"Death of a Salesman" and "Fences"

Paper Summary:

The paper analyzes how the plays "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller and "Fences" by August Wilson have several major themes in common. The paper illustrates how both playwrights utilize the themes of distinguishing reality from illusion and their consequences on the characters and the society around them and the idea of lost opportunities and the failure of the American dream. The paper further points out how both of the plays' protagonists die at the end of the play without seeing any of their dreams realized. The paper also brings out how both playwrights explore the complexity of the father-son relationship and both are tragedies in the classical sense but end on a note of hope.

From the Paper:

"August Wilson's tragic hero, Troy Maxson, is a complex amalgamation of Southern upbringing and the strictures of Northern urban society. The name Maxson is a portmanteau, combining Mason and Dixon for the Mason-Dixon Line, the imaginary line that separated the slave states from the free states. Troy was raised by an abusive father in the South who had an unsuccessful and unfulfilling life as a sharecropper--a life as close to slavery as the Emancipation Proclamation would allow. Troy moved to Pittsburgh to escape this cycle of cruelty and virtual enslavement; yet he is enslaved in his own mind. Throughout the play, the music of the blues adds a poignant and bittersweet touch to Troy's life and gives his character a depth and innate sadness that he cannot cover despite all of his bluster."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Martine, James J., Critical Essays on Arthur Miller, G.K. Hall, 1979.
• Shannon, Sandra G., The Dramatic Vision of August Wilson, Howard University Press, 1994.
• Miller, Arthur., Death of a Salesman, Penguin Classics, 1996.
• Wilson, August, Fences, Plume Publishing, 1986.

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• Comparison Essay # 47554 : "Fences" and "Death of a Salesman"
• Analytical Essay # 5225 : "Death of a Salesman" and Post War American Drama"
• Essay # 42886 : "Realism and Comedy in Drama"

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