’s the only dream you can have – to come out number-one man.† This illustrates the lack of understanding of Happy towards Willy. He does not recognize his father’s real strength. His perception on the job of a salesman and the sort of society that he is living in is limit. Lesson but be learnt following the death of his father. However, Happy didn’t seem to acknowledge that. He still wants to â€Å"show everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain.† It is a foolish thing to do, as we all know, the percentage is high that he might as well end up regretting the failure of his life. â€Å"Like father, like son.† But unlike his brother, the Biff that we know decides to get away from the city of cruelty, dishonesty and also known as the dog-eat-dog world. About Linda, she has been faithful and stands by Willy’s side through everything yet she still cannot understand his action. Throughout the whole Requiem, Linda keeps repeating: â€Å"I can’t understand it.† This suggests that the unexpected death of Willy happened in the blink of an eye left her clueless and most of all shatter in sorrow. The unintelligible, ironic fact is that his family was just â€Å"about free and clear.† That is what really confuses her. She thought Willy only needed a little salary but that’s not the big picture Linda is looking at. She is the one to provide Willy with supports but his death finally gave her nothing but uncertainty. It has always been Willy’s dream to be a successful salesman. He yearns for it that he is almost hypnotized by the dream that is beyond his reach. Linda does not get it because the business world is complicated and she is just one loyal wife, who utterly loves her husband. Therefore it consumes her. â€Å"Help me, Willy, I can’t cry. It seems to me that you’re just on another trip. I keep expecting you.† What Linda said implies that in the old days, Willy kept on traveling for his job. As for Linda, she’s just an ordinary housewife, who stays home and does her chores and waits for Willy one day to another. She cannot cry because it’s the agony that is too painful for her. It eats her up on the inside that no tears can help. But just the sobbing of Linda is the communication of her sadness. Lastly, the notion of the American Dream is what obsessed Willy ever since he starts being a salesman. Willy’s concept of being a successful salesman is to be well-liked. He spent his whole life obligated to fulfill his dream, his fallacious dream. To be exact, he didn’t have a chance to choose right from wrong. It’s the American society that guides him there. At the end, he ended up finding himself in the middle of nowhere, falling out of his dream, the dream that never suited Willy Loman. Moreover, Willy was inspired by his idol, Dave Singleman, once a glorious salesman. He left Willy with the fantasy of an ultimate job. Our little man thought he would have accomplished it and had a marvelous life. But no he did not. Dave Singleman died the death of a salesman. Willy Loman also died the death of a salesman. But their funerals aren’t the same. One was filled with hundreds of salesman and buyers. One is solitary with the presence of family members, and a friend. These details are enough to explicate the isolation and the collapse of Willy’s life. When the play finally reaches its end, â€Å"only the music of the flute is left on the darkening stage as over the house the hard towers of the apartment buildings rise into sharp focus.† Music of the flute is the instrument that Willy’s father can play. This shows us the reminiscence of everything that has passed. The lightning of stage is dark indicates the misery that Willy’s family is suffering through. Finally, the stage emphasizes the apartment buildings as a beautiful memories for our characters, remind them of what they have been through, both joyful and tough times. This is a lesson to learn by heart and also a tribute to our tragic hero, Willy Loman. In conclusion, through our characters’ speech, acting and the stagecraft, Arthur Miller has successfully formed such emotional and suitable ending for the play. Willy’s miss-choosing of his dream is demonstrated accurately in Death of the Salesman. It is also specially highlighted in the Requiem. â€Å"Requiem† means â€Å"a Mass for the repose of the souls of the dead†. Therefore this is a totally appropriate ending for the play as Willy’s death has just occurred. Death of the Salesman left behind the explanation for the corruption of Willy’s life and his broken American Dream.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

USS Maine Explosion and the Spanish-American War

USS Maine Explosion and the Spanish-American War The sinking of USS Maine took place on February 15, 1898, and contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish-American War that April. After years of unrest in Cuba, tensions began to re-escalate in the 1890s. Seeking to calm the American public, which had been calling for intervention, and to protect business interests, President William McKinley ordered the US Navy to dispatch a warship to Havana. Arriving in January 1898, USS Maine sank on February 15 after an explosion tore through the ship. Initial reports concluded that Maine had been sunk by a naval mine. Sparking a wave of outrage across the United States, the loss of the ship helped push the nation towards war. Though a later report in 1911 also concluded that a mine caused the explosion, some began to believe that it was the result of a coal dust fire. A subsequent investigation in 1974 also favored the coal dust theory though its findings have been contested. Background Since the late 1860s, efforts had been underway in Cuba to end Spanish colonial rule. In 1868, the Cubans began a ten-year rebellion against their Spanish overlords. Though it was crushed in 1878, the war had generated widespread support for the Cuban cause in the United States. Seventeen years later, in 1895, the Cubans again rose up in the revolution. To combat this, the Spanish government dispatched General Valeriano Weyler y Nicolau to crush the rebels. Arriving in Cuba, Weyler began a brutal campaign against the Cuban people which involved the use of concentration camps in rebellious provinces. This approach led to the death of over 100,000 Cubans and Weyler was promptly nicknamed the Butcher by the American press. Stories of atrocities in Cuban were played up by the yellow press, and the public put increasing pressure on Presidents Grover Cleveland and William McKinley to intervene. Working through diplomatic channels, McKinley was able to defuse the situation and Weyler was recalled to Spain in late 1897. The following January, supporters of Weyler began a series of riots in Havana. Concerned for American citizens and business interests in the area, McKinley elected to send a warship to the city. Arriving in Havana After discussing this course of action with the Spanish and receiving their blessing, McKinley passed his request to the US Navy. To fulfill the presidents orders, the second-class battleship USS Maine was detached from the North Atlantic Squadron at Key West on January 24, 1898. Commissioned in 1895, Maine possessed four 10 guns and was capable of steaming at 17 knots. With a crew of 354, Maine had spent the entirety of its brief career operating along the eastern seaboard. Commanded by Captain Charles Sigsbee, Maine entered Havana harbor on January 25, 1898. USS Maine entering Havana harbor, January 1898. US Department of Defense Anchoring in the center of the harbor, Maine was afforded the usual courtesies by the Spanish authorities. Though the arrival of Maine had a calming effect on the situation in the city, the Spanish remained wary of American intentions. Wishing to prevent a possible incident involving his men, Sigsbee restricted them to the ship and no liberty was given. In the days after Maines arrival, Sigsbee met regularly with the US Consul, Fitzhugh Lee. Discussing the state of affairs on the island, they both recommended that another ship be sent when it was time for Maine to depart. Rear Admiral Charles D. Sigsbee. US Naval History and Heritage Command Loss of Maine At 9:40 on the evening of February 15, the harbor was lit by a massive explosion that ripped through the forward section of Maine as five tons of powder for the ships guns detonated. Destroying the forward third of the ship, Maine sank into the harbor. Immediately, assistance came from the American steamer City of Washington and the Spanish cruiser Alfonso XII, with boats circling the burning remains of the battleship to collect the survivors. All told, 252 were killed in the blast, with another eight dying ashore in the days that followed. Investigation Throughout the ordeal, the Spanish showed great compassion for the injured and respect for the dead American sailors. Their behavior led Sigsbee to inform the Navy Department that public opinion should be suspended until further report, as he felt that the Spanish were not involved in the sinking of his ship. To investigate the loss of Maine, the Navy swiftly formed a board of inquiry. Due to the state of the wreck and a lack of expertise, their investigation was not as thorough as subsequent efforts. On March 28, the board announced that the ship had been sunk by a naval mine. The boards finding unleashed a wave of public outrage across the United States and fueled calls for war. While not the cause of the Spanish-American War, shouts of Remember the Maine! served to accelerate the approaching diplomatic impasse over Cuba. On April 11, McKinley asked Congress for permission to intervene in Cuba and ten days later ordered a naval blockade of the island. This final step led to Spain declaring war on April 23, with the United States following suit on the 25th. Aftermath In 1911, a second inquiry was made into the sinking of Maine following a request to remove the wreck from the harbor. Constructing a cofferdam around the ships remains, the salvage effort permitted investigators to probe the wreck. Examining the bottom hull plates around the forward reserve magazine, investigators found that they were bent inward and back. Using this information they again concluded that a mine had been detonated under the ship. While accepted by the Navy, the boards findings were disputed by experts in the field, some of whom put forward a theory that the combustion of coal dust in a bunker adjacent to the magazine had sparked the explosion. Workers preparing to raise the wreck of USS Maine, 1910. US Naval History and Heritage Command The case of USS Maine was reopened in 1974, by Admiral Hyman G. Rickover who believed that modern science might be able to provide an answer to the ships loss. After consulting experts and reexamining the documents from the first two investigations, Rickover and his team concluded that the damage was inconsistent with that caused by a mine. Rickover stated that the most likely cause was a coal dust fire. In the years after Rickovers report, his findings have been disputed and to this day there has been no final answer as to what caused the explosion.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD AND EATING by Sidney W. Mintz^ and Christine Essay

THE ANTHROPOLOGY OF FOOD AND EATING by Sidney W. Mintz^ and Christine M. Du Bois^ - Essay Example That notwithstanding, what comes out as of utmost importance in the article is what anthropology entails. From the reading, it is asserted that anthropology is concerned with unearthing the origin of human life, culture, as well as social interactions. In fact, through references made to Kant’s philosophy on reasoning, the concept of anthropology is epitomized. It seeks to find knowledge against which man gains understanding of the world. Fabian fronts the idea that knowledge is a possession which contributes to the survival of mankind. The article by Roy Ellen mainly seeks to espouse on the theories that should be accepted as being anthropological. Just as argued by Fabian, anthropology is fundamentally based on theories just like in philosophical studies. In fronting his views on anthropological theories, the author argues that theories are basically presumptions. They constitute of suppositions which should aid one in developing a basis for ascertaining the truth behind contemporary occurrences or predicaments. In doing, the author gives an example of how the theory of evolution from selected individual could be used to give presumptions on the rest of life. Anthropological theories, therefore, should seek to give directions on anthropological studies with the aim of giving information which could be used for the survival of the existent species. There are different theories which have been fronted in this discourse. The first is the simple correlative theory which is based on hypothesis which bear relevance to selected variables. It works by minimizing the variables to selected ones which would best suit the situation at hand. The other is the theory of emergent systems which is characterized by probabilistic occurrences. The last theory is on socio-cultural change as well as its transmission. In reviewing the theories which are existent in anthropology, the writer digresses to the Darwinian Theory of