Death of a Salesman and Empire Falls Essay

Death of a Salesman and Empire Falls Death of a Salesman s actually a very different story from Empire Falls. Although they are very different they do have some similarities. If it werent for the novel, How to Read Literature Like a Protessor, I probably wouldnt have seen these similarities. The novels, Death of a salesman and Empire Falls have many differences but the few similarities come from literary elements that they have in common. In the novel Death of a salesman, the story Is based on a man named Willy that tarts acting really weird when his son, 3ff, comes home from Texas, He starts acting weird when Biff comes around because he has a horrible memory of him. In this novel, there are a few literary elements that are different. This novel has a lot of symbols. WIIIys car symbolizes worry because every time Willy got In the car he had something go wrong. When he drove, the family was always worried. Lastly, the family had communion when they all came together at the end ot the book and finally hashed out what needed to be hashed out for a long time The family finally iscussed what was really going on between Willy and Biff. In the novel, Empire Falls, the story Is based on a guy named Mlles Roby who Is living In a town called Empire Falls. He has worked at a restaurant called Empire Grill and is now manager. He is dealing with problems such as the restaurant his ex-wife, and his daughter. In this novel Empire Grill symbolized failure because it barely made enough of a profit for the workers to get by, especially Mlles_ when Tick and Wles went away for a little while, they went to the beach. Tick liked to paint and o art while watching the ocean. The geography ot this beach symbolized tranquility and hope for Tick. It symbolized that Tick would be able to overcome this tragedy. The two novels actually have some literary similarities. For example, both novels used weather as symbols. In Death of a salesman It rained when WIIly was going to work to talk to his boss. The rain symbolized Willys mood which was hurt, troubled, and stress. Willys boss noticed how frantic and weird he was acting. The boss thought Willy needed to take a break with his lob and tocus on himself. In Empire Falls there was a big flood at the encl The flood symbolized a new beginning. After the flood, the city had to be rebuilt. It was a new beginning for everyone. Another example that the novels have in common is that they both have characters that are blind to something. In Death of a salesman, Wlllys wife, Linda, was blind to see that Willy was acting up when Biff was around because he was guilty of something. He was guilty of cheating but Linda was blind to see that. In Empire Falls, Tick was blind to see that John was going to do something very crazy. John took a gun to school and hot some of the classmates that were bullying hiru He even tried to shoot Tick but the mayor of Empire Falls stepped in front of her, saving her life. Both novels involve sex indirectly. In Death ot a Salesman, Willy has an affair with another woman while last example would be that both novels both showed examples of violence. In Death of a Salesman, Willy took the car out late one night and crashed. The crash happened to show the family how much Willy was effected by his son’s presence. In Empire Falls, Ticks classmate John took a gun to school and shot three people. This event shows John’s peers how much he was affected by the bullying. The novels really are similar and this would explain why they were paired together. Even though Death of a Salesman and Empire Falls are very different stories, they actually have quite a few similarities that most people wouldn’t have caught on their own. Without learning about literary elements from How to Read Literature Like a Professor, I probably would not have seen the similarities between the novels. They are very different stories and have completely different story lines.