Analysis Of ' Death Of A Salesman ' By Arthur Miller

How can two people watch or read the same story and yet, interpret it completely differently? Does it have to do with the author’s intentions, or maybe it has to do with the viewers’ own backgrounds and ideologies? Whatever the case may be, viewing one piece of work can lead to a wide array of opinions and critiques. It is through the diversity of such lenses that Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller has become one of the most well-known plays in modern history. There are many different ways in which a play can be criticized, however, criticisms from the approaches of a Marxist and reader-response will be utilized to further dissect Death of a Salesman. Marxist criticism sees pieces of works as a struggle between different socioeconomic classes; what better way to see Miller’s play than for what it is at face value, the struggle of a middle-class man trying to achieve the American dream (1750). On the other hand, a reader-response criticism comes from either an objective or subjective view; in this case Death of a Salesman will be viewed with a subjective lens based on Willy’s deteriorating mental health (1746).

The events of Arthur Miller’s life likely had a large impact on his play Death of a Salesman. For instance, in Miler’s childhood, his father was the owner of a thriving coat making business, able to provide more than enough money for the family to get by. However, the stock market crash and subsequent depression caused Miller and his family to fall from their previously lush lifestyles. They were all forced out of their home and never again reached their almost wealthy status. This transition from success to being a poor family barely making enough money to get by might have influenced the themes of an unachievable American dream that can be found in Death of a Salesman. The sense

Willy Loman is a senile salesman who lives a dull life with a depleting career. He has an estranged relationship with his family and believes in the American Dream of effortless success and affluence, but in no way accomplishes it. Feeling like the aim of life is to be favored by others and gaining a materialistic fortune, Willy lives in a world of delusion where

From the time Arthur Miller began writing plays, till his recent death in 2005, he had never had such a well know play as Death of a Salesman. This play was first performed in the late 1940’s. It reveals the struggle of an old, worn out, salesman who is upset with the life that he has created. With the strain of his past mistakes lurking in the back of his mind, Willy cannot handle the stress and begins to have hallucinations of the past about the things he could have changed.

People have different identities because they all make their own over the course of their lives. Identity development is the outcome of different experiences and situations people encounter throughout their lives. Views, beliefs, activities, and conflicts have an impact on how individuals form their identities. People go through life trying to recognize their character traits, the act of which leads them to their identities, but over time can lose the identities they have through society, through a marriage, or through one’s own self. Willy Loman, a delusional salesman, in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; Minnie Wright, an unhappy and lonely housewife, in Susan Glaspell’s Trifles; and Oedipus, a king with excessive pride and

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman contains many themes of

This story is about four unethical real estate salesmen who will do whatever it takes to sell undesirable real estate to uninformed buyers. All four salesmen are feeling the constant pressure of management to close sales, but feel they are given poor sales leads. Shelly Levene is a has-been salesman in his fifties, who finds himself in a terrible sales slump, and worries about losing his job. Shelly eventually bribes his manager, John Williamson, to sell him the Glengarry leads, but doesn’t have the cash in advance that John Williamson requests. Ricky Roma has been rather successful, and outwits James Lingk into buying undesirable real estate, by playing to his sense of adventure. Under strain of constant pressure, Dave Moss and

I chose to read and respond to Death of a Salesman. There were many points throughout the story where the characters tried to cover up their flaws. Every character spent time hiding flaws to improve their image. For one, Willy wants his family to appear perfect and if they don’t he lashes out. However, all the while Willy is clueing the reader in on his secrets. Each story peeling away another layer to reveal a broken family. Eventually there are no more layers left and Willy can’t accept the fact that they are not perfect.

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” takes place in New York City in the late 1940’s. This play chronicles the life of Willy Loman, who often reflects upon his life and the decisions he has made. Miller characterizes Willy as guilt-stricken by his decisions and driven for his children to achieve wealth and success through the use of symbolism, idioms, and similes.

Arthur Miller is considered one of the best playwrights of the 20th century. The most known pieces are All My Sons, A View from the Bridge, The Crucible and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller was born in Harlem, New York on October 17, 1915, he was the son of polish immigrants. Miller graduated from high school in New York in 1933, he had worked at variety of including hosting a radio program. Miller wrote plays for the Federal Theatre in 1939. In The Federal Theatre it provided work for the unemployed writers, actors, directors, and designers. Millers career did not start off great it was a little rough. Miller worked in a small building that he built in Roxbury, Connecticut. Miller wrote the first act of Death

Willy Loman is here! Thats all they have to know and [he goes] right through (Miller 33). Yet his sales do not justify this claim. I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions, Willy argued. Now, Willy, you never averaged- (Miller 82). The characters could not determine what was an illusion, and which, a reality. Often, other characters attempted to give hints of reality to the delusional others. These cues were constantly denied. Amanda was sure the gentlemen caller Tom had invited for dinner was going to fall in love, marry and save Laura all within a matter of a dinner. Tom tries to explain to his mother that Jim is not aware of Lauras existence and thus the chances of Jim saving his sister was slim. Yet, Amanda brushes off Toms leeway into reality and continues to believe Jim is the one without ever having met him. As a result, Jim ends up engaged to a girl named Betty. Willy has the same attitude as Amanda, unaware of any hints coming in his direction. Near the end of the play, Willy insists [his] funeral will be massive! Theyll come from Maine, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire!Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey- [he is] known. Yet Ben continuously warns Willy that he [has] got to be sure [hes] not making a fool of [himself] (Miller 127). Willy pays no attention to this frame of reality. In the end, no one shows up to Willys funeral, portrayed as Linda asks, why

As though to recreate the connection in life, literature often shows the relationship between past events and a character’s present actions and values. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy is haunted by memories of his older brother, father, and salesman Dave Singleman. Willy’s character and values are constantly influenced by the memory of the three men, compounding upon his deliria throughout the play. Willy considers these men the epitome of success, thus explaining his dependency on all three. Miller’s view on society, men, and the success of the American Dream are portrayed through Willy’s interactions with the men. The American Dream is synonymous with the phrase “the world is your oyster,” but Miller uses Death of a Salesman to criticize the American Dream through Willy Loman and his interplay between the past and present.

It could be argued that Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a tragic play that represents the failures of a system, but from an existentialist point of view, however, the play solely represents the failures of an individual. By looking at the many distasteful characteristics of the societal system embodied by the Loman's family values and dreams, and by then arguing these points from an existentialist point of view, this essay will confirm that the play represents the failures of an individual instead of casting blame on a socially constructed system.

The way that Arthur Miller presents human behavior in Death of a Salesman, and how we look at human behavior today are similar in many ways. From looking at all the things people do to get ahead, to how we interact with one another, and how people feel deep inside. He presents all of those in the play. However, the key one that he seems to focus on a lot with Willy is him taking pride in the life that he has lived. Willy does not take anything from nobody, even though he shows many examples of false pride throughout the play. He is delusional about the life that he is living, and no one can get through to him about his current state of life. Furthermore, many people today have the same pride that ultimately leads to their downfall.

What is it that makes a character relatable? When a writer develops a character they will often create tragedy or hardships for that character to endure. The character will then go through a transformation and become the hero that the story calls for, at least in most cases. Theatrical writing is no exception. In the play Death of a Salesman the protagonist is not necessarily the main character. The protagonist in this play is the main character’s son Biff. However, in the play Cat on a Hot Tin Roof it is harder to determine if the protagonist is Brick or Maggie, but I believe Brick is the main protagonist. In the play Dutchman it is quite the opposite and the protagonist, Clay, is very clearly emphasized. These three plays and their respective protagonists are all good examples of relatable characters that were transformed through the events of the plays.