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Essay by   •  December 2, 2010  •  1,686 Words (7 Pages)  •  1,005 Views

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“Conflict is a common, but destructive force in society”. To what extent do you agree with this statement in the light of the texts you have studied?

The destructive nature of conflict inducesmay cause the degradation? decline? of individuals that cannot cope with society. Conflict is common to an extent where it can distinguish the difference between “the dream” from reality. This destructive force can impact upon individuals but in turn can hinder the realization of success and happiness . Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman denies Willy Loman the hopes he and Linda conveyed in the superficial dream although prosperity was unachievable Far too wordy! Why not simply..reflects Willy Loman’s pursuit of a dream and inability to cope with reality?. Such fantasy to hope for a shallow dream denial of reality canis also be depicted in Robert Browning’s The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St. Praxed’s Church, for the bishop’s requests to extend the rivalry between himself and “Old Gandalf” cannot be attained past death. The dedication and determination to achieve the dream of wealth and prosperity is conveyed in Gabriele Muccino’s film, The Pursuit of Happyness, where Chris Gardner’s perseverance facilitated the achievement of success in society. The conflict between success and failure of the harsh truth of reality hadhas caused the destruction of the individuals’ lives but also influenced those around them to strifve for achievement and accomplishment. Work hard on this introduction.

Willy Loman’s strifvinge for success, depicted in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, highlights the difficult working conditions in American society. The protagonist’s faith in the ironic American Dream steered him in the wrong direction, leading to the degradation of his self-esteem, and ability to accrue income, hence living “straight off commission”. Willy’s inner conflict had also developed throughout the course of the play because he was lacking the ability of “passing on” material goods to his offspring. As he was having a difficult time attempting to earn money for the family, Willy was no-where near the accomplishment of his dream of wealth and success.You are really too longwinded here. Try to condense your ideas and say the same thing in less words. Willy’s dream of wealthsuccess was in fact unattainable because it contradicted with the truth of reality, but confidence and false hope kept the fantasy alive until the end of the play. Willy’s solid belief had always been supported by his brother “Ben”, who at “21, walked out of the jungle…rich”. The mental support represented by the imagery of his brother had always motivated Willy to continue chasing the paradoxical dream. Miller’s use of mobile concurrency accurately highlights the protagonist’s desire to succeed in life.Refer to a specific example…and The technique emphasizes Willy’s inner conflict withbetween his desire to succeed and to contrast it with the ironic, conflict-filled reality.

The Bishop Orders his Tomb at St. Praxed’s Church, similarly and contrastingly depicts the protagonist’s struggle through the remainder of his life to mentally and symbolically compete with his predecessor and rival “Old Gandalf”. The bishop’s requests were not to succeed in life (as he was already dying), but he persevered to “outlive” Gandalf symbolically and materialistically, which was represented by his dream to have a grand tomb that is “peach-blossom marble all, the rare, the ripe”, in comparison to his rival’s “paltry onion-stone”.

Robert Browning’s portrayal of the bishop’s egoistic personality was achieved through the use of a dramatic monologue, which depicted the protagonist’s demanding and manipulative manner of speech.Give a specific brief example here. The Bishop’s extended monologue is similar to Willy Loman’s conversations “with Ben”,Give a specific example here which emphasizes Willy’s delusional state: clarifying his problems, and seeking for a solution, which is identicalsimilar to the bishop’s requests in the poem., where he

The protagonist also attempts to manipulate his “nephews вЂ" sons” for his own deedsends by bribing them to assist him with his own materialistic and sensual desires. He instructs them to, “go dig…and if ye find…some lump, ah God, of lapis lazuli” (a blue stone) -decoration to his tomb, to ensure the continuity of the competition with Gandalf even in death. The bishop feels that he deserves to have “the blue lump[of lapis lazuli] poise between [his] knees” because he had “bequeathed” “[my] villas” forto his “nephews вЂ" sons”. Similarly in Arthur Miller’s play, the protagonist coincidently also has the desire to “pass on” material goods to his offspring. However, Willy Loman’s perception of “providing for [his] family” was a selfless act, which contrasts with the bishop’s materialistic (and selfish) bribe to ensure his desires of a memorial deathmotives are met.

Ironically, the inner conflict present in The Bishop Orders His Tomb at St. Praxed’s Church dwells within the bishop’s jealousy of another holy man, “Old Gandalf”. This jealousy coincidently occurs inside a church, which evidently shows conflict is a common, which extends throughout society likeas a destructive force; represented by the bishop’s desires to continue his rivalry even in death.

Willy Loman’s inner conflict, depicted in Death of a Salesman is generated by the belief of “being well-liked”. “A man who makes an appearance…is the man that gets ahead”, “because personality always wins the day” ironically portrays Willy’s foolishness for “no-one knows him anymore”. The overshadowing ideals of the protagonist had influenced his son to live in the same state as himself.with similar values. Willy’s prospectdesire of for wealth and being “well-liked”

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