This essay will start with the analysis of August Wilson’s Fences which was performed less than ten years after Death of a Salesman debuted. The film is often seen as a Black American play that is about the downfall of a white salesman who goes by the name of Willy Lowman. In all the two plays, there is a similar pattern observed where there is a decline of a patriarch of a single family. There are interesting father-son dynamics where these family members are entangled in melodramatic activities that culminate to entertain viewers. The two fathers of the different plays both commit adultery. Furthermore, the two characters try hard to achieve the American Dream. It became clear that the protagonist’s idea of the American dream takes center stage in both plays. The two characters, Willy Lowman and Troy Maxon, can get a lot of challenges and fences in their quest to achieve the American Dream.
One common idea in the two plays, Fences and the Death of a Salesman is the father-son relationship. The true characters of the fathers and sons are seen in the actions that they undertake in their quest. Troy Maxson and WillyLoman have different methods which they want their sons to follow to achieve the American Dream. However, it becomes apparent that the fathers have tailored their values and beliefs in a poor way that hinders success. An illustration is this is seen when Willy Loman, who is the father of Biff, encourages his son to excel at football as opposed to getting good at his studies in school. This idea is ignorant and stupid, as his poor grades end up costing him his scholarship. In the other film, their background Death of a Salesman, Troy tells his son to drop football and leave his dream of an athletic scholarship so that he can work at the A&P store (pg 236). He loses his opportunity to study at a premium university for a low-paying job. This is nothing less than being ignorant and not seeing the bigger picture.
It becomes clear from the start that Fences is a play that questions the legitimacy of achieving the American Dream. There is the general notion that everyone in America, regardless of their background, can achieve success. However, in the case of Fences, the patriarchal family has the perception and ambitions to go places, but the world is not in their favor as they face a plethora of challenges as they go about their business. First, the fathers of both children miss the mark of communicating this objective to their sons.
According to Willy Loman, the success of the American dream can be done in specific ways by taking shortcuts. He believes that it can be achieved by personal attractiveness and by establishing certain types of connections. He was completely mistaken when he believed that one of the successful businessmen he knew could grant his son Biff a loan (pg 955). He believes that because he encouraged Biff once when he was in high school. Taking shortcuts does not work in the real world, and this speaks a lot about determination and level of ignorance. Similarly, Troy Maxson does not believe in achieving dreams and goals through hard work and diligence. In his mind, he believes that the only way his son could make it in life is by obtaining a football scholarship. It is surprising that after an investor began to show interest in his son’s football career, he decided to let him off football and limit his dream. There is a huge irony in these two modes of thinking where the American dream is not likely to be achieved as the patriarchs do not consider the variability of success in America which is often a product of serendipity, hard work, and taking advantage of opportunities.
References
Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is on pages 221-286. August Wilson’s play Fences is on 921-967. Both are in “Volume E: Literature Since 1945,” the third of our three textbooks.