Post by katiem7 on Apr 4, 2008 18:53:55 GMT -5
Like Father, Like Son: Father-Son Relationships in the Twentieth Century
During the twentieth century, the members of the American family were assigned a specific role, most often due to their gender. Men, the designated bread winners of the family, were supposedly the ones who went out to become successful and in turn make life comfortable for their spouses and children. This role, along with importance, was accompanied by a huge amount of pressure and strain, which largely affected subsequent personal relationships with others, specifically the relationships between fathers and sons. Most often, the father-son dynamic during this time was not filled with good experiences and fond memories; rather it was filled with resentment and anger. Sons looked down upon their fathers while catching every flaw, and although many swore to never trod down the same path, years later, they would find themselves doing just that. In Miller’s Death of a Salesman, William’s The Glass Menagerie and Wilson’s Fences, the relationship between a father and son is portrayed as cyclical, for no matter how much the sons try to escape from their fathers’ mistakes, they all eventually follow down the same path.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is blinded by the false prospects of the American Dream, which eventually lead to his suicide and the complete destruction of his family. When his two sons were growing up, it was clear that Willy favored Biff over Happy. Since Biff was the most well-liked and excelled the most in high school sports, Willy had this idea that he would grow up to fulfill the American Dream and become extremely successful. While Biff received constant praise, Happy was pretty much ignored, and he constantly strove to receive some acknowledgement from his father. In their adult lives, both Biff and Happy are able to see how Willy’s distorted images of the American Dream and success destroy their family. Happy, well aware of the failure that Willy has brought upon everyone in the house, still buys into these lies. Since he was never good enough, he wants to prove to his father that he can measure up and fit what Willy deems to be a successful man. When Biff realizes the truth and says, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong”, Happy refuses to believe it. He vows that he will prove to everyone that “Willy Loman did not die in vain” (Miller 139). Even though Happy saw how Willy’s dreams are what killed him and ruined his family, his feelings of inadequacy as a child propel him down the exact same path that Willy was on.
In Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, the relationship between Tom and his father is extremely distant. Tom describes his father as a telephone man who “fell in love with long distances” and never came back (Williams 5). After abandoning the family, and leaving Tom to be the main financial contributor, all Tom has left of his father, is his picture on the mantel. Tom is filled with resent at his father’s abandonment, for now he is forced to work in the factory to support his family even though it is the last thing that he would rather do. Priding himself on the notion that he is the opposite of his father, Tom exclaims to his mother during a fight that, “For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is- GONE” (Williams 23). Even though Tom feels extreme anger and resentment towards his father, he follows down the exact same path, eventually leaving Laura and Amanda to fend for themselves at the end of the play. One reason that Tom chooses to leave is that the mental picture of his father is distorted by the picture on the mantel. His father is always smiling, and this is the face that Tom sees all the time. This possibility of happiness is what drives him to leave. Both Tom and Happy have witnessed the detrimental affects of their father’s actions, yet, at the same, their distorted views of their fathers compel them to follow down the same paths.
The relationship between Troy and Corey in August Wilson’s Fences is one lacking in love, but full with anger. Troy’s childhood, filled without affection, shapes his values in his adult life. Rather than show any kindness or love to Corey, Troy reasons that all he needs to do is be responsible and provide for him. Troy wants Corey to grow up like him, and tries extremely hard to fence him into the world that he wants. He forbids Corey to go off and play football in college because he wants Corey to be a real man and work with his hands. Corey loathes everything Troy wants, and rather than do as he is told, he leaves the house and joins the army only returning when Troy dies. Even though Corey has tried so hard to be the antithesis of his father, he cannot escape him. Corey says that he “can’t drag Papa with [him] everywhere [he] goe”, however, Rose replies “You just like him. You got him in you good” (Wilson 96). In fact, without realizing it, Corey’s life echoes that of his fathers. Both of them ran away from home and joined the army. While Corey tries hard to leave Troy behind, he is unsuccessful. The hateful image that Corey has for Troy compels him to leave; yet ironically, by leaving, he is following in his father’s footsteps. Like Tom, Corey sees how his father’s decisions in life have hurt him, yet at the same, both Tom and Corey are unable to realize that by choosing to run away, they are following in the paths that their fathers have already traveled.
The twentieth century American family followed a cycle; even though sons tried to escape from their fathers, it was impossible. This idea that children, no matter how much they try, cannot escape the legacies left by their parents, still lives on today in the twenty-first century. It is common today to see children follow down the same paths as their parents, whether positive, such as attending the same college, or negative, such as becoming an alcoholic. Our parents shape our values, and although we can try to escape them, they make up part of who we are. Rather than try and run away from our parents mistakes, what we can do and should do is try to learn from them and become better people in the process.
During the twentieth century, the members of the American family were assigned a specific role, most often due to their gender. Men, the designated bread winners of the family, were supposedly the ones who went out to become successful and in turn make life comfortable for their spouses and children. This role, along with importance, was accompanied by a huge amount of pressure and strain, which largely affected subsequent personal relationships with others, specifically the relationships between fathers and sons. Most often, the father-son dynamic during this time was not filled with good experiences and fond memories; rather it was filled with resentment and anger. Sons looked down upon their fathers while catching every flaw, and although many swore to never trod down the same path, years later, they would find themselves doing just that. In Miller’s Death of a Salesman, William’s The Glass Menagerie and Wilson’s Fences, the relationship between a father and son is portrayed as cyclical, for no matter how much the sons try to escape from their fathers’ mistakes, they all eventually follow down the same path.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is blinded by the false prospects of the American Dream, which eventually lead to his suicide and the complete destruction of his family. When his two sons were growing up, it was clear that Willy favored Biff over Happy. Since Biff was the most well-liked and excelled the most in high school sports, Willy had this idea that he would grow up to fulfill the American Dream and become extremely successful. While Biff received constant praise, Happy was pretty much ignored, and he constantly strove to receive some acknowledgement from his father. In their adult lives, both Biff and Happy are able to see how Willy’s distorted images of the American Dream and success destroy their family. Happy, well aware of the failure that Willy has brought upon everyone in the house, still buys into these lies. Since he was never good enough, he wants to prove to his father that he can measure up and fit what Willy deems to be a successful man. When Biff realizes the truth and says, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong”, Happy refuses to believe it. He vows that he will prove to everyone that “Willy Loman did not die in vain” (Miller 139). Even though Happy saw how Willy’s dreams are what killed him and ruined his family, his feelings of inadequacy as a child propel him down the exact same path that Willy was on.
In Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie, the relationship between Tom and his father is extremely distant. Tom describes his father as a telephone man who “fell in love with long distances” and never came back (Williams 5). After abandoning the family, and leaving Tom to be the main financial contributor, all Tom has left of his father, is his picture on the mantel. Tom is filled with resent at his father’s abandonment, for now he is forced to work in the factory to support his family even though it is the last thing that he would rather do. Priding himself on the notion that he is the opposite of his father, Tom exclaims to his mother during a fight that, “For sixty-five dollars a month I give up all that I dream of doing and being ever! Why, listen, if self is what I thought of, Mother, I’d be where he is- GONE” (Williams 23). Even though Tom feels extreme anger and resentment towards his father, he follows down the exact same path, eventually leaving Laura and Amanda to fend for themselves at the end of the play. One reason that Tom chooses to leave is that the mental picture of his father is distorted by the picture on the mantel. His father is always smiling, and this is the face that Tom sees all the time. This possibility of happiness is what drives him to leave. Both Tom and Happy have witnessed the detrimental affects of their father’s actions, yet, at the same, their distorted views of their fathers compel them to follow down the same paths.
The relationship between Troy and Corey in August Wilson’s Fences is one lacking in love, but full with anger. Troy’s childhood, filled without affection, shapes his values in his adult life. Rather than show any kindness or love to Corey, Troy reasons that all he needs to do is be responsible and provide for him. Troy wants Corey to grow up like him, and tries extremely hard to fence him into the world that he wants. He forbids Corey to go off and play football in college because he wants Corey to be a real man and work with his hands. Corey loathes everything Troy wants, and rather than do as he is told, he leaves the house and joins the army only returning when Troy dies. Even though Corey has tried so hard to be the antithesis of his father, he cannot escape him. Corey says that he “can’t drag Papa with [him] everywhere [he] goe
The twentieth century American family followed a cycle; even though sons tried to escape from their fathers, it was impossible. This idea that children, no matter how much they try, cannot escape the legacies left by their parents, still lives on today in the twenty-first century. It is common today to see children follow down the same paths as their parents, whether positive, such as attending the same college, or negative, such as becoming an alcoholic. Our parents shape our values, and although we can try to escape them, they make up part of who we are. Rather than try and run away from our parents mistakes, what we can do and should do is try to learn from them and become better people in the process.