Comparison of Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie

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Example: I asked Gina to accept my hand in marriage. She then

smiled and as I awaited her response, her face appeared to diffuse just as

leisurely as a dinner candle that is dripping its’ melting wax onto the fibers

of an Egyptian, cotton tablecloth.

The sentence example preceding this paragraph can be perplexing to

any reader when any additional details are not given that describe the

context in which this sentence has been written. Devoid of any transition in

the opening sentence of this paper, the audience may not be able to discern

whether the actions in the sentence are real or part of a dream or some

alternate reality. As any author or playwright attempts to transition his story

from one reality to an alternate reality, it is his responsibility to noticeably

or inconspicuously guide his audience into the next scene or alternate reality

of the story. Not doing so can lead the audience into confusion and

misperception of the intentions of the author. Playwrights Tennessee

Williams and Arthur Miller have both similar and contrasting ways in which

they apply their non-realistic techniques, with the purpose of elucidating

any transitions from the stage or script to the intended audience.

Subsequently I will explain my examination, both comparatively and

contrastively, of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman along with Tennessee

Williams’ The Glass Menagerie and each playwright’s application of non-

realistic technique.

The first major transition in Death of a Salesman transpires as the

main character, Willy Loman, is imagining that his teenage sons, though

now both in their 30’s are washing his fairly new Chevy automobile. The

audience...

... middle of paper ...

...Miller’s non-realistic approach was abstract and metaphoric, while

Williams’ non-realistic approach was conveyed as a memory of certain

times and places with events and actions that did happen. I have a personal

affection and admiration for the abstruse but I’d perhaps better receive the

message in Death of a Salesman by witnessing the story on stage or on film.

I admire the straightforward approach that Tennessee Williams took in

writing The Glass Menagerie. Williams’ approach allowed for easier reading

on paper. My eyes and mind now instinctively move toward the future.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." 1949. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 8th ed. Vol. E. New York: W.W. Norton &, 2012. Print.

Williams, Tennessee. The Glass Menagerie. New York: New Directions Publishing, 1945.

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