Compare Cora Tucker to Willy Loman. Where does one succeed where the other fails?
Their definitions of success are different. Cora Tucker sees success as making a difference in one's community for the better. Willy Loman sees success as having a good, steady job because one is well-liked. Willy is not well-liked (or a good worker) so he gets fired. He loses his success. Cora Tucker doesn't have the best job, nor is she well-like by everyone. Yet she makes a difference for the better in people's lives so she has achieved her version of success. She is also happy, as well. If you switched their definitions of success, they both fail. Willy doesn't make a difference in the community- he is preoccupied by himself and his sons alone. Mainly Biff. Cora Tucker isn't the most well-liked person, nor does she have a well-paying, good job as Willy defines it. But success is measured by one's own definition, so she is successful. Kind of interesting, that.
Tuesday 16 October 2007
Monday 15 October 2007
Willy and Individual Opportunity
What does Willy believe about ‘individual opportunity’? What does he thinks makes someone able to be successful?
Willy believes that to be successful, you have to be well-liked. To him, that means that you have to be popular and liked for your personality, not your ethics or virtues or good things. He bases his whole mindset off this idea. He expects people like Biff (and, I think, Happy) to be successful and respected because they're social and friendly. Supposedly, anyway. He can't understand that being simply hardworking and intelligent will get you places.
To me, liked in Willy's mind stands for being respected as we think about it and well-liked stands for simply less. When you're well-liked, people think you're a great person, they love you and invite you to parties and stuff but don't give you great jobs. When you're liked, you're more likely to be respected. You don't have to like someone to respect them. I expect there are people who hate their bosses, but if their boss is efficient and fair, then they respect them. They don't like them personally, but professionally they do, if that makes sense. Willy doesn't understand that, and that's why he gets fired at the end. He doesn't understand that he isn't respected- he may be a nice guy (or in his case, may have been a nice guy)- but he is not good at his work.
(Personally, I think Willy's a dense idiot, but that has nothing to do with the question so I won't say anything else.)
Willy believes that to be successful, you have to be well-liked. To him, that means that you have to be popular and liked for your personality, not your ethics or virtues or good things. He bases his whole mindset off this idea. He expects people like Biff (and, I think, Happy) to be successful and respected because they're social and friendly. Supposedly, anyway. He can't understand that being simply hardworking and intelligent will get you places.
To me, liked in Willy's mind stands for being respected as we think about it and well-liked stands for simply less. When you're well-liked, people think you're a great person, they love you and invite you to parties and stuff but don't give you great jobs. When you're liked, you're more likely to be respected. You don't have to like someone to respect them. I expect there are people who hate their bosses, but if their boss is efficient and fair, then they respect them. They don't like them personally, but professionally they do, if that makes sense. Willy doesn't understand that, and that's why he gets fired at the end. He doesn't understand that he isn't respected- he may be a nice guy (or in his case, may have been a nice guy)- but he is not good at his work.
(Personally, I think Willy's a dense idiot, but that has nothing to do with the question so I won't say anything else.)
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