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Death of a salesman arthur miller symbols
Women roles in death of a salesman
Analyze Miller's use of symbolism in "Death of a Salesman.
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Pressure to conform to the societal norms of a culture can often be so weighty that those who balk against it are likely to be crushed. Usually the world wins in a very few cases though, the individual comes out the victor, beating the odds, a stronger human being as a result. In the case of Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, the world devours Willy Loman in his search for the American Dream. It broke him down and eventually destroyed him. Nora Helmer, of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll House, was also consumed by the world, but after being broken, fought her way free and defeated society’s expectations of her. Both seek fulfillment in their lives, falsely finding it in society’s expectations; Nora discovers this dichotomy between what she should be and who she really is and sets out to amend the problem; Willy on the other hand, cannot handle the stress of facing his true self and flees.
Societal pressures urge Nora and Willy to mold themselves into the people they think they should be, ignoring their true selves. Nora grew up the plaything of her father and became the same to her husband, adopting their tastes and opinions as her own because society expected women to support the dominant males in their lives whole-heartedly (Ibsen 3.593-603). According to society, Nora’s duties lay within the home caring for her children and husband, not bothering herself with the matters of the world and its workings. This naïveté though, directly caused her to take out an illegal loan in her father’s name. Under the impression that her actions would be understood because they aimed only to save her husband’s life, Nora deludes herself into thinking that she still fits into the role society created for her. The moment Torvald discovers her lies, thoug...
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...opeless as Willy, it almost seemed the kind way to end the play, letting him live would have meant forcing him to suffer through the remainder of his life without the dreams of great American life that had driven him for so long.
Under pressure one of two things can happen, an object can compress and become indestructible and solid, or it can shatter into a million pieces never to be reunited. Nora solidifies under the pressure of society and becomes something more resilient, more determined, more stable. Whereas Willy shatters and blows away into the wind, ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Works Cited
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama. Ed. W.B. Worthen. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. 548-71. Print.
Miller, Arthur. Death of A Salesman. The Wadsworth Anthology of Drama. Ed. W.B. Worthen. Boston: Thomson Wadsworth, 2007. 1066-98. Print.
... morals and personality towards his goals and at the same time trying to pass those values onto his sons, making him lose their respect, which is one of the many reasons that ended up taking his life. For the most part one can see that issues like Willys cannot only be seen or heard of in a play but also in the real world. Everybody in general wants to conform and be liked in today's competitive society, which is one of the reasons why many people don't get to accomplish the things they want to accomplish because they are either to scared or don't have the courage to step out of the social norms and achieve what they what to achieve. If anyone learns anything from this tragic character, one can say that truly knowing ones-self can really help in the long run because if one doesn't know who they are, they can end up leading a miserable life, in a miserable world.
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House." The Bedford Introduction to Literature: Reading, Thinking, and Writing. By Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford of St. Martin's, 2011. 1709-757. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll House (1879). Trans. Rolf Fjelde. Rpt. in Michael Meyer, ed. The Bedford Introduction to Literature. 5th edition. Boston & New York: Bedford/St. Martin's Press, 1999. 1564-1612.
It sometimes takes a lifetime to change yourself, but changing in response to what other people want, without considering your own needs could be much more challenging. In a world without any flaws all people would be treated equally and with the same kind of respect. On the other hand, in the world we live in, almost all situations we find ourselves in have the potential to become a conflict. A Doll's House, a play by Henrik Ibsen, is an exceptional example of a conflict that exists as women are seen as possessions and not individuals by men. Ibsen uses the Christmas tree, macaroons, tarantella, and the doll’s house as symbols in A Doll’s House to express the flaws in a society that requires women to be the subservient and docile servants of men.
Ibsen, Henrik. Four Major Plays: A Doll House, the Wild Duck, Hedda Gabler, the Master Builder. New York: New American Library, 1992.
Miller, Arthur and Gerald Clifford Weales. Death of a salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1996. Print.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. Literature and the Writing Process. Elizabeth Mahan, Susan X Day, and Robert Funk. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice, 2002. 916-966.
In brief, it is apparent that Willy’s own actions led to not only his own demise, but his children’s as well. The salesman tragically misinterpreted the American Dream for only the superficial qualities of beauty, likeability and prosperity. Perhaps if Willy had been more focused on the truth of a person’s character, rather than purely physical aspects, his family’s struggles and his own suicide could have been avoided. On the whole, Arthur Miller’s play is evidence that the search for any dream or goal is not as easy and the end result may seem. The only way to realize the objective without any despair is the opposite of Willy Loman’s methods: genuineness, perseverance and humility.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Seventh Edition. X.J. Kennedy, and Dana Gioia. New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc., 1999. 1636-1707.
Though humanity can never express itself fully, it is never deterred in its quest to do so. Literature brings such light and expression for humanity to communicate across time, space, generations and ever-evolving society. However, no modicum of talent suffices to satisfy people throughout the ages for literature and its ability to communicate directly and indirectly. Arthur Miller stands as a classic American author with his ability to explore the darker and deeper parts of humanity and individuals facing the adversity of a larger society. In Miller’s Death of a Salesman, he demonstrates the struggle of a family with an illusion of the American Dream against new ideas of success and striving for personal happiness rather than wealth or prestige.
Patriarchy's socialization of women into servicing creatures is the major accusation in Nora's painful account to Torvald of how first her father, and then he, used her for their amusement. . . how she had no right to think for herself, only the duty to accept their opinions. Excluded from meaning anything, Nora has never been subject, only object. (Templeton 142).
Torvald is the only one in the family who works and provides for his family who needs to survive in their lifestyle. Because of this, Nora must always go and ask for money from Torvald, hoping for his acceptance of her using his income. Nora also had no possessions to her name because when a woman got married, all her possessions were considered under the control of her new husband.... ... middle of paper ...
Both are willing to sacrifice themselves for values dear to their lives. This act of aiding significant loved ones gives us a better understanding of Nora. It gives us an image of who the character Nora really is.
Ibsen, Henrik. A Doll's House. In Four Major Plays. Trans. James McFarlane and Jens Arup. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981.
Ibsen, Henrik. "A Doll House." Ibsen : Four Major Plays - Volume 1. Trans. Rolf Fjelde. New York: Signet Classics, 1992. 43-114. Print.