Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson

When it comes to comparing and contrasting two different cultures and morals the differences can be night and day. In Death Of A Salesman and Fences, these stories follow two middle-class families around the same time period (late 1940-1950’s), who are both facing problems within their own household’s. From marital issues to failing father/son relationships, both of these stories paint a picture to the audience of what life in an urban family living in that time setting was like through the author’s eyes. And even yet with all the things between these two plays that make them alike, there are also many things that make them very different.

Family is not always the easiest thing to deal with as families always seem to get into disagreements. This is shown in the play “Fences” by August Wilson which is full of tension between the main character, Troy, and his various family members. Troy’s many bad decisions and mistakes cause a lot of hate to be directed at him and a lot of arguments ensue throughout the play. August Wilson uses many narrative elements in the play to make it more interesting and show the tension more clearly. Overall, in the play “Fences” August Wilson uses narrative elements such as father-son conflict, contrasting motifs, and characterization to show characters’ problems to create tension between characters.

Fences written by August Wilson and Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller are two plays that could be considered very different in terms of their plot. The plots of both plays contain two very different cultural backgrounds which affects each protagonist differently. If the reader or audience looks past the plot into the theme and symbolisms used they can see that the plays are more similar than they are different. In spite of the different cultural backgrounds of each protagonist they both are tragic heroes that are trying to achieve the American dream as it relates to each character; both of which fail in drastic yet similar ways. The American dream has always been an important factor in many American’s lives as it is to Troy

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller are two of the twentieth century’s best-known plays. The differences and similarities between both of the plays are hidden in their historical and social contexts. The characters of The Glass Menagerie and the Death of a Salesman are trapped by the constraints of their everyday lives, unable to communicate with their loved ones and being fearful for their future. There are a lot of comparisons that exist, especially between the settings, symbolism and characterization drawn between the two plays. The contrast comes form the ways that the characters choose to deal or not with the harsh circumstances of life.

dreams as Major League baseball player, we see his son, Cory, taking that path instead,

When Troy is talking to Cory he says, “See...you swung at the ball and you didn't hit it. That’s strike one. See, you in the batters box. You swung and missed. That's strike one. Don’t you strike out!” Troy is creating new tension by adding more pressure to Troy and is doing it by saying don't strike out and baseball is a good way to explain it. Cory plays football and Troy is against it and Cory wants to do it in his future but because he is black he has different rights. Most days Cory would use the excuse of “ Yeah, I had to go to football practice.”(31) This is saying that yea I have other things to do rather than work and I wanna do something better with my life and he is conveying that through football. When Cory is talking to Troy that he wants to continue with football and not get a job that causes more tension through conflict.

Throughout time there have always been conflicts of morality and injustice. August Wilson wrote this play about issues that were prevalent in the 1950’s but also still are sadly present today. In Fences, there is an abundance of evidence of cultural clashes. In this play these clashes span over racial, generational, and even gender lines and its effects on the characters.

One thing that continues to come up in "A Death of a Salesman" is the fact that Willy has this huge desire to be "well liked." This is more important to him than being accomplished or having a good job. He constantly tells Linda and his kids that it is more important to be "well liked" than to be successful at work or in school. He lies to his kids about the fact that he is "well liked" which eventually leads to his two kids growing up as failures. Seeing how his lies have hurt, not only himself, but his children too, Willy decides to do what in his mind, is the only thing he can do to save help his family. He decides to kill himself and then maybe he will have a lot of people show up to his funeral which would mean that he is well liked. Of course no one shows up to the funeral but Willy 's

Behind every literary piece is hidden meanings and figures the author strategically hides between the lines of their works. In the play Fences by August Wilson, many symbols and themes hide between the lines in order to make this an amazing drama. One main symbol in this play is the fence being built throughout the storyline. The fence within the story represents the walls that arise between characters, the security Rose wants for her family, and the mending of relationships after Troy’s death.

The Fences written by August Wilson and Death of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller are two plays that can be considered different in terms of their plot. Both plays have two very different cultural backgrounds. The background affects each protagonist therefore differently. However, there are also similarities beyond the plot. Despite the different backgrounds of each protagonist or main characters, they are both trying to achieve their dreams. They both fail ironically in similar ways .Willy Loman in the death of a salesman and Troy Maxson are both hardworking men trying very hard to help their families . They strive very hard to be successful, yet they die in the end feeling they did not earn the respect they deserved.

The role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of what a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences” both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a role model for them. Between, “Death of a Salesman,” and “Fences,” both protagonists, Willy and Troy both depict the role of a father in distinctive ways; however, in their struggle, Willy is the more sympathetic of the two.

After finding out about Troy's affair, Cory stands up to his father in order to protect his mother during an altercation between Troy and Rose. Troy nearly hits Cory, but he is able to stop himself before threatening Cory by saying, "You better stay away from me, boy" (72). Cory and Troy's relationship following this incident is practically nonexistant until the time of their last fight. During that fight, after two months of staying out of his father's way, Cory has finally had enough of Troy's verbal abuse and once again stands up to him. This quarrel ends with Troy nearly hitting Cory with a baseball bat, but he is once again able to stop

Both Death of a Salesman, and The Glass Menagerie have many things in common. They are both great plays, and both concern dysfunctional families. But there is a deeper similarity to these great literary works. The similarity between the parents. Due to Willy Loman and Amanda Wingfield's lack of coping skills, as well as their inability to let go or accept their past, their children are ill-equipped to deal with the future.

Troy is not invisible, but he builds himself up to be. He kept saying that he could always hit a homerun off when playing a game when he was younger. Troy uses the idea of baseball to almost taunt death, daring the evil to fight him. Troy is characterized as seeing himself as unhuman and extremely powerful. Troy don’t want to let death come with ease, and always uses his former baseball skill to try to show that he can beat death. Troy relates most of the components in his life to baseball, because he felt baseball makes him more comfortable. This is also the reason why he put the setting of baseball in the back of the yard, it is to remind him that he is strong enough to protect the family and himself, and reinforces his ego using his skill with baseball.

First I am going to talk about the similarities and differences between Walter Younger from A Raisin in the Sun and Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman. I think both authors are trying to elevate the level of the common man. There is something heroic and noble about what both characters have done for their families. At one point you dislike both characters and at another point you feel really bad for them.