The visuals for this activity were created by Danielle, Tina, and Winter from Mr. Ford’s ICT 11 and 12 classes

Group Members:
– Nicholas

– Arman

– Kennedy

– Kyle

Component:
– Neighborhood

Paragraph:

Nicholas Barrero-Pinzon

English 11

8 April 2019

Mr. Barazzuol             Willy’s Neighborhood: Brooklyn in the 50s

Brooklyn was very different in the 50s. In the play, “Death of a Salesman,” by Arthur Miller, the story takes place in a neighborhood in Brooklyn during the 50s, where the physical and emotional setting go together.

The neighborhood is described as consisting of various apartment buildings surrounding a single holdout building, the Loman House. Willy Loman says that, “the grass don’t grow anymore, you can’t raise a carrot in the back yard,” (Miller 17) The reader can imagine backyard full of dead grass and a garden that is incapable of growing plants and vegetables. Willy describes the street in front of their house as being, “lined with cars,” (Miller 17). He also describes, “the way they boxed us in here. Bricks and windows, windows and bricks,” (Miller 17). This further adds to the image of a, “small, fragile-seeming home,” (Miller 11), surrounded by tall apartment buildings. The reader sees an image of Brooklyn growing alongside the growing population, as houses get taken down and are replaced with apartment buildings capable of housing the growing population.

If one were to analyze the physical description of the neighborhood, one can also find the emotional setting. Due to the house’s isolation, Willy begins to feel isolated and boxed-in, this feeling is not helped by the fact that most of his former clients have retired or have died. The holdout house represents that fact that Willy continues to cling to the past, unable to let go, which hinders his ability to succeed, leaving him trapped in his misfortune. The dead backyard represents how Willy is also slowly dying, partially due to his stubbornness and refusal to move on. The reader gets a feeling of despair and isolation due to the house being presumably the last one in the neighborhood, surrounded by apartment buildings that block sunlight, thus killing the backyard.

The physical setting of, “Death of a Salesman,” works well with the emotional setting, as a lot of the symbolism translates into the mood and atmosphere of the story. A sole house filled with despair, isolated amongst tall apartments, providing the perfect setting for a story about a dying salesman.

10 Quotations:

1. “As more light appears, we see a solid vault of apartment houses around the small, fragile-seeming home. An air of the dream clings to the place, a dream rising out of reality” (Miller 11).
2. “We are aware of towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides” (Miller 11).
3. “The street is lined with cars… The grass don’t grow anymore, you can’t raise a carrot in the back yard. They should’ve had a law against apartment houses. Remember those two beautiful elm trees out there? When I and Biff hung the swing between them?” (Miller 17).
4. “There’s more people… Population is getting out of control. The competition is maddening! Smell the stink from that apartment house!” (Miller 17).
5. “The way they boxed us in here. Bricks and windows, windows and bricks,” (Miller 17).
6. “To get on that subway on the hot mornings in summer,” (Miller 22).
7. “They should’ve arrested the builder for cutting those down… This time of year it was lilac and wisteria. And then the peonies would come out, and the daffodils,” (Miller 17).
8. “The trees are so thick, and the sun is warm. I opened the windshield and just let the warm air bathe over me,” (Miller 14).
9. “The apartment houses are fading out, and the entire house and surroundings become covered with leaves,” (Miller 27).
10. “I saw a beautiful hammock. I think I’ll buy it next trip, and we’ll hang it right those two elms… Just swingin’ under those branches,” (Miller 28).

 

5 Brooklyn Appearance Facts:

• Some of the common architectural styles include Victorian and Colonial Tudor Revival built homes.
• The 1950s kick-started the beginning of high-rise and highly populated residential complexes that replaced classic homes in order to work towards urban renewal
• The Brooklyn Bridge was designed in 1869 and it was the world’s first steel-wire suspension bridge, which was a new design used in architecture around the world.
• Brooklyn is one of five boroughs in New York City and is the second-largest geographical landmass out of the five boroughs
• Brooklyn is bigger than Manhattan

Four Photos:

4 sourced photos:

1. https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/holdout-buildings/
2.                                         https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-france1950s-cars-on-a-long-tree-lined-street-near-the-arc-de-triomphe
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Hook,_Brooklyn
4. http://community.homedepot.com/howto/DiscussionDetail/Need-help-restoring-a-half-dead-lawn-9065000000008Wi