Animal Farm

Enjoy :)

Death of a Salesman Notes

Mindmeister was being dumb...


Death of a Salesman is all about living out the "American Dream".

Willy and Linda - Husband and wife

• Willy is insecure but firmly believes in the concept of the American dream
• Never achieves it but hopes his sons will.
• Linda has an outrageous amount of love and support for her husband
• She's more level headed than he is
• Supports Willy until the very end.

Biff - Oldest son of Willy and Linda

• Very successful in high school 
• Gets fired from every job
• Never lives up to her fathers hopes and dreams of him

Happy - Youngest son of Willy and Linda

• lives in Biff's shadow
• Not very professional but has drive
• Thinks he is VERY important

     Linda wants Willy to work in New York so that he doesn't have to travel so much.  Willy desperately wants Biff to make something of himself before it's too late.

     Biff and Happy are not happy with their lives and really want to buy a place out west.  Willy seems to become very attached to the idea.

     Willy remembers his sons as children when they were proud of him and very affectionate towards him.  Willy tells his sons of his plan to open his own business and live out the American dream.

     We soon find out that Willy isn't doing well at work and won't be able to make payments on everything the family owns. We also learn that Willy is cheating on his wife.

    Willy has regrets about not going to Alaska with his brother. (His brother found fortune which could have been Willy's.)  

     We can see Willy's mind start to deteriorate as he calls his friend Charley by another name while lost in multiple daydreams. 

     Biff and Happy can see that their father is falling apart but Linda refuses to believe it.  They also seem to know that he might be cheating.  We learn that Willy has tried to commit suicide.  Everyone starts to fight with each other. 

     Willy tries to ask his boss for a job in New York but his boss refuses and instead tells Willy to take some time off.  Willy slips into another daydream...

     Willy wonders why Biff turned out to be a failure, but becomes defensive when his friends question Biff.  Willy tries to get a bigger loan to pay off everything that he owes and the man unwillingly gives him the money. 

     Willy confesses to his son that he's been fired and Biff tries to let Willy down easy but Happy gets his father's hopes up.  Biff explodes at his father and Willy starts to go from daydream to reality without much distinction. 

     Willy eventually gets into his car, speeds away, and crashes, committing suicide.

     

Soctaric Seminar Notes

Today's Socratic Seminar Notes

The answer is the beginning, not the end.

• Learning needs to be customized to the individual
• Is there such thing as too much or too little structure? -- It's good to have a starting point, but eventually you need to break away. If you have too much structure for too long it may lead to rebellion. Always keep guide lines though. No structure can be just as bad.
• A key thing to think about is where you want to end up. -- Then think about what it's gonna take and what you need to do to get there. 

• When it comes to asking questions in class, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and ask.  Asking the question won't matter in a year, bet getting the answer will.

• What stops kids from trying? -- the fear of rejection, the fear of failure, and the fear that they won't be socially accepted if they try to go above and beyond what everyone else is doing.

     I think the most important thing to remember is that you're getting an education for you and no one else.  Grades don't have to be your only motivation.  Now that that structure is no longer there, you have to create your own structure. Customize your own learning. :)

     The biggest thing I can do for myself at this point is to just grit my teeth and tackle those things that I'm struggling with.  I'm never going to get a good score if I just tell myself I'll deal with it later.  i am feeling pretty well prepared though :). I just have to remind myself to make the system work for me.

     One of the most important things I can do is remind people that they are in control of their own learning.  Make them think about where they want to be and then focus on the steps it's going to take to get there.