A Crazy Man and His Symbols
An analysis of the symbols in “Death of a Salesman”
Many times authors use symbolism to get their point across, and to further the readers understanding of the plot in many different lights so as to increase the intelligence of the reader. Symbolism is a major part of any story, however, whether or not this symbolism is a material object or actual phrase, dialogue, or anything else, does not matter, because every story has some sort of symbolism that increases the value of the play or story. Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman,” is one of Miller’s many works that holds much symbolism and power. Miller writes often to challenge the popular beliefs of a certain time. In “The Crucible,” Arthur Miller was referencing
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The symbolism is heavily engaged within this play, and this strength in symbolism is also displayed in “Death of a Salesman.” This is a tragic story, and not only because the Salesman obviously dies, it is simply because throughout the story the demise and sadness within a family is revealed more and more, increasing the sadness of the reader and the disappointment in which they experience throughout. Brenda Murphy agrees with this heavy use of symbolism, “There are times when the play moves on a plane of symbolism and other times when it is exactingly realistic.” This realism is essentially the entire idea of the play, though the reader experiences heavy symbolism within this realism. Many physical, inanimate objects are the center of symbolism in this play and they are very important to the development of certain characters, namely, Willy Loman. The idea of realism and symbolism being united is when an object of the story that shape the plot can stand for altered meanings, which aren’t absolutely necessary for the reader to understand to understand the story line. Furthermore, the three main symbols in “Death of a Salesman,” are first, Willy Loman’s wife’s stockings, the fountain pen, and last, also most important the rubber hose connected to the
Found within the storyline, Willy implements features of a tragic hero as he shows the reversal of events in his life due to his own actions. Willy, through the downfall with his son, Biff, shows that his actions have caused a bridge between him and his son in which his son chooses to grow apart from his family. As seen at the beginning of the play, Willy represents a tragic hero as he is distressed and troubled as he comes home from another failed sales trip. Although Willy represents a tragic hero in many cases, there are also others found within Death of a Salesman that help implement the role of a profound hero. Willy’s wife, Linda, implements the heroine as she presents herself with many wise and understanding words for Willy has he faces his hardships. Throughout the story, it is seen that Linda represents herself as a put together woman for her husband but is often found distraught by her husband’s actions in which readers and audiences can empathize with
Alistair Deacon from As Time Goes By once said that, “The people in the book need to be people.” The main character in a story or in a play always has to be somewhat likeable or relatable. Who doesn’t like to feel like they can relate to their favorite character in a story? In many cases the authors of stories or books always try to make the reader feel like they are not the only ones with problems or going through a crazy situation. Wanting the reader to become engaged in the characters' conflicts is what they aim for. In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, many people were gripped by Willy Loman’s, the main character, problems because they too struggle with many of the conflicts that Willy faces. Willy could not keep his life together, failing to see reality and pursuing the wrong dream, with a wrong viewpoint, ended up causing others around him and himself to hurt.
Death of a Salesman is a play of tragedy because it tells of disappointment, failure, and death. Ultimately, Willy wastes his adult years trying to prove his worth but is very unsuccessful in everything he does. He has a misguided vision of what life should be that he passes on to his two children, and can no longer distinguish between reality and illusion. This play teaches good morals, values, and that personality can only get you so far in life. We come to understand this by experiencing, interpreting, and evaluating the play, which is a good strategy in approaching any work of literature.
America is a country built on the idea of The American dream; an idea that any person, white, black, brown, or even purple can achieve economic freedom and upward social mobility through hard work and determination. There are few men who hold this idea more dear than Willy Loman. Mistakenly, Willy focuses more on the ideals of wealth than the laborious journey it takes to become a successful business man. The American capitalistic society is competitive and people like Willy, who do not understand the environment they are in, will habitually have problems climbing the economic totem pole. Death of Salesman admits to a flaw in the American system, not everybody will be successful, but through characters, flashbacks, and the resolution it is clear that Willy’s lack of success is result of his own choices, and not society.
Everyman is a model, a character who stands in for every other man or person like him. In essence, Everyman personifies the idea of what the average sinful man is like. In using this personification, the author allows individual characters to stand in for and represent broader themes and ideas. Everyman is a morality play devised to instruct its audience on a very specific topic: that we can only take our good deeds with us into the afterlife, and nothing more. As I stated earlier, at the end of the play, a character called the Doctor comes on-stage to deliver this exact message to the audience, further reinforcing the lesson that Everyman learned during the course of the play. “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for
I read these three literary works the traditional way by reading them out of the anthology and also doing some research online. I read a few online summaries as well.
In Death of a Salesman and Oedipus Rex, pride plays an integral part to the development of the plot. In each play, the hamartia for both Willy and Oedipus is pride, along with other minor things. Willy’s and Oedipus’ sense of self-worth seems to come from their pride, however misguided it may seem. Pride is the hamarita which connects Willy and Oedipus, in which case pride causes them to live in their past and prevents them from seeing the present, resulting in their tragic ending. For Oedipus, pride causes him to search for the truth in his hidden past, inadvertently causing him to be the instrument of his own downfall. Willy’s pride causes him to live in an unrealistic past, preventing him from seeing what he currently has instead of what he doesn’t, leading to a vain death. Lastly, the sense of pride exhibited by Willy and Oedipus and how it affects their past extends on to the ones closest to them. For Willy, his pride and past is forced onto his sons, and to some extent their mother, while for Oedipus his search for truth in the past leads to the undoing of his own wife and mother. Pride deludes the way Oedipus and Willy see their past, affecting how their current life is, leading to their tragic end. C.S. Lewis stated “A proud man is always looking down on thing...as long as you are looking down you cannot see something that is above you” (Lewis), and so for Oedipus and Willy they are unable to see what their life as it is for pride is always causing them to look down and in the past.
"After all the highways, and the trains, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive," (Miller, 98). This quote was spoken by the main character of the Arthur Miller play Death of a Salesman: Willy Loman. This tragedy takes place in Connecticut during the late 1940s. It is the story of a salesman, Willy Loman, and his family’s struggles with the American Dream, betrayal, and abandonment. Willy Loman is a failing salesman recently demoted to commission and unable to pay his bills. He is married to a woman by the name of Linda and has two sons, Biff and Happy. Throughout this play Willy is plagued incessantly with his and his son’s inability to succeed in life. Willy believes that any “well-liked” and “personally attractive man” should be able to rise to the top of the business world. However, despite his strong attempts at raising perfect sons and being the perfect salesman, his attempts were futile. Willy’s only consistent supporter has been his wife Linda. Although Willy continually treats her unfairly and does not pay attention to her, she displays an unceasing almost obsessive loyalty towards her husband: Even when that loyalty was not returned. This family’s discord is centered on the broken relationship between Biff and Willy. This rift began after Biff failed math class senior year and found his father cheating on Linda. This confrontation marks the start of Biff’s “failures” in Willy’s eyes and Biff’s estrangement of Willy’s lofty goals for him. This estrangement is just one of many abandonments Willy suffered throughout his tragic life. These abandonments only made Willy cling faster to his desire to mold his family into the American Dream. They began with the departure of his father leaving him and...
Annotated Bibliography for the play “The Death of a Salesman” Centola, Steven R. "Family Values in Death of a Salesman." CLA Journal 37.1 (Sept. 1993): 29-41. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed.
The play, Death of a Salesman, was written by Arthur Miller who was " ... in all probability, one of the greatest playwrights of contemporary history He is also one of the greatest critics of contemporary American society, as his works often tend to portray American middlemen as heroes, bitterly and futilely fighting against the entire system of what 'Americanism ' is, with all its hues and negative aspects." (Kambli) All stories have hidden meanings, whether it be through the characters or the objects around them. A symbol is a physical object that represents an abstract idea or concept. While not all objects are meant to be symbols, the audience may interpret some things in a way that the author may not have intended. This happens often, but despite the personally interpreted symbols there are also the main symbols. While reading the play Death of a Salesman there are several
Death of a Salesman Symbols “In Discussion: Symbols of Death of a Salesman” “I don 't say he 's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He 's not the finest character that ever lived. But he 's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him.
The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a play about Willy Loman and his loving family. The Allegory of the Cave is a symbol for the differences between thought up ideas and what we see as reality. Plato’s main idea is to show us that what we see in the real world is not everything we actually see even if it’s not visibly apparent to us. The Allegory informs us how the world is a mysterious and dark cave, how us humans live as trapped enclosed prisoners unable to do anything, and everything we go through as experiences are shadows casted on the wall. The symbols from the Allegory clarify the characters and the plot by showing how Willy’s hamartia – his fear of being left alone, desire to be a successful man, pride that leads to him killing
As playwright, writer, and director, Asghar Farhadi has shown natural instincts for building tension through deliberate pace. Films such as “Fireworks Wednesday”, “A Beautiful City”, and “A Separation” have gained him dozens of awards from all across the globe. His latest, “The Salesman”, is no exception to his talents. Farhadi crafts a meaningful blend between a classic American play and an Iranian couple whose marriage is tested and stressed by a traumatic incident. Through this, social aspects of class, patriarchy and honor are shown to be a big part of Farhadi's landscape.
Death of a Salesman: Symbols Many symbols are incorporated into the play "Death of a Salesman" and they in turn relate to both character and theme. The hose, tape recorder and the seeds are some of these symbols. The house in Miller's drama directly relates to the theme of death. The hose is a line attached to the gas main in Willy's house which allows him to snife the gas. This action can be seen as Willy's suicide wish, and escape from the realities of life.
Symbolism in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, is wrought with symbolism from the opening scene. Many symbols illustrate the themes of success and failure. They include the apartment buildings, the rubber hose, Willy’s brother Ben, the tape recorder, and the seeds for the garden. These symbols represent Willy’s attempts to be successful and his impending failure.