DOS and Modern Society
By Sara Coletta, Carolyne Gilligan, and Kristen Shanley
Themes chosen-
1. Thanks to the explosion in social media, being ‘well liked’ has almost become a profession in itself.
2.Our society is obsessed with “stuff” (i.e., we buy things to show off our status). People get into debt over accumulating more possessions. Those who are able to afford what they buy fall prey to “lifestyle creep,” in which they continue to want more (and need to work more to support, thus having less time to enjoy) their growing lifestyles.
3.With employment continuing to lag, there are many people, like Willy, who believe their inability to achieve financial success is a reflection of them as a person.
4.College loans and rising cost of colleges: students are graduating from college with more debt and fewer job opportunities than ever before.
"Well-liked"
College loans and rising cost of college
Society is obsessed with stuff
Kylie Jenner brags about her brand new 260,000 dollar ferrari on instagram. She is 18 years old.
Our society is obsessed with stuff. Celebrities are constantly posting on instagram and social media about all the expensive things they are able to buy. This is similar to Death of a Salesman because people are constantly showing off their success, or at least Willy feels that way. He’s jealous of the affluent people who are well off and happy, while he is struggling to scrape pennies together and borrow money to pay his bills.Financial success as a reflection to a person
When people don’t succeed in life job wise, like Willy, they get very discouraged and feel that it reflect on them as a person. Not being successful can make someone feel that they are worthless and not important. Willy felt this way because his career was not good. Being a salesman means that you are basically selling yourself, if you’re not well liked or good looking people aren’t going to want to buy anything from you. Willy was a horrible salesman because he was old and crazy and no one wanted to buy anything from him so it made him feel really bad about himself. Being financially successful doesn’t mean you are a good person and being well liked doesn’t mean you’ve accomplished something in life. “LINDA: Willy, dear. Talk to them again. There’s no reason why you can’t work in New York”
WILLY: They don’t need me in New York. I’m the New England man. I’m vital in New England” (Act 1). Willy falsely insists that he is a critical player in his business in order to bolster his sense of self-worth. Even though his sales haven’t been good for a while, he argues that he is a really important man.References
http://www.celebuzz.com/2015-09-04/tyga-kylie-jenner-ferrari-car-birthday-gift/
Gabrielle Chung. “Tyga Didn’t Pay for Kylie Jenner’s Car; Kylie Jenner Actually Leased It Herself”.
Celebuzz.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/is-college-tuition-too-high.html?_r=0
Adam Davidson. “‘Is College Tuition Really Too High?”. New York times.
Kendall Jenners instagram