Pratibha
Dr.
Mary Warner, Instructor
English112-B
11/28/07
Exploring Myths and Realities American
Dream through Drama and Poetry
Here are some typical headlines seen recently in
the news media: America is the target of global terrorists. There is a long and
ugly war under way. The economy is
in serious trouble. Globalization is destroying the American Dream.
A democracy needs a strong middle class. Yet, a
middle class can only be sustained if there is a plentiful supply of jobs
paying middle-class wages. The post-World War II U.S. industrial economy was
able to provide relatively high-wage jobs to millions of workers who had little
in the way of advanced education or special skills. Growing U.S. industrial
productivity led to rising wages for manufacturing workers--wages that
effectively turned much factory work into middle-class employment. Yet over the
past two decades, and especially in the last few years, tens of thousands of
American industrial jobs have disappeared as U.S. multinational firms shut down
American manufacturing facilities and moved production abroad, first to Mexico
and later to China. Once upon a time America was the world�s manufacturing
powerhouse. Today many if not most durable goods that Americans buy--everything
from computers, printers, and refrigerators to automobiles and iPods--are
manufactured in whole or in part abroad. America�s trade deficit has risen to
historic highs, and continues on the upswing. (The Future of America Democracy
Foundation).
What does all this mean to students who are
growing up in America? What are their hopes and aspirations for the future?
What better way to find out that to explore with students and then create a
vision for the future with them? In order to do that we must collectively
arrive at some meaningful definition of that American Dream. I suggest a
curriculum that includes the plays, poems, and contemporary realistic fiction
dealing with young people trying to make their mark in this world. The
literature should present a varied set of young people who make meaningful life
choices. This way the students are not fixated on one stilted definition of
success.
The ideas suggested in this unit can be scaled
to the grade and skill level of students from grades 10 to 12. This is the time
of their life when they begin to think about life beyond high school. The
foundation piece for the unit, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is
considered a tragedy dealing with the American Dream. The term American dream
has two connotations. First, it means physical and intellectual freedom for
all, with equal access to social justice. However quite often the term is used
to define material success, it implies that success for anyone is possible
regardless of his or her humble beginnings. Material success and popularity are
worthwhile goals, however the goals must be put in perspective. The main
character, Willy Loman has chased the dream of popularity and material success
for his entire life, only to end up losing it all at the age of 63. In this
unit, we will examine whether Willy's dream was unattainable, whether his
methods were at fault, or whether the external factors influenced the outcome
of his life. The play received the Pulitzer Prize as well as New York Drama
Critics' Circle Award in 1949. Although it is widely acknowledged as a tragedy,
the play does not fit the classic definition of Greek tragedy. The protagonist
is an ordinary man and not a noble heroic figure. The play is written in a
'stream of consciousness' style. Willy Loman drifts in and out of present and
past and the stage direction is quite elaborate to allow for these transitions.
Willy's tragic fall can be attributed to his grandiose illusions about his own
charm and likability. The Dale Carnegie bestseller How to Win Friends and
Influence People
was published in 1937. The myth of a successful salesman was well received by
the public. Willy Loman seems to have misinterpreted the message from the book,
since Willy's philosophy never mentions hard work.
A quote from the Requiem - Death of a Salesman:
Biff: He had the wrong dreams, all, all, wrong.
Happy [almost ready to fight Biff] Don't say
that!
Biff: He never knew who he was...
[�]
Happy: [infuriated] Don't say that!
Biff: Why don't you come with me, Happy?
Happy: I'm not licked that easily. I'm staying
right in this
city, and I'm gonna beat this racket!...
Biff: I know who I am, kid.
Happy: ...I'm gonna show you...that Willy Loman
did not die in vain.
(Churman 132)
Launching the Unit:
Before
reading and discussing the play, consider giving some historical background on
the decade when the play was written. 1940's were the World War II decade;
Japanese had bombed the Pearl Harbor. US Isolationism had been challenged On
the Literary front, modernism movement was at its tail end, and era of cultural
diversity was well in progress. The wartime literature was just beginning to
surface. Shirley Jackson's short story "lottery" was published during
this time. The black voices were eloquent and strong. Langston Hughes, Richard
Wright were prolific writers of the times The musicians like Duke Ellington,
Frank Sinatra were busy entertaining the armed forces. Sinatra's rendition of
"Over the Rainbow" was a song of hope of the times.
Here
are some of the pre-reading activities that the students can do.
Students can familiarize
themselves with American History of the decade. (Goodwin). To make this
activity interesting, play the game modeled on the game "Truth or
Consequences" which was popular in the 1940's Divide students in two
groups. One person from each group comes forward, and asks a question related
to that decade. The student from the other group either responds correctly or
else he/she is subjected to some mildly embarrassing task.
Students discuss their
coveted career. Ask them to write a short paragraph discussing why they are
attracted to that specific career.
Students write about
their own strengths and weaknesses, as they understand them today.
Read the poems:
"Digging" by Seamus Heany and "I hear America Singing" by
Whitman.
Students find some poems
on the topic of success.
As a reward for all that
work, listen to the song "Over the Rainbow" by Frank Sinatra. Listen
to other songs/ other music of the 40's as time permits.
Read and Discuss the
Foundation Play
Have
students keep a journal or reading log. For each act of the play, the journal
entry will have three columns as shown below:
QuoteReason
for choosing itWhat does say about the charactersQ1Ben: -when I was seventeen I
walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I
was rich. It appears that Ben has accomplished the American Dream.Note that in
next few lines, Willy expresses admiration for his brother's accomplishments
and wants to "imbue" his boys with. Q2�.�.�..
Some
analytical and creative activities:
After the first reading,
review with your students whether the scenes took place in the past or present,
whether they were imaginary or real.
Choose 5-6 significant
scenes and act them out in the reader's theatre format.
Watch the same scenes
from the 1951 film version of the play. (Death).
Since the stage
direction is quite complex, the teacher will provide a diagram and images of
the theatrical sets for the play.
(Teague).
Write a one-page
analysis of three main characters, Willy, Biff, and Happy. Answer the following
questions in your analysis. What characteristics do you find admirable? Do you
find any problematic characteristics?
Ask students to compare
the characters of the two brothers Buff and Happy. Compare them to the son from
the poem "Digging." (Heany).
Extending the Unit:
The
following Young Adult Literature list was created to serve as companion texts
for the foundation play. The works are carefully chosen to present many
different walks of life. The common theme of all these works is the young people
making a positive impact on the world in spite of their lot in life. These are
meant to be read outside of the classroom. Students can choose one or more
texts, but it is recommended that some class time be reserved to hold a group
discussion of the works, so the students benefit from listening to the books
that they did not read.
Students
can carry out some creative projects suggested by Dr. Mary Warner in her unit
plan. (Donelson 201).
Young Adult
Literature Selections
"Death
of a Traveling Salesman" is a short story by Eudora Welty. Bowman, the
bachelor businessman on medical leave from his sales job, is stranded due to a
car accident. He ends up at the home of an older woman. Her son helps him fix
his car. As it turns out the woman is not as old as Bowman thinks, and the son
turns out to be her husband. Ti his surprise, he finds out that the woman is
pregnant. He realizes that what these people have: �A marriage, a fruitful
marriage. That simple thing. Anyone could have had that.� He concludes that
simple things in life are the best.
The
Runner by Cynthia Voight: The story is set in the 1960s. Vietnam War is under way. .
"Bullet" Tillerman, is the Runner, the school track star. Bullet's
father has forced Bullet's older siblings out of the house. Bullet is not
looking forward to living with his Dad; Mom is no help in the matter. He has to
decide whether he should join the war or stay on the farm and help his family.
To top it all off, a black student has joined the school and the track team.
Bullet has to come to terms with his own prejudices. Only thing he can count on
is his Running.
Make
Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff: Fourteen-year-old La Vaughn takes on a
babysitting job to help save money for college. La Vaughn takes very good care
of her charges and works hard to stay on top of her homework. Things go well
until Jolly, the mother of the children loses her job. Jolly is a single mother
with no family to fall back on. With no education, her chances of finding
another one are slim. La Vaughn persuades Jolly to go back to school, and
continues babysitting without pay. It is a moving story of friendship,
motivation, determination, and hard work to achieve the dream of a decent life.
The girls make lemonade when the life has handed them lemons.
Fallen
Angels by Walter Dean Myers: Seventeen-year-old Richard Perry is just out of
high school and looking for a way to support his family. He dreams of college
and a writing career. However, money is tough to come by, so he chooses an army
career to support his family, and puts his dream on hold. He is sent to Vietnam
on active combat duty. No one has prepared him for the horrors of the war.
Richie's first person account of the war, friendships, and death is delivered
with a sense of immediacy. Will Richie fulfill his dream of becoming a writer?
Freak
the Mighty by Rodman Philbricks.
The
odds are stacked against eighth-grader Maxwell Kane. Not only is he a large,
awkward, and learning disabled child his father is in prison for killing his
mother. Then there is Kevin, a small-sized, crippled classmate. The pair is
mercilessly teased by their schoolmates. The boys Kevin and Maxwell stand out
in stark contrast against the brothers Biff and Happy from the foundation
piece, Death of a Salesman. Biff and Happy are good-looking and athletic.
The two boys forge a bond of friendship. The collective pool of their talents,
Kevin's intelligence and Maxwell's legs, is a force to be reckoned with. They
are the proverbial knights, doing good deeds and fighting evil. Unfortunately,
Kevin dies, and Maxwell is left to sort out the life for himself. Will his
dream of a positive future come true?
For
more selections, see (Donelson) and (Warner).
Concluding the Unit
Hopefully,
the unit will help students to examine and question their own strengths and
values. At the end of the unit, students will have some sense of what
challenges they may face as adults. They will have some sense of how to tackle
the life beyond high school. In the rpocess they will have gained some
knowledge about Drama and poetry as literary forms.
Works Cited
Arp,
Thomas J. and Johnson, Greg. Ed. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry.
Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 1956.
Carnegie, Dale. How
to Win Friends & Influence People. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1937.
Clurman, Harold.
Ed. The Portable Arthur Miller. New York: The Viking Press, 1977.
Death of a
Sleasman. Dir. L�szl� Benedek. Perf. Fredric March, Mildred Dunnock, Kevin
McCarthy and Cameron Mitchell
Stanley Kramer Productions, 1951.
Donelson,
Kenneth L. and Nilsen Alleen Pace. Literature for Today's Young Adults.
Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2006.
Goodwin,
Susan. Kingwood College
Library, American Cultural History, The Twentieth Century: 940 - 1949. 1999-2006.
<http://kclibrary.nhmccd.edu/decade40.html>
The
Future of Democracy Foundation. Does Globalization Help or Hinder the
American Dream? 2006.
<http://thefutureofamericandemocracyfoundation.org/Project2.html#Part3>
Heany,
Seamus. "Digging." Arp
95-6.
Hughes,
Langston. " Let America Be America Again." poets.org.
<http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15609>
Myres,
Dean Walter. Fallen Angels. New York: Scholastic Paperbacks, 1988.
Poets.org.
The Academy of American Poets Web Site. 1997-2007.
<http://www.poets.org/>
Philbrick,
Rorman. Freak the Mighty. New York: Scholastic, 2001.
Sinatra,
Frank. "Over the Rainbow." The Columbia Years: 1943-1952. Sony
Music Entertainment Inc., 1994.
Teague,
Ben. Approved Ben Teague Wed Site. 2007.
<http://www.benteague.com/productions/salesman/grdplan.html>
Voight,
Cynthia. The Runner. New York: Fawcett. 1996.
Warner, Mary. Adolescents
in the Search for meaning. Lanham: Scarecrow Press, 2006.
Welty, Eudora. The
collected stories of Eudora Welty. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
c1980.
Whitman,
Walt. "I Hear America Singing." Poets.org.
<http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15752>
Wolff,
Virginia Euwer. Make Lemonade. New York: Henry Holt and Co. BYR
Paperbacks, 2006.
Wright,
Richard. Black Boy. New York: Harper Collins, 1945.