With reference to at least two plays you have studied, explore how the playwrights’ use of contrasting characters contributes to the impact of the plays.

Yet there are also distinct differences between the two plays. Tom and Amanda are trying to uplift Laura, and help her develop her own character, whereas Biff and Happy are trying to calm Willy down and simply put him at ease. There are also distinct differences in the two dysfunctional families in terms of love. Willy feels unloved by his sons because they have not fulfilled the dream he had in mind for them. On the other hand, in The Glass Menagerie, Laura feels deeply loved by both Amanda and Tom and worries for them because she feels she may be the cause of their unhappiness. The emotions caused by the contrasts in characters are also very different. Biff and Happy’s predicaments often result in anger, whether this is portrayed in Willy or Biff, there is always the emotion of outrage left behind. However, between Amanda and Tom there is the feeling of guilt. Amanda feels guilt for not being able to find a suitable gentleman for Laura, and Tom feels guilt for wanting to leave the family as his father previously did before him. The effect of the contrasting emotional responses demonstrates the seriousness of the issue to the reader, and the playwright chooses to do so to imply that there is no right or wrong reaction. One character is not more moralistic than another, and therefore contributes to the tragic conclusions of both plays.

In conclusion, both playwrights use the contrast between their main characters to further the development of the key theme of the play. In Death of a Salesman, the American Dream is the theme which is expanded upon through the portrayal of the characters. Happy’s blind faith in the Dream is entirely different from Biff’s acknowledgement of its falseness. The contrast between their views of the Dream shows the impact that the ideology impressed upon the people by media had on family’s lives at the time. In The Glass Menagerie, the theme of confinement and the effect it has on the characters is the theme which is developed with the contrast. Amanda has become comfortable with this sense of confinement, and it has blinded her from the reality of her daughter’s disability. However, the confinement is stifling Tom, and he feels a need to travel and break away from the environment in which he leaves. Despite this, his emotions of love for his sister, and the guilt that would ensue if he deserted them are what confine him. In both these plays, the playwright uses the contrast between characters to impact the themes of the play.