Professor Cecilia Liu

Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman (1949)

How is Miller's handling of "illusion vs. reality"? What is the symbolic function of the jungle? How does the flute music function symbolically?
In what ways do Ben and Charley function as opposites?
Do you find Willy pathetic rather than tragic? If pathetic, does this imply that Willy is a victim rather than a man who acts and who wins our esteem? How much of Willy Loman's tragedy is caused by his own personality and how much is the result of the American society?
Do you feel that Miller is straining too hard to turn a play about a little man into a big, impressive play? For example, do the musical themes, the unrealistic setting, the appearances of Ben, and the speech at the grave seem out of keeping in a play about the death of a salesman?
The critic Kenneth Tynan has written, in Tynan Right and Left: "Death of a Salesman … is not a tragedy. Its catastrophe depends entirely on the fact that the company Willy Loman works for no pension scheme for its employees. What ultimately destroys Willy is economic injustice, which is curable, as the ills that plague Oedipus do not." What do you think of Tynan's view?
Characterize Linda and comment on the role she plays.
Miller says that tragedy shows man's struggle to secure "his sense of personal dignity" and that "his destruction in the attempt posits a wrong or an evil in his environment" ("Tragedy and the Common Man"). Do you think this makes sense when applied to some earlier tragedy (such as Oedipus the King or Hamlet), and does it apply convincingly to Death of a Salesman? Is this the tragedy of an individual's own making? Or is society at fault for corrupting and exploiting Willy? Or both?

Arthur Miller: The Crucible (1953)

Critics generally agree that the theme of The Crucible emerges from the drama implicit in the play. What, in your view, is the theme of the play? The contemporary appeal of the play can hardly be attributed to either the Salem witch-hunt and/or the Communist hunt of the 1950s. Why then has The Crucible held up so well? What makes it still worth reading and performing?
Among the themes, several are explored in Act Four. - Look for quotations that further the themes and discuss these questions: Community: Unity and Exclusion -- Who is a part of the community of Salem? Who is excluded? How and why does the trial change the typical order of the community? What happens to the community when the order is changed? Who is included in the community of your school or town? Who is excluded? Order vs. Individual Freedom -- What level of individual freedom do you see in Salem? What level of order? What happens when one or the other gets out of balance? When does order become autocratic? What is the balance between individual freedom and order in your school or community?

Lorraine Hansberry: A Raisin in the Sun (1959)

Did you find this play engaging or interesting? Why or why not? What makes it specifically an urban play? A "minority" play? In what ways does it transcend these categories?
Describe the relationship of Mama (Lena) with her daughter, Beneatha, and with her son, Walter. What expectations does she have for the future of each? Why?
Give two explanations for the primary conflicts of the play. What precipitates the various arguments and battles the characters wage with one another?
Explain the roles of Joseph Asagai and George Murchison. Does either have any thematic significance? Explain.
Identify and discuss a major theme of the play. Support your ideas with references to specific events and speeches.
Name two important stage props and comment on their role in the play. Discuss whether either or both may be symbolic, and why.
Select a scene you find compelling and describe how to stage it.
Are you satisfied with the play's ending? Why or why not? How do you envision the future of the family, particularly of Ruth and Walter and of Beneatha?
Some readers consider this play a modern American classic. What do you think may have led them to such an assessment?
How is Hansberry's play a comment on the Langston Hughes poem that she uses as her epigraph?