Death of a Salesman

Recently in class we read the famous play "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller. I wasn't sure at first how I would feel about the story, but after reading it, I really enjoyed it. Arthur Miller did a fantastic job of displaying a family living in America, chasing the "American dream" but getting caught up in the material aspirations of life. It made me sad, actually, because Willy Loman's life is exactly what I always worried  that my life could be. Thinking of the future, like picking a college and a job, always (and still does) scare me, because I don't ever want to be a person who wakes up in ten years and despises my job, my spouse, or my life.
Pretty cynical, I guess, but that's what worried me. I'm more content now, but they still pop into my head now and then.

I also enjoyed the movie version of the play, starring Dustin Hoffman as Willy Loman. Dustin Hoffman is a phenomenal actor and played Willy quite well, depicting him exactly as I imagined he would be in real life. The mother, Linda, frustrated me, though, because she stuck with Willy for so long, even though he blatantly disrespected her in front of their two sons and even in private by not allowing her to speak and claiming that she was taking the side of her son, Biff. She never once stuck up for herself when he snapped at her, instead just sat there calmly and put the blame for her husband's strife on her boys. Still, it was a great story and film, and I enjoyed discussing it with my class.