Post by ajl on Mar 19, 2008 21:26:44 GMT -5
A. L.
3/19/08
Period 7
English IIIH
Words: 615
Revenge of the Nerds: How Education is Necessary to Succeed in America
While several of the themes in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman date it to its publishing in 1949, there are several themes that remain relevant in today’s America. One of those themes is the importance of the role of education in succeeding in American society. The play Death of a Salesman is still relevant to today because it demonstrates that having a solid education rather than personal charisma or knowing people is the necessary factor in succeeding in American society.
In the play Death of a Salesman, one of the main characters is Biff Loman, a man who, during his high school years, seemed like he could do no wrong. He was a football star and “built like Adonises” (33). He was expected to go to the University of Virginia and then be a huge success in the business world. Willy Loman, his father, predicts, “That boy- that boy is going to be magnificent!” (133). On the other hand, Bernard is a nerd in high school and gets “the best marks in school” (33). Bernard worries about Biff, telling him that he needs to study or his teacher would flunk him, therefore ruining his chances of getting into university. However, Biff doesn’t study and decides to rely on “being well-liked” instead (33). Willy is of the same mold, as he boasts to Charley, “It’s contacts, Charley, I got important contacts!” (51).
After Biff and Bernard both graduate from high school, the difference in how hard they worked for as well as how they used their education is evident in their jobs. Biff is a wandering bum, having done a stint in jail and drifting from job to job, amounting to “twenty or thirty different kinds of jobs” (22). Biff is stuck in a self-deprecating cycle of holding a business job, dropping it for a farm job out West, and then coming back to the East to find another job, without ever being successful at anything he does. Willy is also a failure at being a salesman, which is evident when he is fired. Bernard on the other hand is an important lawyer who works in the Supreme Court and is obviously successful at what he does.
The importance of having an education is evident in many examples of modern America- one such example is Bill Gates. Bill Gates was a nerd in high school, but he became one of the most successful Americans ever in history by using his education and intelligence to design and build the dominant software industry in the world today, Microsoft. Also, people who are seen as “successful” in America often are lawyers, businessmen, or doctors, and in order to make it to those professions, a strong academic background is needed. For instance, no matter how many contacts one has, one cannot become a good doctor if they do not know medicine and human anatomy well. It is important in today’s society to have a strong academic background in order to secure a high-paying job, and since America measures success through wealth, it becomes necessary to have a strong academic background to be successful.
In order to be successful in American society, an education is absolutely fundamental, which is one of the themes stressed in the play Death of a Salesman, and is seen through the juxtaposition of Biff and Bernard, and to a lesser extent, Willy and Charley. Bernard is the nerd who becomes highly successful due to his academic background, while Biff is the football star who relies on his persona and ends up lost in American society. Having a strong education is critical to succeeding in American society, a principle that is as pertinent to Miller’s time as it is to today.
3/19/08
Period 7
English IIIH
Words: 615
Revenge of the Nerds: How Education is Necessary to Succeed in America
While several of the themes in Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman date it to its publishing in 1949, there are several themes that remain relevant in today’s America. One of those themes is the importance of the role of education in succeeding in American society. The play Death of a Salesman is still relevant to today because it demonstrates that having a solid education rather than personal charisma or knowing people is the necessary factor in succeeding in American society.
In the play Death of a Salesman, one of the main characters is Biff Loman, a man who, during his high school years, seemed like he could do no wrong. He was a football star and “built like Adonises” (33). He was expected to go to the University of Virginia and then be a huge success in the business world. Willy Loman, his father, predicts, “That boy- that boy is going to be magnificent!” (133). On the other hand, Bernard is a nerd in high school and gets “the best marks in school” (33). Bernard worries about Biff, telling him that he needs to study or his teacher would flunk him, therefore ruining his chances of getting into university. However, Biff doesn’t study and decides to rely on “being well-liked” instead (33). Willy is of the same mold, as he boasts to Charley, “It’s contacts, Charley, I got important contacts!” (51).
After Biff and Bernard both graduate from high school, the difference in how hard they worked for as well as how they used their education is evident in their jobs. Biff is a wandering bum, having done a stint in jail and drifting from job to job, amounting to “twenty or thirty different kinds of jobs” (22). Biff is stuck in a self-deprecating cycle of holding a business job, dropping it for a farm job out West, and then coming back to the East to find another job, without ever being successful at anything he does. Willy is also a failure at being a salesman, which is evident when he is fired. Bernard on the other hand is an important lawyer who works in the Supreme Court and is obviously successful at what he does.
The importance of having an education is evident in many examples of modern America- one such example is Bill Gates. Bill Gates was a nerd in high school, but he became one of the most successful Americans ever in history by using his education and intelligence to design and build the dominant software industry in the world today, Microsoft. Also, people who are seen as “successful” in America often are lawyers, businessmen, or doctors, and in order to make it to those professions, a strong academic background is needed. For instance, no matter how many contacts one has, one cannot become a good doctor if they do not know medicine and human anatomy well. It is important in today’s society to have a strong academic background in order to secure a high-paying job, and since America measures success through wealth, it becomes necessary to have a strong academic background to be successful.
In order to be successful in American society, an education is absolutely fundamental, which is one of the themes stressed in the play Death of a Salesman, and is seen through the juxtaposition of Biff and Bernard, and to a lesser extent, Willy and Charley. Bernard is the nerd who becomes highly successful due to his academic background, while Biff is the football star who relies on his persona and ends up lost in American society. Having a strong education is critical to succeeding in American society, a principle that is as pertinent to Miller’s time as it is to today.