Post by gregory on Apr 4, 2008 18:59:38 GMT -5
A Bad influence: An examination of the Father's Impact on the 20th Century American Family
In the 20th century American family, the general role of the father was to provide financial support, while acting as a role model for his children. The way the father presented himself to his family had a direct impact on how he and his family functioned in society. The works The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman and Fences all reveal how, in the 20th Century American family, the father’s state of mind directly correlates to the family’s financial and emotional circumstances.
Willy’s constant lying puts him and his family into a false sense of reality which leads them to be unsuccessful in society. The overall condition in which Willy’s family is in is sub-par to say the least. His two sons, Biff and Happy, are unemployed men in their early to mid 30s who are living with their parents, the family’s overall financial situation is not good as they are in debt with many bills, and Linda, his wife, seems to almost be in the same fanatical state as Willy. It is apparent that Linda has been affected directly by Willy by how she reacts to his unreasonable lies. Willy blatantly falsifies how much money he made on his business trip in Boston when he and Linda are going over their profits. Instead of Linda telling Willy he is unsuccessful, she supports him and does not act like anything is wrong. Because Willy had been probably lying to Linda for most of their marriage, his mendacity had changed Linda’s rational thinking and had caused her to get sucked into his life of fantasy. Also, at Willy’s funeral, we see how Happy’s reasonable thought has been affected by Willy. Happy tells everyone that he is going to try to follow in his fathers footsteps and aspires to be successful as a salesman. Willy’s aspirations from a realistic point of view are extremely hard to achieve, but because Willy clouded Happy’s mind, becoming a successful salesman still seemed achievable. As a result of Willy being dishonest with his family and himself, he ended up ruining his and his family members’ lives.
Like how Willy affects his family, the absence of the father in the Glass Menagerie results in Tom and Amanda to be distraught in their lives. All of the family members seem to have a void in their lives which could possibly be because the father is not there. In Tom’s life, by day, he works at a warehouse which is pretty uneventful, and by night, he goes to the movies for hours. Tom seems to be lost in his life and uses these movies to seek guidance and adventure. Because he never had anyone to motivate or lead him, he became a lost soul in an unforgiving world. Moreover, we see how Amanda is also affected by the father’s absence. When Amanda hears that a gentleman caller is coming to the house, she becomes extremely excited and turns into a different person. The reason she does this is because the gentleman caller acts as a temporary husband for her. It is apparent that she yearns for a man in her life because of all of the trouble she put into the gentleman caller. The father’s absence in the family leaves them with no guidance which results in them leading lost, sad lives.
Furthermore, Troy’s unwillingness to change holds his son Corey back from progressing in their society which, in turn, restricts them from reaching his full potential. When Troy was a child, he did not receive an education and suffered through many hardships. Now, as an adult, he still feels education is irrelevant for what is necessary to live. His son, Corey, is a smart, athletic teenager who has a chance to get recruited by a college to play football. When Troy hears that Corey could actually find a way to go to college, he calls the recruiter and tells him not to come. Because Troy does not believe in a further education, Corey is hurt by his beliefs, and therefore cannot become the best person he can be.
The works The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman and Fences all expose how, in the 20th Century American family, the father’s emotional state correlates to his family’s financial and emotional situations. Though in the 20th century American family it seemed as though the father was the dominant parent, in the 21st century American family, mothers have gained more power and seem to have more of an influence on their children than before. In Death of a Salesman, Willy was the main parent who had an influence on Biff and Happy and Linda just supported him. Also, in Fences, Rose seemed to have less power in decision making for the family in that she had no say in if the recruiter should be told not to come or not. Mothers today have more influence on their children probably because they are gaining power in the economical hierarchy which could explain why they have more influence on their children. Although now both parents seem to have equal influence on their children, the parents’ influence on their children is the most important part of their maturation.
In the 20th century American family, the general role of the father was to provide financial support, while acting as a role model for his children. The way the father presented himself to his family had a direct impact on how he and his family functioned in society. The works The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman and Fences all reveal how, in the 20th Century American family, the father’s state of mind directly correlates to the family’s financial and emotional circumstances.
Willy’s constant lying puts him and his family into a false sense of reality which leads them to be unsuccessful in society. The overall condition in which Willy’s family is in is sub-par to say the least. His two sons, Biff and Happy, are unemployed men in their early to mid 30s who are living with their parents, the family’s overall financial situation is not good as they are in debt with many bills, and Linda, his wife, seems to almost be in the same fanatical state as Willy. It is apparent that Linda has been affected directly by Willy by how she reacts to his unreasonable lies. Willy blatantly falsifies how much money he made on his business trip in Boston when he and Linda are going over their profits. Instead of Linda telling Willy he is unsuccessful, she supports him and does not act like anything is wrong. Because Willy had been probably lying to Linda for most of their marriage, his mendacity had changed Linda’s rational thinking and had caused her to get sucked into his life of fantasy. Also, at Willy’s funeral, we see how Happy’s reasonable thought has been affected by Willy. Happy tells everyone that he is going to try to follow in his fathers footsteps and aspires to be successful as a salesman. Willy’s aspirations from a realistic point of view are extremely hard to achieve, but because Willy clouded Happy’s mind, becoming a successful salesman still seemed achievable. As a result of Willy being dishonest with his family and himself, he ended up ruining his and his family members’ lives.
Like how Willy affects his family, the absence of the father in the Glass Menagerie results in Tom and Amanda to be distraught in their lives. All of the family members seem to have a void in their lives which could possibly be because the father is not there. In Tom’s life, by day, he works at a warehouse which is pretty uneventful, and by night, he goes to the movies for hours. Tom seems to be lost in his life and uses these movies to seek guidance and adventure. Because he never had anyone to motivate or lead him, he became a lost soul in an unforgiving world. Moreover, we see how Amanda is also affected by the father’s absence. When Amanda hears that a gentleman caller is coming to the house, she becomes extremely excited and turns into a different person. The reason she does this is because the gentleman caller acts as a temporary husband for her. It is apparent that she yearns for a man in her life because of all of the trouble she put into the gentleman caller. The father’s absence in the family leaves them with no guidance which results in them leading lost, sad lives.
Furthermore, Troy’s unwillingness to change holds his son Corey back from progressing in their society which, in turn, restricts them from reaching his full potential. When Troy was a child, he did not receive an education and suffered through many hardships. Now, as an adult, he still feels education is irrelevant for what is necessary to live. His son, Corey, is a smart, athletic teenager who has a chance to get recruited by a college to play football. When Troy hears that Corey could actually find a way to go to college, he calls the recruiter and tells him not to come. Because Troy does not believe in a further education, Corey is hurt by his beliefs, and therefore cannot become the best person he can be.
The works The Glass Menagerie, Death of a Salesman and Fences all expose how, in the 20th Century American family, the father’s emotional state correlates to his family’s financial and emotional situations. Though in the 20th century American family it seemed as though the father was the dominant parent, in the 21st century American family, mothers have gained more power and seem to have more of an influence on their children than before. In Death of a Salesman, Willy was the main parent who had an influence on Biff and Happy and Linda just supported him. Also, in Fences, Rose seemed to have less power in decision making for the family in that she had no say in if the recruiter should be told not to come or not. Mothers today have more influence on their children probably because they are gaining power in the economical hierarchy which could explain why they have more influence on their children. Although now both parents seem to have equal influence on their children, the parents’ influence on their children is the most important part of their maturation.