Willy (death of a salesman) vs
Willy (death of a salesman) vsWilly (Death of A Salesman) Vs Walter (A Raisin in the Sun)
A good drama is based on a strong set of characters. For instance, a good collection of characters will lead the audience to identify the characters with something in the real world and get emotionally involved with the characters. Every individual has its own character, which is composed of personalities, behaviors and individualities. The audience compare characters to evaluate and relate the characters' experiences to their own lives. By possessing the ability to understand characters' identities from different dramas, the audience can draw comparisons. Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman, and Walter Lee Younger from A Raisin in the Sun, play a big part in the outcome of their respective drama and show a lot of similarity in their principles while differences in personality lead them to different endings.
Willy, a salesman, has high hopes for himself and his sons, but ends up with all his dreams crushed. Willy is the main character in Death of a Salesman. He is a father of two sons, Biff and Happy, and husband to Linda, a housewife. Willy often lapses into the past and talks to himself. He believes physical appearance to be the catalyst of a successful career; however, his sons, who are well built and attractive, turned out to be failures: " Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such-personal attractiveness, gets lost."(Discovering Literature, 1215) His high expectation for his sons and their failure hurt him. Willy pretends to be a successful man in front of his wife. In addition, Willy does not like his wife to mend stockings, because he feels guilty for giving stockings to his mistress and not his wife: "Willy (angrily taking the stocking from her wife): "I won't have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out!" (Discovering Literature, 1228) At last, Willy kills himself, because he needs to clear his conscience for being unfaithful to his wife and escape his problems.
On the other hand, Walter, a chauffeur, dreams of being rich but his first try in business fails miserably. He is the husband to Ruth and father to Travis in A Raisin in the Sun. Walter lives in a time when segregation has just ended. Therefore, Walter's desire to break free from his white employer is very strong. Walter is childish and immature. For instance, when he is forced to make a decision about his wife's pregnancy, he indirectly agrees to Ruth's decision to abortion. His mother is disappointed by her son's weakness: "If you a son of mine, tell her! (Walter picks up his keys and his coat and walks out. She continues, bitterly.) You…you are a disgrace to your father's memory." (Discovering Literature, 1318) Then, Walter decides to joint venture with his friends to start a liquor store using the insurance money from his father's death. His ignorance to the business world...
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