The three literary plants: Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller ; Do Not Travel Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas ; and After Apple Picking by Robert Frost ; all trade with the subject presence of decease and uncover different positions decease by different types of people. In these three plants, the supporters or merely the characters in the work reveal their position on the inevitableness of decease every bit good as the causes of decease. All three plants have the common subject, decease and old age, and demo how different life styles lead to different attitudes to ageless slumber. Additionally, in the two verse forms, the manner of composing reveals the writer ‘s point of views and causes of certain deceases. Furthermore, Marxist unfavorable judgment is examined in Death of a Salesman to uncover the consequence of category and society on an person ‘s death.
Harmonizing to Dylan Thomas, there are four different types of work forces who are worth the recognition: wise work forces ; good work forces ; wild work forces ; and sculpt work forces. Thomas wrote “ Do Not Travel Gentle Into That Good Night ” for his deceasing male parent, depicting the different positions of four types of work forces who have lived life in their ain ways. These four work forces all have their ain point of view of decease harmonizing to their ain nature and life style. Additionally, every bit good as the sentiments of the four types of work forces, the verse form reveals the talker ‘s sentiment on decease and how it should be dealt with.
Wise work forces, the first of the four types of work forces described in “ Do Not Travel Gentle Into That Good Night, ” know and accept the inevitableness of decease. “ Though wise work forces at their terminal know dark is right ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1217 ) . These wise work forces are likely bookmans or philosophers with cognition, which is why they accept decease. This line explains that even though wise work forces know decease is expected, they fight decease because they have much more to offer to the universe. With the usage of the word ‘though, ‘ the talker “ indicates that their cognition has non prepared them to accept the world of decease ” ( Napierkowski 52 ) , even though intellectually, they know the ineluctability of decease. Besides, because their words had no consequence on the foolish, the wise battle against decease to the really terminal, so they know they have done everything they could to do the universe a better topographic point.
Good work forces, people that have lived life with good ethical motives and moralss, at their decease, see that their good workss did non alter anything. “ Good work forces, the last moving ridge by, shouting how bright ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1217 ) . In this line, the last moving ridge reveals a dual significance: the work forces themselves being the last moving ridge, being the last to near decease ; and the work forces beckoning good pass to the 1s they are go forthing behind. Additionally, ‘crying ‘ has a dual significance every bit good ; it can be interpreted as talking out or as crying and bereavement ( Napierkowski 52 ) . These work forces fight against decease because they want their good workss to hold alteration in the universe and reflect brilliantly like “ beams of sunshine reflected by infinite mammillas on the green bay ” ( Harrison 1 ) .
Wild work forces, who live life to the fullest, make non recognize that they will decease one twenty-four hours. The talker states that wild work forces enjoy life nevertheless, when decease attacks, they realize excessively late that their lives have been full of sorrow and heartache. “ Wild work forces, who caught and sang the Sun in flight ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1217 ) . This image of catching the Sun in flight shows the readers that wild work forces are careless and shows the image of lively work forces who try to carry through impossible efforts. Consequently, because they are wild and careless, they are irresponsible and do non take history of their yearss ( Harrison 2 ) .
Grave work forces are serious and understanding work forces that near decease with physical sightlessness. Ironically, although they are unsighted, they see with enormous penetration and intuition ; they mentally have a better vision on decease than those with sight. “ Taken literally, these are work forces of the grave, which is precisely what all of these work forces are about to go ” ( Harrison 2 ) These work forces know that decease is the concluding measure to life and before this concluding measure they have to make everything in their power to take advantage of the clip life has given them. Furthermore, even though these work forces are physically blind, they have energy and energy in their eyes, as opposed to those who are immature but have no life in their eyes. Because these work forces are serious, they are cautious with every measure they take in their lives and seek to populate safe lives until decease arrives.
From the talker ‘s account of these four work forces and the verse form as a whole, the talker ‘s position of the inevitableness of decease is revealed. Since the verse form was written for Thomas ‘ deceasing male parent, the point of view of the talker can be observed as the point of view of the poet. In every stanza of the verse form, the talker states that one should contend against and resist decease. Although the talker is good cognizant of the ineluctability of decease, he besides implies that one should non be so eager to accept decease, because decease is the terminal ; this is shown through the four types of work forces and their reactions to decease harmonizing to what they have achieved and done in life. Besides, in Thomas ‘ instance, because it was highly hard for him to watch his once strong male parent so weak and mild, he wanted to see his male parent act with energy for the last clip, whether it was to cuss or to bless him.
In “ After Apple Picking ” by Robert Frost, the talker, who is overtired from reaping apples, seems to hold an accepting position on decease. There are many different readings of this verse form, yet most of these readings lead to the subject decease. First, the apples can be seen as things, experiences, or achievements the talker came across during his life-time. Consequently, the unfiled barrels resemble dreams the talker could non accomplish. This act of reminiscing on his life accomplishments intimations that the talker is old and ready to travel into ageless slumber. Additionally, it is clear that the talker is accepting of decease because he says he is snoozing off, which discloses a sense of melting into decease and acquiring ready to go through away.
Furthermore, another reading of the verse form is decease through weariness. Unlike the old reading, this one takes the verse form literally, seeing the talker as a adult male who is tired after his crop.
Regardless of the many readings that can be applied to “ After Apple Picking, ” the talker ‘s weariness and exhaustion saturate the verse form. The ladder and the barrel are left by the tree, a few apples remain on the subdivision, but the talker resolutely declares that he is finished picking apples. He so says that the intimation of winter ‘s slumber is coning on. ( Constantakis 5 )
The adult male dreams of an impossible crop of “ 10 thousand thousand fruit ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1194 ) and after picking all the apples his strength allowed him to, he became overtired and overworked to the point where it could kill him. Although there are more apples to be picked, the talker chooses non to pick any longer apples, irrespective of whether the great crop that he desired was achieved or non. After the tiring crop, the lone thing the talker wants is remainder, whether it be an eternal slumber or a normal human slumber.
Similarly, another reading trades with sleep and its metaphor of decease. Almost through the full verse form, the talker negotiations about kiping, woolgathering, or snoozing off. In any literary work, slumber is a strong metaphor for decease and the talker intentionally mentions the groundhog and hibernation to go forth the readers with ambiguity on whether he will populate or decease. “ This slumber of mine, whatever sleep it is. Were he non gone, The groundhog could state whether it ‘s like his Long slumber, as I describe its coming on, Or merely some human slumber ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1194 ) . In these last five lines of the verse form, slumber is mentioned four times and the talker is inquiring whether the signifier of kiping that he ‘s traveling to take will be like the slumber of a groundhog, intending hibernation, or merely a normal human slumber. If he were to hold a regular human slumber, he would wake the following twenty-four hours and unrecorded another twenty-four hours of harvest home ; nevertheless, if he were to hole up, which carries strong intensions of decease, he would ne’er wake once more. The talker leaves the readers inquiring to stress the subject of decease he is seeking to convey through slumber.
In the drama, Death of a Salesman, the supporter, Willy Loman, struggles with ideas of self-destruction due to different issues with his life. One of the causes for his decease is Willy ‘s failure as a male parent figure of the family. Willy ever wanted his boies to look up to him and look up to him, which made him put unrealistic ends for his gross revenues, merely like how the talker in “ After Apple Picking ” set an unrealistic end for his crop. However, he is unable to run into these ends because his ways of doing gross revenues are outdated and ends up lying to his household about his gross revenues to maintain his self-respect. Towards the terminal of the drama, Willy feels the lone manner for him to supply for his boies is to perpetrate self-destruction and acquire the life insurance cheque so his boies could get down a concern.
Additionally, another cause for Willy ‘s death is his failure to separate between what is existent and what he wishes were existent. Throughout the drama, it is clear that Willy has a delicate clasp on world ; he has flashbacks of the yesteryear, and has conversations with his asleep brother, Ben. “ Willy ‘s head is full of psychotic beliefs about his ain abilities and achievements and the abilities and achievements of his boies ” ( Galens and Spampinato 67 ) . Willy believes his accomplishments are suffice for him to win in the gross revenues concern, nevertheless he fails to recognize that concerns now look for work forces with preparation and cognition on the merchandise they are advancing, instead than accomplishments of speaking. Willy besides tries to embroider Happy ‘s old occupation of a transportation clerk by stating himself that Happy was a salesman. This reveals that Willy can non cover with world, which leads to his ultimate autumn, allowing him flight from the truth.
Furthermore, Willy ‘s weariness leads to his decease, similar to the weariness of the talker of “ After Apple Picking. ” At an old age of 63, Willy is tired from all his old ages of being a going salesman and wants to acquire a occupation where he can be stationed in one topographic point. His exhaustion is apparent through the manner Willy thrusts and through his old age. “ No, I ‘ve driven with him. He sees wholly right. He merely does n’t maintain his head on it. I drove into the metropolis with him last hebdomad. He stops at a green visible radiation and so it turns ruddy and he goes ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1239 ) . Willy ‘s fatigue has affected his ability to concentrate on the route, which hints at Willy ‘s death because careless drive can take a adult male ‘s life immediately. Because of his weariness, Willy decides to eventually travel through with his self-destruction for ageless remainder.
Although Willy is an old adult male, he seems to suit none of the descriptions of the types of work forces described in “ Do Not Travel Gentle Into That Good Night. ” As explained earlier, since the four work forces were the types of work forces the talker believed deserved the recognition, Willy is non deserving experiencing understanding for. Besides, although he commits self-destruction for what he believes are the right grounds, the act of suicide itself is morally incorrect, and wholly contradicts the positions of the talker from the verse form. The talker grounds that one should contend decease, nevertheless Willy distinctively looks for different ways to perpetrate self-destruction. These two contrasting positions on life and decease show that different life styles lead to different ways of thought ; one may take to contending against decease and one may take to perpetrating self-destruction.
Equally good as the content, the signifier and manner of composing expose the subject decease in the two verse forms antecedently examined. In “ Do Not Travel Gentle Into That Good Night, ” the talker intentionally repeats the lines “ Rage, fury against the death of the visible radiation ” and “ Do non travel gentle into that good dark ” ( Abcarian, Klotz, and Cohen 1217 ) to stress his position on decease ; through this repeat, the verse form becomes more powerful in its significance and bringing. Besides, by utilizing a rhyme strategy that consists of merely two different sounds, the talker successfully stresses the rime words, such as visible radiation, bright, sight, and dark, which all direct to the subject of decease.
Besides in “ After Apple Picking, ” the talker ‘s exhaustion is revealed through the rime and beat. The verse form is written in iambic pentameter, nevertheless, non all the lines are in iambic pentameter. Some of the lines are cut off and “ by interrupting up this beat, the verse form becomes slightly more informal and colloquial ” ( Constantakis 6 ) . The rime and rhythm “ deteriorates progressively as the verse form reaches its decision ” ( Constantakis 9 ) . This impairment and interruption resemble the talkers weakening throughout the verse form, and the manner of composing itself discloses the talker ‘s weariness. Besides, this diminution hints at the signifier of slumber the talker is traveling to take, perchance a deathlike slumber.
Finally, it is obvious that Death of a Salesman deals with a Marxist reading ; this is shown through both Willy ‘s failure as a salesman and Charlie ‘s success as a man of affairs. Marxist unfavorable judgment of this drama shows that one of Willy ‘s grounds for self-destruction is his fiscal standings. Willy firmly believes in the American Dream, nevertheless when the drama takes topographic point, it is about 20 old ages after the whole phenomenon of Henry Ford and the assembly line. Willy is destined to neglect because the thought of the American Dream is outdated and fabulous. Besides, Charlie, who is the exact antithesis of Willy, accomplishing success made Willy recognize that his ways were incorrect ; this feeling of licking and failure gave Willy ideas of self-destruction. As stated before, Willy ‘s failure to back up his household economically led to his concluding death ; he decided to perpetrate self-destruction for money, to acquire the life insurance payment.
In decision, the subject of decease is evident in many different literary plants, such as Robert Frost ‘s “ After Apple Picking, ” Dylan Thomas ‘ “ Do Not Travel Gentle Into That Good Night, ” and Arthur Miller ‘s Death of a Salesman. These three plants show how different life styles would take to different types of decease, whether it is a decease by pick or an credence of decease. Thomas shows the different attitudes of the four old work forces, the wise, the good, the natural state, and the grave, to demo how their single lives have prepared them for decease. Besides, Frost uses different readings to demo how decease can be present in different ways. Last, through the supporter, Miller conveys the different grounds why a individual would take decease as a last resort and shows although self-destruction is morally incorrect, it may be the ultimate pick that could behove the loved 1s of that person.
