Response to Course Material #4

These past few weeks not only served to finish up the last few discussions and re watch the film of Death of a Salesman and start Hamlet, but also to employ a number of new tools and strategies for close reading.

Initially, I was unsure that re-watching the movie on Death of a Salesman was going to be helpful, but I was proven wrong. I liked the ability to stop anytime during the movie and carry on a conversation about that particular part of the storyline. I especially enjoyed the discussion over whether Willy commits suicide because his life has reached an all-time low, having lost his job and his family’s love and respect, or because he feels that he has achieved his life’s goal when Biff agrees to go talk with Bill Oliver. I agree with the latter. Until this moment, Willy has received only pity from his sons, instead of the respect and admiration that he so desires. While I believe that Biff only agrees to visit Bill Oliver in order to appease his suicidal father, Willy views Biff’s concession as an acknowledgment of his experience and authority as both a father and businessman. I view Willy’s subsequent suicide as a recognition that he has reached his life’s peak and also as a desire to end his life on a positive note, rather than continuing on to future disappointments.

I also enjoyed reading the commentaries on Death of a Salesman, which opened my eyes to the various interpretations of the play. In the “Commodity Come Home to Roost,” the author argues that the play is both a psychological and political struggle. In my opinion, it represents a psychological and social struggle, rather than political, because Willy is more concerned with social status and people’s perceptions of him than with the true state of his own power. For example, Willy rejects Charlie’s offer of a job in favor of keeping up the facade of comfortable success. If he had accepted the job, he would have taken a real step towards climbing the business ladder towards a more powerful position, but his crippling fixation on social appearances hinders him from such action.

One week into our study of Hamlet, I am having a hard time understanding the work, however, I do like how Ms. Holmes has been explaining the story’s events within its historical backdrop. For example, Ms. Holmes’ explanation of the significance of Hamlet entering Ophelia’s closet opened my eyes to its significance. I was unaware that in the Elizabethan Era, a princess’s room was set up with a waiting room where she received all visitors, then her bedroom, and finally in the back her closet. NO one was permitted to enter the closet other than the princess herself and her dressing maids. Because Hamlet entered this most intimate of places, Shakespeare leaves the possibility open to us as readers that they may have slept together. I would have never inferred this subtle cultural implication if Ms. Holmes had not given us the social background information of the times. I also found annotating my text very useful because now I can refer back to parts that I did not understand and want to revisit, and also take note of parts that I found personally interesting.

I am happy to say that by using the tools of a movie representation of Death of a Salesman, commentaries on that famous play, information on the historical and cultural backdrop of Hamlet, and annotation of my texts, I achieved greater depth and understanding in my close reading of these two texts in the past few weeks.