The play ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller depicts the affairs between gender associations and dysfunctional family conducts. From the play, failure in relationships is witnessed between Linda and her husband. In this case, Linda acts as if to be concerned about her husband but in actuality; favors to kill him so as to live an easier life. This is because of the way she was being mistreated by him as can be seen from the conversation between Linda and Biff in Act 1. “Things are beginning to change”, Linda told Willy; on another instance; “It seems there is a woman….” Linda says thinking that her husband was having extra marital affairs.
On the other hand in her short story the ‘Weekend’, Ann Beattie outlines one of the key vital disagreements between the key qualities of Lenore and George. In this case, failure in relationships is depicted by the fact that George and Lenore have a kid together and live in the same shelter; yet they have no noticeable relationship. Based on this, the characters of George are depicted as a drunkard old man who seems not to mind anything around him while on the other hand Lenore is portrayed as a ‘simple’ wife who allows her husband outshine her with younger girls. It can also be argued that, even though Lenore is as simple as she could be seen by her husband; she has a lot of feelings within her but does not always show them out. Based on this from the story it can be deduced how Lenore felt; where “Lenore feels that she is like Julie: Julie’s face does not betray emotions even when she is interested and even when she deeply cares”.
Additionally, in the John Updake’s short story ‘Separating’, the author creates a textual depiction of the biased experience of family division. From the story it can be seen that, Richard and Joan have been living with problems for a long time and the only solution to their problems was through separation. It can further be seen from the story that Richard revealed a comment to Joan saying that, “they never questioned the reasons we gave. No thought of a third person”. In this case, Richard articulates his respite that may be their children did not suppose the fact that, one of their parents was unfaithful.
From his novel ‘The Slaughterhouse-Five’, Vonnegut explains the importance of wars in humans’ life. In this case, the novel outlines that wars and tragedies are everywhere where the universe is destroyed in the attempt of testing spaceship fuels. It is indicated in the novel that people ignore wars because they are part of their lives. From the Vonnegut’s statements in chapter, “writing a book on antiviolence is like writing an anti-glacier book”; which meant that warfare is inevitable. It can further be argued from Vonnegut’s statements that the belief in violence is inevitable and that ignoring violence is improper, when humans are guided by their free will. Importantly, wars and violence are used as a punishment to wrong doers through horror, death and destruction and hence America cannot stay without wars. One of the main themes in the Vonnegut’s novel is fatalism which explains that violence and wars are subjugated to fate and not free will. In this case, Vonnegut outlines that American violence is inevitable since it is brought about by inevitable predetermination. On the other hand Mamet in the ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ portrayed the violent and frantic sales strategies used by a group of salesmen; to press on valueless Florida real estate on unwary buyers. In this case, one of the Goldman vending necessitated working under the gun to vend collateral as the window on the market for security arrears compulsion was speedily closing. This can be used to indicate that, violence in America is for gain and cannot be evaded as long as one has to gain something.
Further in the Art Spiegelman’s Maus, Vladek clarifies to his son the process for ‘Selektionen at Auschwitz the horrifying episodic bodily assessments; in which prisoners were arranged according to those who seemed competent for executing further slave labor. In this case, those who were considered to be weak were killed in the gas chambers. Based on this novel it can be argued that, the past still affects the present as it is indicated that survivors would not want their children to face the same problems they had. This is because one compares the past with the present, where the visual representation of a current site of oral recitations of the precedent to a visual representation of the narrated moment of the past itself. From the story it can be seen that, there was linkage of the two episodes between the past and the present inform of narration. This can be used to indicate that, the past still affects the present. In this case, the two characters of Vladek as young and old come into view to illuminate the differences between the past and the present. It can further be argued that, the past affects the present because in the narration; visual representations distinguished the disparities between Holocaust experience and the modern lives of the survivor and his son. In this case, the comic images of the Maus more willingly than obviously distinguishing the past and the present; add to a problem in which the past and the present are closely unified. Further, it seems hard to disconnect the present and the past as the past is exposed as constitutive of the present and the present makes burdens on the ways in which the past is portrayed.
Additionally, ‘the Negro Speaks of Rivers’ poem of Hughes talks of rivers that are elements of God’s body and are connected with the black olden times. In this case, the way blacks were treated during slavery indicated that they should die; but the analogy of the rivers represents the blacks as enduring forever. Based on this, the black man has witnessed the rise and collapse of all societies from the ancient times and is bound to survive even in America. It can further be argued that, ‘The Negro Speaks of Rivers’ poem signed the survival of a spiritualist amalgamation of negroes in every country and every age. From this it can be argued that, the Negroes present still reminds them about their past and hence their past affects their present in America. In this case, this poem reminds the Negroes about their past in Africa where there were no racial differences among the blacks and the whites. Based on this it can be argued that, the blacks’ past where there; where there were no racial differences remembered in their present.