Death of a SalesmanCertain Private Conversations

in Two Acts and a Requiem

Written by Arthur Miller

ARTHUR MILLER: The Playwright

Arthur Miller was born in New York City on October 17, 1915.He wrote Death of a Salesman,which won the Pulitzer Prize and transformed Miller into a national sensation. Many critics described Death of a Salesman as the first great American

tragedy, and Miller gained eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of theUnited States.

Miller continued…

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 Monroe’s husbands! He died in 2005.

The Play

Death of a Salesman,Miller’s 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, the idea that success and status are rights, not

earned privileges. (www.sparknotes.com/lit)

The Play continued…

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.

“The 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.

• This idea persists today, though younger generations have deveoped a different idea of the American Dream.

“The American Dream” cont’d

• Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. However, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy of "get rich quick". A variety of seductive but elusive strategies have evolved, and today the three leading ways to instant wealth are large-prize television game shows, big-jackpot state lotteries and compensation lawsuits. In this article,  Matthew Warshauer, Professor of History at Central Connecticut State University, examines why so many Americans are persuaded to seek these easy ways to their dream. (http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm).

The American Dream

• How has the dream changed?• What does the dream mean to you?• Is it a right or a priviledge?• How will you try to realize your dream?• How important is being well-liked?• How vital is it to work hard?• Will luck play a part?• Is it better to win the lottery or make money in your

chosen career? Why?

The Lomans.• 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;

The Lomans…

Willy has worked hard his entire life (he’s 63) and ought to be retiring by now, living a life of luxury and closing deals with contractors on the phone—especially since increasing episodes of depersonalization and memory flashbacks are impairing his ability to drive. Instead, all of Willy's aspirations seem to have failed: he is fired from his job after 34 years—which barely paid enough anyway—by a man young enough to be his son and who, in fact, Willy claims to have named.

Symbolism of the name LOMAN?

The Lomans…

Biff, his 34-year-old son, has been unable to 'find himself' as a result of his inability to settle down; he’s a former football star.Happy, 32, the younger son,lies shamelessly to make it look like he is a perfect Loman son.

Both sons aredisspointments.

Becoming Your Own Person

To what extent are you shaped by your parents?

If you fail to become successful, can you blame your parents?

Why or why not?

For example, Willy tells his sons that the most important trait needed to be successful is to be well liked. If you were told this, how might that shape your life?

Finally, Willy is haunted by memories of his now-dead older brother, Ben, who has constantly overshadowed Willy, and he is in many ways the man that Willy wanted to be.

Willy's emphasis on being well-liked stems from a belief that it will bring success—not a harmful dream in itself, except that he clings to this idea as if it is a life-preserver, refusing to give it up. His boys are not only well-liked but quite handsome, and as far as Willy is concerned, that's all anyone needs. He pitches this idea to his sons so effectively that they believe opportunity will fall into their laps.

The Tragic FlawTragic Flaw: a flaw in character that

brings about the downfall of the hero of a tragedy; e.g. hubris (or excessive pride) or avarice (financial greed).

Willy witnesses his and his sons' failures and clings ever more tightly to his master plan, now placing his hopes vicariously on them: he may not succeed, but they might. His tragic flaw is in failing to question whether the dream is valid.

The Setting

• Loman’s tiny Brooklyn house– Claustrophobic effect, surrounded by buildings– Middle-class furniture– takes place over 48 hours, 1942

• NOTE: when the play takes place in the present, the Loman house has imaginary walls; in scenes relived (reimagined) from the past, the walls don’t exist.

Thematic Ideas • The American Dream

– find prospertity; be “well liked”

• Personal Attractiveness– better to look good and be “well liked”

• Truth and lies– “We never told the truth for ten minutes in this house!”

• Family– loyalty, pride

• Loneliness– Even with others around, we can still be lonely

Miller’s Narrative Technique

• The separation of past and present no longer exists in Willy’s mind.

• When a present event reminds him of the past, he drifts from his immediate surroundings and talks with unseen people from the past

• Willy has MEMORIES, not flasbacks

• Facts and time sequence are often confused

Memories vs. Flashbacks

• What’s the difference?

• Can we trust memory?

• Why? Why not?

• How might our memories be different from what actually happened?

• Why might we recall the same event differently from other people?