The Daly Post

We’ve all heard of the classic saying “money can’t buy happiness”. For some of us, this concept clicks. We grow up, get a job, make money, and realize that it’s in fact the little things, loved ones, and stupid things in our lives that matter most and truly make us happy. Although for some of us, such as Willy, we don’t understand this concept and believe that nothing matters more in the world than money itself. Believing that money is the root to happiness is ultimately what leads to failure. Willy, along with many others, focus so much on the aspect of success that they miss out on the parts of life that create true happiness: relationships and experiences. Putting this idea into a simpler, more comical perspective, imagine a dog. A dog can have the biggest cage sold on the market, the fanciest leash and collar, an assortment of winter vests for when the air gets crisp, but I guarantee that that dog isn’t happy. What makes that dog happy you might ask? The answer is quite simple - it...

          As we wrap up Act 1 of The Death of a Salesman , I keep on trying to make sense of the title and its overall meaning in regards to the text. I think it is clear to say that Willy acts as the salesman that is being referred to in the title. From the beginning, he is portrayed as an older man who seems to think he has his life together. He claims he is this big shot, business man that knows the “key to success”. Although he is constantly seen running around, meeting with customers, trying to “make it” - it doesn’t make much sense! If he knows the “key to success”, why are we seeing him, as a 50-year-old man, bust around as if he were someone inexperienced and new to the business world? Simpler said by me than Willy himself, he hasn’t lived up to the American Dream he has strived to achieve. It’s as if he knows this, but doesn’t want to admit it to himself. When the title mentions the word “death”, it isn’t supposed to be taken literally. I could eas...

     It’s fair to say that throughout these past months, I’ve watched a share of TV shows. Two of my favorites would have to be Friends and Criminal Minds. It’s clear that both shows are very different in the sense that the characters are dealt with vastly dissimilar obstacles. So I’m not going to lie, reading an article that said “all stories are the same” somewhat threw me off.      The article got me thinking about the similarities and differences in not only these two shows, but in stories as a whole. It’s clear that all stories have a beginning and an end, but no plot is 100% the same. How could a humorous, relaxed sitcom be “the same” as a serious, non-humorous CSI series?        I think what the author is saying is that every story is different, but each one involves the same structure to reveal its final message. So yes, plot differs but regardless of the plot there is always an obstacle involved that results in some type of grow...

          Meursault is a very complicated character to say the least. He is very hard to connect with, as an audience member, and is very difficult to interpret. His actions and feelings are clearly stated, but the same question is asked by the audience every time something peculiar arises - why? Yes, he shot the Arab once, then paused, then again four more times, but why? It is clear that he was very emotionally detached from the death of his mother, but why? He is with Marie, someone who loves him very much, in which he returns no love to whatsoever, why?  I believe it’s fair to say that Meursault is very disconnected with his feelings, which is why it is difficult for me as a reader to understand his mind. For example, at his mother’s funeral all he talks about is the bantering sun and how gruesome the heat is. I remember reading this in the first chapter and immediately thinking of him as an insensitive, selfish character. Although as the novel g...

     What is happiness defined by? This was a question that the movie Little Miss Sunshine brought up among its viewers. Oftentimes, happiness is perceived as a materialistic concept; the more you have, the happier you are. This is a concept that modern society struggles with, and social media doesn’t help. Platforms such as Tik Tok and Instagram give celebrities, influencers, and ordinary people the opportunity to share their daily lives. To say the least, it is a trap for comparison. I think everyone is guilty of scrolling through a platform and comparing what they have and don’t have to someone else based off of a simple video or picture. We think that these people live “the perfect lives” and are “so happy” because of everything they have that we may not.      Little Miss Sunshine breaks this stereotype and redefines happiness. One of the most powerful parts of the movie is when Dwayne, a character that struggles to find his happiness, says that you sho...

     Imagine being told a year ago that we’d be doing online school because of some global pandemic… I wouldn’t have believed it. Ironically, this so-called “pandemic” occurred almost exactly 100 years post the Spanish Flu outbreak in the 1920s. If this is an every century type thing, I think it’d be good to give advice to the kids of the future on how to be successful as an online student. Kids of the 2120s, listen up. Here’s 4 tips on how to pass online school: Always keep the mic on. Teachers love when they can hear the background noise of mom vacuuming and sister screaming. One of their favorites is when they can hear your phone. All the buzzing and chirping just makes them feel so listened to. Turn in your friends’ homework. Since we aren’t actually in school, we don’t need a physical copy of our own work. Just submit your friends completed work! It makes it easier for teachers because they don’t have to grade 28 assignments. Plus, they hate seeing each kid take time...

     Our discussion in class this past week about humor and satire had me wondering - how is humor defined? The dictionary would say that it is the quality of being amusing or comic, but why is it that if something is defined by “amusing or comic” that not everyone laughs?  When being introduced to the idea of satire within literature, we were shown a series of videos that demonstrated humor in a certain way. Some clips, such as the princess bride, displayed an underlying, somewhat ridiculous humor. The expressions, the nonsense ideas, and the tone created by the characters is what ultimately made the clip humorous to some. It was nondirect and took the idea of humor to more of a discrete level. Other clips, such as the SNL clip about sarcasm, presented a very upright, straight-forward type of humor. As an audience member, you can tell that the skit was meant to be outwardly humorous.      Throughout these variations of scenes and skits, (this may so...