Monthly Archives: May 2019

English 11 – Act 1 Review Exercise

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  1.  8)How does Biff react when Bernard warns him that he might flunk math? How does Willy react? Why does Willy react this way? Why does Willy take out his anger on Bernard? (p. 20)

Biff reacts as if he hadn’t even heard what Bernard had said. This shows that he puts little to no importance in his math studies, and he completely disregards what Bernard is saying. It’s obvious that he hasn’t been studying before then. Bernard warns that Biff will fail if he doesn’t start studying. At first, Willy reacts responsibly. He suggests to Biff that he better go off and study. Biff again, disregards what both Bernard and his father say, and continues to change the subject. When Bernard reacts to this, Willy then responds angrily defending his son and calling Bernard a “pest”. Willy responds this way because of his views on success. He believes that if you are well liked, you can get anywhere in the business world. He goes on to explain that even though Bernard can get the best marks in school, when they get out, it won’t mean anything, and Biff will be five times ahead of him because he is able to make an appearance and create personal interest.

  1. 9) In Willy’s eyes, Bernard (p. 20) and his father Charley (p. 18) share the same flaw. What is it? How does Willy contrast his sons to Charley’s son?

Willy believes that both Bernard and Charley are unlikeable and too focused on working and doing everything “right”. Willy compares Bernard to his sons by mentioning that Happy and Biff have personality and are interesting people which is what will set them ahead in the business world. Willy believes that Bernard’s current success in school will not help him at all once he enters the real world and would rather focus on building likeable people who will get ahead by using their charisma and charm.

  1. 10) According to Willy, what is the single greatest quality of “the man who gets ahead”? (p. 21) Do you agree or disagree with him? What does it mean to “get ahead”? Explain using examples from life.

Willy thinks that “the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.”(pg.33)Willy’s sole belief is that a person should be popular and well-liked and then they will “get ahead” and success. I don’t agree with him, cause well-liked cannot be used in every staff in life. For example, although you are well-liked, however, the score won’t change because of your well-liked or you are popular, you need to rely on your own efforts.

 

  1. 11)Willy tells Linda that “people don’t seem to take to [him].” How does this compare to how Willy describes his reputation to his sons on page 19? Why is there a difference between how he talks about his feelings to his sons and to his spouse?

When speaking with his sons, Willy tells them that he is looked very highly upon in his industry, implying that no matter where he goes, he can make money just because people like him. Willy states that he “never has to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here. That’s all they have to know, and I go right through.” This shows how highly he wanted his sons to think of him and how he thought that his success would immediately result in the respect he wanted to gain.

Willy has a hard time expressing himself in the way that he actually feels. Linda is the closest person to Willy in his life, and in comparison, to everyone else, she would be the one he would be best able to open up to. When talking to Linda, what he says reflects his true feelings about his sons. In reality, he thinks they, Biff in particular, are failures. He believes his son is lazy, unmotivated, uncharismatic, and generally not meeting the expectation Willy set for him. This he says openly to Linda. Yet, while speaking to his sons, he completely hides this opinion, and encourages them blindly. Willy believes in an aspect of being “Well Liked”, and he will change his attitude to fit that best depending on the situation. And he wants to be well liked by his sons, so he appeals to them as best as he can.

English 11 – Problem/Situation Questions

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  1. Yes, John and Emily are both deceiving themselves in thinking that they will able to finish doing well in their English class. It is a long way to go from a C or D to an A, and it would require more than just one project to bump their marks up in such an exponential way. It is something that happens often with many people, it is very easy to say to yourself that you will be able to do better if you put the work in. It gives them a sense of comfort in their lives in thinking that. But in reality, when it comes down to it, they will most likely procrastinate in doing the project, or not be able to complete it to their full potential because they will not have the time to do it. It is dangerous to rely only on the thought of thinking you will be able to do it.
  2. The result of the schedule they are following will be overall negative. At high school age, it can be a very bad thing to overwhelm yourself with so many different activities. It draws you away from school and increases your level of stress in a huge way.
  3. If they do not do well on their English project, they will very likely blame others before themselves. It is easy to blame the teacher’s marking, the project, how much time they were given, etc. In reality, they are all just excuses to make themselves feel better for not being able to plan out and manage their time better.
  4. What I would do differently is plan ahead. Prioritize school before other things and take on additional activities only if they work around school. It is absolutely possible to have a busy schedule, as long as you plan ahead, and stay coordinated and on top of all your work and activities.

English 11 – American Dream Paragraph

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The American Dream. It used to be something that everyone in North America used to strive for. It used to be something that we used to think we had to strive for. Today, I believe it has a very different meaning, and people are starting to realize that it is losing importance.

Historically, as a whole, the “American Dream” has been portrayed through 5 components. The belief that other nations should replicate America’s development, faith in a free market economy, support for free-trade agreements, promotion of the free flow of information and culture, and the acceptance of government protection of private enterprises. But the reality is, this is not what most people think of as the modern “American Dream”. In simple terms, the idea is to be successful in school, get into a good university, have a successful high paying job, marry, buy a house, start a family, and retire. It has been portrayed as the baseline of what American’s think their lives should follow. It is supposed to be something to strive for. And those who don’t meet it, are regarded as failures. Either in their own perception or through the systematic exclusion within their social groups for differing from this so-called “norm”.

I disagree strongly with this idea. I believe that America is based on the freedom to do what you want to do with your life, yet that is often forgotten. Nobody should feel bound to a set idealistic value of what your life should be. We should be encouraged to explore, to venture outside of the box, and to find something that gives our lives meaning.