As a child I was always getting into mischief. It was not out of the ordinary for me to get into trouble over having a bad attitude or not doing what I was told. I was basically a good kid, but my need for independence provoked me to challenge authority. My disobedience began to become the norm and eventually these petty crimes began to catch up to me. Fourth grade was not my finest year, I can tell you that. Some of my petty offenses began to reflect on my school record, and I could tell that my parents were becoming concerned. One afternoon a small incident (that still burns in my head) brought everything to a head. Erika Oku was standing beside the ever important 4th grade bookcase that contained the poignant stories that molded my
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Some may argue that by lying to his family, Willy is protecting them from the worry and doubt of their economic and living status. However, the harm that comes from Willy’s false confidence spreads to other members of the household and creates a toxic breeding ground for deceit and dishonesty that affects them all. After Biff ran from Mr. Oliver’s office with no loan in hand, he began to notice the lies that he had been living and those he was made to think of by his father. While sitting for drinks with Happy he questions who gave him “the idea he was a salesmen at [Oliver’s Sporting good store]. I even believed myself I’d been a salesman for him. And then he gave me one look— and I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been! We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years” (Miller 104). At this moment Biff began to realize that his father's constant need to seem better than his reality had rubbed off on him. He had in fact worked for Oliver, but Biff realized that he was not a “well-to-do” employee and that he didn’t deserve a loan and certainly not one in the same field of Oliver himself. A book by Charles Murray titled The State of White America 1960-2010 explains the four founding virtues that make America work, one of which is honesty. Pia Cotton, the author of a Wall Street Journal article on Willy Loman in the Modern World notes how similarities can be found in both Murray’s Book and Arthur Miller’s Death of a salesman. Cotton finds that Willy Loman opposes the American asset of Honesty in that, “The Loman household can't wrap its mind around its failures. The matriarch, Linda, understands the practical realities, but she's powerless against Willy's illusions of virtue. In the end, older son Biff is able to see his own flaws, but it's too late for his father” (Cotton 12). The idea of failure is almost nonexistent for the Lomens. So
Some may argue that by lying to his family, Willy is protecting them from the worry and doubt of their economic and living status. However, the harm that comes from Willy’s false confidence spreads to other members of the household and creates a toxic breeding ground for deceit and dishonesty that affects them all. After Biff ran from Mr. Oliver’s office with no loan in hand, he began to notice the lies that he had been living and those he was made to think of by his father. While sitting for drinks with Happy he questions who gave him “the idea he was a salesmen at [Oliver’s Sporting good store]. I even believed myself I’d been a salesman for him. And then he gave me one look— and I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been! We’ve been talking in a dream for fifteen years” (Miller 104). At this moment Biff began to realize that his father's constant need to seem better than his reality had rubbed off on him. He had in fact worked for Oliver, but Biff realized that he was not a “well-to-do” employee and that he didn’t deserve a loan and certainly not one in the same field of Oliver himself. A book by Charles Murray titled The State of White America 1960-2010 explains the four founding virtues that make America work, one of which is honesty. Pia Cotton, the author of a Wall Street Journal article on Willy Loman in the Modern World notes how similarities can be found in both Murray’s Book and Arthur Miller’s Death of a salesman. Cotton finds that Willy Loman opposes the American asset of Honesty in that, “The Loman household can't wrap its mind around its failures. The matriarch, Linda, understands the practical realities, but she's powerless against Willy's illusions of virtue. In the end, older son Biff is able to see his own flaws, but it's too late for his father” (Cotton 12). The idea of failure is almost nonexistent for the Lomens. So