Social pressures change over time, so it is interesting to see how these three texts which differ by almost four hundred years perceive society and the effect it has on protagonists; Shakespeare's King Lear, first performed in 1606 during the Jacobean era, features a patriarchal society. While Arthur Miller uses the characters of 'Death of a Salesman' to show the failure of the 'American Dream' during the “golden age” of America in the late 1940s. The "American Dream" was a set of ideals that suggested that anyone in the United States could be successful through hard work and had the potential to live a happy life. The sense of deteriorating equality of opportunity links to the fall of power and hierarchy in King Lear. Arudanthi Roy, however, uses her contemporary Indian novel to illustrate, using a proleptic and coalescent structure, the lives of protagonists living in a post-colonial society. In each of these three texts there are characters who fit the stereotypes that society has instilled in them, but then there are characters who differ greatly from the norm; According to the 19th century novelist Alfred de Musset “how glorious – and how painful – it is to be an exception”. So this statement can be seen as applicable to these characters, because in all three texts these characters end up losing a lot. In "Death of a Salesman", Miller uses Willy to represent the common man who "is as fit a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were". Willy is a character who is called a "tragic hero " because the company prevented him from being successful as a salesman and he was forced to "put thirty-four years into this company... and now I can't pay my money". insurance!" This idea... middle of paper... his sister shows how ruthless she is, but it also shows how desperate she is to feel loved by another man; this could reflect the abandonment she received from her father or husband - this again links to Ammu's character feeling worthless in her father's eyes. When Edmund is killed by Edgar in Act 5, Scene 3, Goneril enters a "thou art not vanquished" state of despair and disbelief. This mirrors Lear's reaction when he finds Cordelia dead, so it could be used by Shakespeare to show the similarities between Lear and Goneril who both crave power and love, but are ultimately left with nothing. His character is one that most people wouldn't sympathize with; James W. Bell calls her a “sneaky little schemer,” but there are many layers to her character that Shakespeare added to show how no person is completely “good” or “evil.”"..”