Death%20of%20a%20Salesman%20Arthur%20Miller

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Death of a SalesmanArthur Miller

• The American Dream
• At what cost?

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THE PLAY

• Death of a Salesman, Millers most famous work,
  addresses the painful conflicts within one
  family, but it also tackles larger issues
  regarding American national values. The play
  examines the cost of blind faith in the American
  Dream, that success and status are rights, not
  earned privileges.

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About the PlaywrightArthur Miller

• Born in New York City on October 17, 1915
• Began as playwright at University of Michigan
• Pulitzer Prize winner for Death of A Salesman
• Double winner of New York Drama Critics Circle
  Award

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ARTHUR MILLER

• He published The Crucible in 1953, a searing
  indictment of the anti-Communist hysteria that
  pervaded 1950s America, which is set during the
  Salem Witch Trials of 1690. Miller is also
  famous for having been one of Marilyn Monroes
  husbands! He died in 2005.

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AMERICAN DREAM

• It is a play viewed by many as a scathing attack
  on the American Dream of achieving wealth and
  success without regard for principle or morals

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AMERICAN DREAM

• The American Dream is a belief that in the United
  States of America, hard work and determination
  can lead to a better life, usually through the
  earning of money. These were values held by many
  early European settlers, and have been passed on
  to the newer generations.

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AMERICAN DREAM

• Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize
  the American dream of success, fame and wealth
  through thrift and hard work. However, the
  industrialization of the 20th centuries began to
  erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy
  of "get rich quick. Arthur Miller wanted to
  comment on this new ethos in American culture.

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The Play
The play centers on Willy Loman, an aging
salesman who is beginning to lose his grip on
reality. Willy places great emphasis on his
supposed native charm and ability to make
friends
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Theme THE AMERICAN DREAM

• American Dream financial success and material
  comfort lies at the heart of Death of a Salesman.
  Various secondary characters achieve the Dream in
  different ways
• Ben goes off into the wilderness of Alaska and
  Africa and lucks into wealth by discovering a
  diamond mine
• Howard Wagner inherits his Dream through his
  father's company
• Bernard, who seemed a studious bore as a child,
  becomes a successful lawyer through hard work.
• Willy Loman's version of the Dream, which has
  been influenced by his brother Ben's success, is
  that any man who is manly, good looking,
  charismatic, and well-liked deserves success and
  will naturally achieve it.

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Theme FATHERS SONS

• Fathers Sons one of the conflicts of the play
  is between Willy and his elder son Biff.
• The play traces the values that Willy instilled
  in his sons, luck over hard work, likability
  over expertisewhich lead to disappointment for
  Willy, Biff, and Happy these values leave them
  barren and aimless.

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THEME Nature vs. the City

• Willys small house juxtaposes the encroaching,
  towering apartment buildings that surround
  Willys house.
• The apartments represent the artificial world of
  the city with its commercialism,
  superficiality, and modernism
• Willy has stayed the same while the world around
  him has changed.
• Willy longs to escape to the country.

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Nature vs. the City

• The country/natural world are represented by Ben
  and Willys father who succeeded in a wild
  frontier that no longer exists.
• The urban world has replaced the rural, and Willy
  chooses to throw his lot in with the world of
  sales, which does not involve making things but
  rather selling oneself.
• Biff and Happy embody these two sides of Willy's
  personality the individualist dreamer and the
  eager-to-please salesman. Biff works with his
  hands on farms, helping horses give birth, while
  Happy schemes within the stifling atmosphere of a
  department store.

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THEME Denial

• Each member of the Loman family is living in
  denial or perpetuating a cycle of denial for
  others.
• The reality of the Lomans failures cause each
  character to retreat in one way or another.
  i.e. Willy retreats into the past and chooses to
  relive past memories and events in which he is
  perceived as successful.

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THEME Betrayal

• The Woman, with whom Willy cheats on Linda, is
  able to feed Willy's salesman ego by "liking"
  him. He is proud of being able to sell himself to
  her, and this feeling turns to shame only when he
  sees that by giving stockings to The Woman rather
  than Linda, he is sabotaging his role as a
  provider. He doesn't see that his love, not
  material items, is the primary thing Linda needs
  from him.

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THEME Abandonment the Search for Significance

• Willys abandonment by his father leaves him
  feeling inadequate and therefore, in search of
  validation and significance.
• These feelings are often illustrated in Willys
  conversations with Ben, Charley, and Linda.

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Symbols

• Seeds opportunity for growth, but require the
  right conditions to germinate. The sons Willy has
  cultivated with his own values have shown to
  disappoint him. By planting vegetable seeds,
  Willy is attempting to begin anew.
• The Rubber Hose Willys impending suicide. The
  rubber hose points how the conveniences such as
  the car and water heater that Willy works so hard
  to buy to afford might, under their surface, be
  killing him.

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Symbols

• The Womans Stockings the intimate gift Willy
  gives to his mistress. They become a symbol of
  Willys betrayal and infidelity. They illustrate
  how he lets down his wife and strains the
  familys financial resources to maintain his
  ego-stroking affair.

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Symbols

• The Flute and the flute music represent the
  single faint link Willy has with his father and
  the natural world.
• Willys dad made flutes and made a good living by
  traveling around the country selling them. The
  anticipates Willys career as a salesman, but
  also his underused talent for building things
  with his hands, which might have been a more
  fulfilling job.

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Major Characters

• Willy Loman
• Biff Loman
• Linda Loman
• Happy Loman
• Charley
• Bernard
• Ben

• The Woman
• Howard Wagner
• Stanley
• Jenny
• Miss Forsythe and Letta

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Willy Loman

• Father, 63 yr. old traveling salesman
• Buys into a version of the American dream in
  which charisma, good looks and luck count for
  more than diligence or wisdom.
• Invests all his hope in his sons, but is
  disappointed in the how they turn out.
• Doesnt realize his influence on his sons
  failures.
• The schism between his dreams and reality results
  in his mental collapse.

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Biff Loman

• Elder son, 34 years old
• High school standout-football star, many male
  friends, and female admirers
• Willys shallow dream of success influences
  Biffs disillusionment
• Has always been in the shadow of Willys
  expectations.
• Changes by the end of the play. Has a revelation
  about himself and realizes how to achieve
  happiness.
• Represents Willys better, more honest nature.

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Linda Loman

• Loving, devoted wife
• Emotionally supportive of Willy
• Willys strength until his tragic perishing
• Encourages Willy in the pursuit of his dream. Her
  encouragement, and denial of Willys failures,
  may play a role in Willys doomed pursuit of
  glory.

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Happy Loman

• Younger son, 32 years old
• In Biffs shadow all his life
• Relentless sex and professional drive
• Represents Willys sense of self importance,
  ambition and disillusionment.
• Assistant to the assistant manager at a
  department store, and is willing to do whatever
  is convenient to get ahead.

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Charley Bernard

• Charley
• The Lomans next door neighbor
• Successful businessman
• Often gives Willy financial support
• Described as Willys only friend although Willy
  is jealous of Charleys success

• Bernard
• Charleys son
• Successful lawyer
• Often mocked by Willy for being studious

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Ben

• Willys deceased older brother
• Independently wealthy
• Appears to Willy in daydreams
• Willys symbol of success that he desperately
  wants for his sons
• Willys connection to his father

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The Woman

• Willys mistress
• Her admiration for Willy is an ego boost
• Biff catches Willy with her in a hotel room
• Biff loses respect in his father due to
  infidelity