Class Notes: Weeks 12-13 (12/13/10-1/7/11)

Stoppard Article:

· traditional drama:

o human actions in social context

o action moves from normal situation which is upsetàseries of conflicts as characters seek to cope with upsetàfinal conclusion-something is resolvedànormality = returned

o overall logic

o discernable shape: beginning, middle, end

o consistent logic

o “horizon of significance”: world ordered by certain normative understandings-enable audience to understand what is going on as coherent and accessible vision

§ establishes sense of moral meaning

o confusion at Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a lack of these traditional elements

· Theater of the Absurd

o refers specifically to the works of a number of modern playwrights: particularly Beckett, Ionesco, and Pinter

o dramatic world seems to have become empty of any horizon of significance

o nothing is reliable

o absurd, without logic, without comfortable reminders about time, space, and memory

o setting = often featureless

o absence of anything that might help one to understand oneself, one’s purpose, or one’s place in the social scheme of things

§ why Rosencrantz and Guildenstern keep asking what they’re doing/where they are

o even protagonist’s identity is problematic

§ why no one (including themselves) seem to be able to tell the difference between Rosencrantz and Guildenstern

o difference between existential and absurd drama:

§ existential-to achieve the dignity of being human, we must act upon our freedom to choose and launch ourselves into the world

§ absurd-no dignity; heroes lack whatever it takes to act confidently in the world; essentially grotesque clowns

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead Discussion:

· Why the insistence on the sameness of the characters?

o audience can clearly see the differences

· Player has the most knowledge

o most mobile character

· “Life in a box is better than no life at all” (71)

o huge thematic statement

o there is actually a knock at the beginning of the play

o stage = box

o Guildenstern is mad in this scene because Rosencrantz strikes a little too close to the truth; the latter, however, just rants without any idea of the insight he is actually spewing

· take notes on Stoppard article (to be updated)

Death of a Salesman Discussion:

Why does Miller use nonrealistic techniques? What are they and how do they follow the important precept “form follows function?”

· memories/visions of Ben

o Ben = symbol of American Dream; therefore, the death of Ben implies the death of the American Dream for Willy

o Ben goes to Africa and Alaska to exploit-emphasizes that an inherent part of the so-called American Dream is stripping others of their resources

o “A man is not a piece of fruit”: point of play-Willy is a piece of fruit; the company strips him of all of his resources and then just tosses him aside

· choppy scenes/transitions from past to present, reality to visions

o shows Willy’s own erratic state of mind

o shows that Willy has no firm grip on reality

o shows that Willy is in denial about what is real and what only exists in his memories

· memories of the past

o the “Golden Days” archetype

o they have 2 cars: Chevy symbolizes the American Dream

§ Willy tells his sons to polish the car-symbolic of encouraging the dream

o Studebaker symbolizes the pipe dream-it’s the car Willy actually drives

§ symbolizes that Willy can never be happy with his current dream of becoming a salesman

How does Linda “mother her husband?” Is this a healthy dynamic? Do her sons have to compete for her maternal love?

· Linda does not demand anything of Willy; instead, she treats him more like a baby

· dairy motif symbolizes breast feeding

· treats his violent outbursts more like temper tantrums

· Linda does not actually respect Willy; she just wants to pacify him

· everyone calls Willy a “kid”-emphasizes his lack of manhood

· Biff and Willy are neglected

o Happy tells her repeatedly that he’s getting married; Linda just tells him to “go to bed”

o Biff laments that he can’t find himself; Linda just calls him a “bum”

loved versus well-liked

· Willy doesn’t understand romantic love or family love

o places more emphasis on being “well-liked”

o brushes off the whole affair with “the woman” as a case of his loneliness

o at the end, says Biff “likes him” when Biff clearly loves him

success versus happiness

· Willy confuses success with happiness

o doesn’t realize that in order for any shot at any happiness, he needs to be true to himself

o only Biff realizes the importance of self-identity in the end

o Happy follows in Willy’s footsteps-wants to “finish what Willy started”

· Ben is happy because he follows his nature

o he is ruthless and ambitious, so he follows that dream

Is it possible to have the wrong dream?

· definitely-Biff makes a reference to Willy’s “phony” dream

· a dream that goes against someone’s nature is the wrong dream for that person

· Willy renounces his joy in working with his hands; instead, he strives to be something he will never be happy with: a salesman

Overall Connections:

· The whole discussion about dreams reminds me of Langston Hughes’s poem “Dream Deferred.” I think the different outcomes of a dream deferred can also apply to the wrong dream. The wrong dream may also “fester” and ultimately “explode,” as Willy’s does.

· When we discussed Oedipus Rex, we also mentioned the theme of “Know Thyself.” Kreon knows himself better than Oedipus Rex does; therefore, he meets a better end. Similarly in Death of a Salesman, Willy dies still not knowing himself, while Biff stays alive and finally figures out that the only thing to do is to stay true to himself. Therefore, at the end of the play, Biff seems to be the only one with a bright future.

· Linda’s nobility reminds me of Penelope’s faithfulness in The Odyssey. However, as a whole, I think Penelope is more pure. Linda is the picture of the devoted housewife, but at the same time, she is a deeply troubled mother. She does not give her kids the maternal love that they need and she does not give her husband the respect that he deserves.

· Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is essentially an absurdist re-interpretation of Hamlet. This reminds me of the discussion we had about audiences watching plays for the new, fresh point of view as opposed for the original story line. For example, people watch Oedipus Rex for Sophocles’s new spin on things, not to find out what happens.