Post by kimb07 on Apr 10, 2008 23:01:55 GMT -5
Infidelity as an Escape from Reality
Similar to the American dream, the 20th century American family is built up to appear ideal and better than it is, when in reality, it is flawed. Behind the curtain, husbands and wives are not faithful to one another and across the board there is a common theme of adultery. Infidelity can be for one of many reasons. There may be a power struggle, it may be in order to show status, or it may be a selfish act where one spouse feels the need to look elsewhere for what he or she can’t find at home. Whatever the reason is, it is obvious in the literature that this was a recurring theme in society during this time. This can be for many reasons, there may be a power struggle, it may be in order to show status, or it may be a selfish act where one of the spouses is looking elsewhere for what he or she can’t find at home. Whatever the reason is, it is obvious that this was a recurring theme in society during this time. August Wilson’s play, Fences, Arthur Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, effectively portray the nature of some Americans during the 20th century to commit adultery in order to escape reality.
August Wilson’s play, Fences, effectively emulates the 20th century flawed American family. Troy, one of the main characters, is not happy in his marriage and he commits adultery on his wife, Rose. Like every other person, Troy has a lot of problems and stresses in his life that he feels the need to escape from. Troy uses Alberta as an escape from reality and from his house and his family. Rose, on the other hand, wants to keep Troy close to her and doesn’t want him pursuing Alberta. This is evident when she asks him to build her a fence. This fence is symbolic of her desire to keep Troy and her loved ones close to her and keep outsiders from entering. Troy, however, shows a lack of commitment to finishing the fence, which shows his lack of commitment to Rose and to mending his marriage. After continuing to cheat on his wife with Alberta, Troy soon learns that she is pregnant and is going to have his child. After Alberta gives birth to Raynell, Troy’s daughter, she immediately dies and Rose steps in and assumes the role of mother to Raynell and treats her as if she was her own daughter. Rose is a very loving and nurturing woman and this shows her acceptance of Troy’s infidelity. She knows that he is not faithful and, although she obviously does not approve, she chooses to remain in the marriage for fear of change and does very little to stop him. Since Rose doesn’t stop Troy and she eventually nurtures and mothers his child, she is a catalyst for his infidelity.
Willy Loman, the main character in Arthur Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, accurately shows the common pains that an American man living during this time period may have. Although Linda, Willy’s wife, is a very loyal and loving companion for Willy, he still is not happy. Willy has a very distorted view of the American dream and believes that in order to succeed, one must be well liked. Since Willy is a salesman and is away a lot of the time, he is rarely with his family. While away, he meets a woman who compliments him and says, “‘You’re a wonderful man’… ‘You’re so sweet’” (Miller 25). Willy likes this about the woman and he has an affair with her. Similar to Troy, he has many problems: he lies to his family, he is having problems with his business, and his sons frequently leave him. When he is away on his trip, he is not with Linda who normally feeds him lies to make him feel better about himself and so he is burdened with all of his problems. His mistress that he meets allows him to escape reality and fulfill his needs while he is away from his wife.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, also successfully portrays the problems that many American marriages face. In this novel, two of the main characters, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, both cheat on each other. During this time, money and status were very important considerations when choosing a spouse. For Daisy, she married Tom for his money even though she was in love with Gatsby. Gatsby did not have nearly the wealth or status that Tom had. Tom and Daisy married for money and not for love, which complicated things later on in life and led to them both committing adultery. When Daisy was reunited with Gatsby and saw his wealth and all that he had accomplished, she was devastated to see what she could’ve had and she cheats on Tom with Gatsby in order to escape the reality of it. For Tom, his relationship with Myrtle is not a one-time thing, but rather a continuous affair. He even extends it far enough to have an apartment in the city solely for the purpose of using it with Myrtle. For Tom, his affair with Myrtle is a way for him to show off and boost his ego. It is a way for him to secure his status in society. This shows how Tom has very little respect for women and treats them as possessions. Tom uses Myrtle as a way to escape from the reality that he is not in love with Daisy and that she is in love with Gatsby. Tom and Daisy, like many couples during this time, were in an unhappy marriage and committed adultery as a way to escape from reality.
Art, especially literature, has always echoed the society that it comes from. During 20th Century America, many husbands and wives found that they were not satisfied and were unhappy in their marriages. At this time, however, divorce was scorned upon in society, so many spouses turned to other partners to fulfill the needs that their husband or wife was not fulfilling. This aspect of the American family is portrayed in August Wilson’s play, Fences, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, when at least one of the main characters commit adultery. Committing adultery was common in 20th century America when these pieces of literature were written and is still common today. In today’s society, many couples are in unhappy and sometimes unhealthy marriages, causing them to be unfaithful. Today’s society differs from 20th century America since it is now more common and accepted for people to divorce or separate. Today, although infidelity is still very common, many people choose to end their relationship altogether instead.
Similar to the American dream, the 20th century American family is built up to appear ideal and better than it is, when in reality, it is flawed. Behind the curtain, husbands and wives are not faithful to one another and across the board there is a common theme of adultery. Infidelity can be for one of many reasons. There may be a power struggle, it may be in order to show status, or it may be a selfish act where one spouse feels the need to look elsewhere for what he or she can’t find at home. Whatever the reason is, it is obvious in the literature that this was a recurring theme in society during this time. This can be for many reasons, there may be a power struggle, it may be in order to show status, or it may be a selfish act where one of the spouses is looking elsewhere for what he or she can’t find at home. Whatever the reason is, it is obvious that this was a recurring theme in society during this time. August Wilson’s play, Fences, Arthur Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, and F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, effectively portray the nature of some Americans during the 20th century to commit adultery in order to escape reality.
August Wilson’s play, Fences, effectively emulates the 20th century flawed American family. Troy, one of the main characters, is not happy in his marriage and he commits adultery on his wife, Rose. Like every other person, Troy has a lot of problems and stresses in his life that he feels the need to escape from. Troy uses Alberta as an escape from reality and from his house and his family. Rose, on the other hand, wants to keep Troy close to her and doesn’t want him pursuing Alberta. This is evident when she asks him to build her a fence. This fence is symbolic of her desire to keep Troy and her loved ones close to her and keep outsiders from entering. Troy, however, shows a lack of commitment to finishing the fence, which shows his lack of commitment to Rose and to mending his marriage. After continuing to cheat on his wife with Alberta, Troy soon learns that she is pregnant and is going to have his child. After Alberta gives birth to Raynell, Troy’s daughter, she immediately dies and Rose steps in and assumes the role of mother to Raynell and treats her as if she was her own daughter. Rose is a very loving and nurturing woman and this shows her acceptance of Troy’s infidelity. She knows that he is not faithful and, although she obviously does not approve, she chooses to remain in the marriage for fear of change and does very little to stop him. Since Rose doesn’t stop Troy and she eventually nurtures and mothers his child, she is a catalyst for his infidelity.
Willy Loman, the main character in Arthur Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, accurately shows the common pains that an American man living during this time period may have. Although Linda, Willy’s wife, is a very loyal and loving companion for Willy, he still is not happy. Willy has a very distorted view of the American dream and believes that in order to succeed, one must be well liked. Since Willy is a salesman and is away a lot of the time, he is rarely with his family. While away, he meets a woman who compliments him and says, “‘You’re a wonderful man’… ‘You’re so sweet’” (Miller 25). Willy likes this about the woman and he has an affair with her. Similar to Troy, he has many problems: he lies to his family, he is having problems with his business, and his sons frequently leave him. When he is away on his trip, he is not with Linda who normally feeds him lies to make him feel better about himself and so he is burdened with all of his problems. His mistress that he meets allows him to escape reality and fulfill his needs while he is away from his wife.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, also successfully portrays the problems that many American marriages face. In this novel, two of the main characters, Daisy and Tom Buchanan, both cheat on each other. During this time, money and status were very important considerations when choosing a spouse. For Daisy, she married Tom for his money even though she was in love with Gatsby. Gatsby did not have nearly the wealth or status that Tom had. Tom and Daisy married for money and not for love, which complicated things later on in life and led to them both committing adultery. When Daisy was reunited with Gatsby and saw his wealth and all that he had accomplished, she was devastated to see what she could’ve had and she cheats on Tom with Gatsby in order to escape the reality of it. For Tom, his relationship with Myrtle is not a one-time thing, but rather a continuous affair. He even extends it far enough to have an apartment in the city solely for the purpose of using it with Myrtle. For Tom, his affair with Myrtle is a way for him to show off and boost his ego. It is a way for him to secure his status in society. This shows how Tom has very little respect for women and treats them as possessions. Tom uses Myrtle as a way to escape from the reality that he is not in love with Daisy and that she is in love with Gatsby. Tom and Daisy, like many couples during this time, were in an unhappy marriage and committed adultery as a way to escape from reality.
Art, especially literature, has always echoed the society that it comes from. During 20th Century America, many husbands and wives found that they were not satisfied and were unhappy in their marriages. At this time, however, divorce was scorned upon in society, so many spouses turned to other partners to fulfill the needs that their husband or wife was not fulfilling. This aspect of the American family is portrayed in August Wilson’s play, Fences, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel, The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, when at least one of the main characters commit adultery. Committing adultery was common in 20th century America when these pieces of literature were written and is still common today. In today’s society, many couples are in unhappy and sometimes unhealthy marriages, causing them to be unfaithful. Today’s society differs from 20th century America since it is now more common and accepted for people to divorce or separate. Today, although infidelity is still very common, many people choose to end their relationship altogether instead.