Emma's AP Lit Blog

Jane Austen's last novel, Persuasion,  begins with a recounting of the history of the Elliot family... through another book called the Baronetage. This detail accomplishes three things; it details the backstory of the characters, establishes their social standing and importance, and points out the vanity of Sir Walter Elliot, who is the father of the protagonist Anne Elliot. The idea of vanity and self-importance is very clearly emphasized in the first few chapters of Persuasion; Austen even says, "Vanity was the beginning and end of Sir Walter Elliot's character-- vanity of person and of situation" (4). Such a statement could indicate that Sir Walter is a total caricature, and since authors rarely unintentionally point out that their character is a caricature, it seems that his character is meant to be a commentary on vanity. This pride in social situation causes the Elliots to spend more than their income (something which Anne points out constantly, but her fath...

Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is ostensibly entirely at odds with its political setting; in 1949, when the play was published, the economy was booming, technology was becoming available at a rapid rate, and jobs for men were plentiful. However, this contrast between the expected impacts of the seemingly positive political situation and the reality of the Lomans' situation emphasizes Miller's point that the superficial American dream, exacerbated by the political circumstances in 1949, can never be fulfilled nor be fulfilling. The booming economy in 1949 is a large contributing factor in Willy's problems; he believes that any work that he does can pay for whatever will make him appear as if he has obtained the American dream. The capitalist economy is a constant cycle of working and paying, which holds Willy captive to work even if he should not be working any longer. At the start of the play, Willy complains about this, moaning, "Work a lifetime to pay off a h...

One quote in Death of a Salesman I found interesting was Biff's quote to Linda: "Stop making excuses for him! He always, always wiped the floor with you. Never had an ounce of respect for you" (38). Linda is definitely kind of a doormat when it comes to Willy, taking all of his abuse and weakly asking him and Biff to stop fighting, although not doing anything about it. Why doesn't Linda stand up for herself when Willy treats her terribly. Do her actions, or lack thereof, stem from weakness, pity, of love?