Essay --

Ross Ebster Scott Yates English 1B 16 November 2013 Waking Up From the Nightmare: From Marx to Miller Arthur Miller’s Death Of A Salesman is a modern day tragedy that roots itself with those who try to obtain the American Dream but are unsuccessful in their pursuit. Miller’s play revolves around the continual chase of this ideology and poses the question of whether attempting to â€Å"keep up with the Joneses† can be more of a nightmare than dream. Karl Marx’s ideology introduces the socioeconomic conflict between the capitalists and the working class. Marx referred to these opposing forces as the â€Å"haves and have-nots†. Looking at Death Of A Salesman through Karl Marx’s viewpoint can help shed light to Miller’s commentary and possible rejection of American capitalism during the late 1940’s. The protagonist, Willy Loman shows an insatiable struggle to fit into the right part of society and his desperation to have himself and his sons as one of the â€Å"haves†. The view Miller gives of the American Dream shows the soc ial and economic perspective of post-war America and how those views relate to social class. To fully understand this idea in context, one must define the idea of the American Dream. The basis of the American Dream at that time was that financial success through capitalism was the sole foundation for happiness. Marx’s view also helps to point out the overt theme of materialism in the play. â€Å"Marx professed materialism but generally tried to distinguish his views from the mechanical materialism which regarded man as a machine, or which reduced all human behavior to the laws of physics and chemistry† (Mayo 34). To Marx, materialism was a neutral notion; neither moral nor immoral. It was comprised of a simple acceptance of the â€Å"evid... ...changed young Biff’s life. â€Å"That boy — that boy is going to be magnificent! (Ben appears in the light just outside the kitchen.) . . .Yes, outstanding, with twenty thousand behind him.† (cite) Part of what makes this play so tragic is that if Willy had chosen acceptance and individuality instead of materialism he would have seen he had already achieved the American Dream by having the love of his family. Much of this play parallels the author’s own life, â€Å"He grew up white and Jewish in Harlem. Mr. Miller's comfortable childhood in the era of radio was transformed by his father's ruin in the Depression and the family's forced move from their Upper West Side apartment at the edge of Harlem to Brooklyn† (Shattuck 43). Death Of A Salesman heeds a well-deserved warning about the dangers of materialism and the risk of using capitalism as the sole backbone of prosperity.

Hold the Future in Your Hand

â€Å"Hold the Future in your Hand† In 1962, Sony put an ad out to introduce one of the first micro televisions (TV). This tiny box was a milestone in television viewing at that point in time. Who could believe that in is era that Sony would create a television that could actually be held in the palm of the hand? At only 8lbs. it is not much larger than your telephone. Think of it, it’s the early 60’s and a typical household only had one television, then suddenly an advertisement comes out describing a television that can be held in your hand.Imagine it, a rechargeable TV, one that could be used by normal battery, auto battery or by plugging it into the wall. Now all of a sudden this was not only a small TV to fit in a person’s hand, but one that could be brought anywhere. No longer was a family tied to watching TV just at home, now television was able to be watched anywhere. The 1962 ad â€Å"Hold the Future in your Hands, by Sony† is an effective advertisement that in it’s time was cutting edge technology; Sony shows appeal to men and women, versatility as well ad keeping up with a demanding future.To begin with, Sony’s attempt in bringing portable televisions to the horizon was very effective in the way they advertised. They created a television that was not only designed to appeal to both sexes but to show their leap in technology as well. Sony did not just put out a hand held television they also made one that you could use without having to watch television in the home, but rather one that you could watch on the road or outside.Secondly, over the past 66 years, Sony has continually shown us that they are always on the cutting edge of something big. Even back in the 1960’s when they were well ahead of their competitors; Sony produced a product that was not only new and inventive but versatile as well. Sony jumped ahead in the competition by creating a television that was not only useful at home but on the go as well. At that point in time they were the first on the market to design a television with portability.When Sony created this ad showing a woman holding the television in her hand Sony created an appeal to both sexes with this Micro TV, which made it an easier sell. In the 1960’s men were the primary television watchers when they got home from work, but by Sony using the type of ad they did they were able to appeal to the women. Although, this is not as characteristic today as it was in 1960, back then more woman were stay at home wives and mothers and their job was to ensure that dinner and housework was completed.Having this Micro TV that did not have to be plugged in was a blessing for women to be able to watch television wherever they were in the home. Finally, over the years Sony has continually surprised me with their ability to create electronics that make our life easier, as well as give us items to make our life more enjoyable. I would fully recommend Sony to anyone who was in the market for cutting edge electronics. References Yue, Michelle (2012, November). Retro Ad of the Week Retrieved from: http://mascola. com/insights/? p=5460

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn By Mark Twain - 1774 Words

There is a major argument among literary critics about whether or not The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is a racist novel. The book is based off the pre-civil war time era and by doing so people didn’t have high respect for slaves or men of color. I will tell you my opinion from reading this book on why our definition of the â€Å"N† word has changed, why Jim isn’t offended by being called a nigger, and why Huck is different after the trip down river. The Huck Finn book is not racist it’s taken mrtrly too far by modern day people with our new history and thought processes. The book isn’t inherently racist if racist at all, for our generation has been told the â€Å"N† word is bad. Is it really? Adults have brought us up to think it†¦show more content†¦Or it was the fact that we as white British donkeys, couldn’t accept that there is more than one skin color? If the position was reversed, wouldn’t we as white people be called albinos, beceause of or pail white skin? The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer, in which the word nigger — [was] used 219 times in Huck Finn alone (Leave Huck alone, form New York Times). This is fine for what it represents. It represents the pre-civil war era when they would have used the N word more than 219 times in a 293 page book. And yes you may say â€Å"but Brian that is almost 1 use per page!† Yes I know that and I did the math it’s used about every 1.4 times per page, which don’t get me wrong isn’t bad it is acutely less than average. F or example, from multiple sites they averaged around 350 times used in a book the same size as Huck Finn. Here was a free nigger there from Ohio—a mulatter, most as white as a white man. He had the whitest shirt on you ever see, too, and the shiniest hat; and there ain t a man in that town that s got as fine clothes as what he had; and he had a gold watch and chain, and a silver-headed cane—the awful- est old gray-headed nabob in the State. And what do you think? They said he was a p fessor in a college, and could talk all kinds of languages, and knowed everything. And that ain t the wust. They said he could VOTE when he was at home. Well, that let me out. Thinks I, what is the country a-coming to? It