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Commentary on death of a salesman
Comment on Arthur Miller's play The Crucible as a political allegery
Commentary on death of a salesman
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A Crazy Man at Best: A Summary of “Death of a Salesman” Authors write with a purpose, sometimes this purpose is hidden and political, while sometimes it challenges the norm, while yet other times they write just to tell a moving story. In the end, however, all writers have the same goal: to produce a work that causes their readers to think about the plot and use their own mind to decipher the meaning. Arthur Miller is an exceptional author who possesses talent that exceeds the traditional author. Miller is one of the authors who chooses to challenge political figures, the norm, and many other assumed things about society, at least for his time. Arthur was born in 1915 and died in 2005; this gives a relative idea of the time period in which …show more content…
Miller himself had three wives, so he was well-experienced in this area of dysfunctional families. In this play, Miller greatly challenges the idea of an ideal family with two parents who love each other and children who are beautiful and successful. These families are only a figment of our imagination to Miller. We can assume his life has somewhat to do with this assumption of his, but sadly, Miller happens to be right about this dysfunctional family, for the most part. “Death of a Salesman,” also addresses tragedy, as does “The Crucible.” Tragedy is something everyone will become familiar with at some point in their life, but that does not mean everyone will be able to handle it properly. The main character of “Death of a Salesman,” the man who ends up with the fateful death, is named Willy. In many eyes, Arthur Miller has a dark mind, but in all reality he is exposing society through the eyes of a man that is not a Christian, only furthering the truth that there is no hope in life without God. The plot of his play has three major events, which are first when Linda fully exposes Willy’s craziness, second when Willy begs …show more content…
This scene displays Willy’s regrets and pride; he wants to provide for his family but isn’t willing to give up his dream to do so. At the beginning of the play, Charlie is described as vulgar and mundane, however he is portrayed as sympathetic and caring to his less fortunate neighbors. Willy has a developed mindset throughout the story, this mindset being one of allusion. Willy is convinced that the more people that like someone, the farther they will go in life. The issue here is that Willy claims to be very well-liked and that is how he got as far as he did. Though in all reality, Willy did not make it very far in life, which is what brings him to his neighbor’s house to beg for money and support, which his neighbor is already giving him. His neighbor Charlie has a son named Bernard, who is seemingly a perfect child who makes Willy jealous, for his own son’s sake, who can’t do simple math. This jealousy corrupts Willy’s mind further, and only makes him want to take further actions to taking from his neighbor. Willy is all about success and providing for his beloved family, though this is not shown through his actions. As aforementioned, Willy is not willing to give up his dreams to support the family, he is the type of person who is all talk and no walk. This shows even through his attempts to take his own life, these are also actions of
At the beginning of the play it is evident that he cannot determine the realities of life, and so he repeatedly contradicts himself to establish that his conclusion is correct and opinion accepted. These numerous contradictions demonstrate that Willy is perturbed of the possibility that negative judgements may come from others. Willy strongly believes that “personality always wins” and tells his sons that they should “be liked and (they) will never want”. In one of Willy’s flashbacks he recalls the time when his sons and him were outside cleaning their Chevy. Willy informs Biff and Happy the success of his business trips and how everyone residing in Boston adores him. He mentions that due to the admiration of people he does not even have to wait in lines. He ultimately teaches his sons that being liked by others is the way to fulfilling one’s life and removing your worries. These ideals, that one does not need to work for success, demonstrate Willy’s deluded belief of achieving a prosperous life from the admiration and acceptance of others. This ultimately proves to be a false ideology during his funeral, when an insufficient amount of people arrive. Willy constantly attempts to obtain other’s acceptance through his false tales that depict him as a strong, successful man. In the past, he attempts to lie to his wife, Linda, about the amount of wealth he has attained during his
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.
Many dilemmas throughout the recent decades are repercussions of an individual's foibles. Arthur Miller represents this problem in society within the actions of Willy Loman in his modern play Death of a Salesman. In this controversial play, Willy is a despicable hero who imposes his false value system upon his family and himself because of his own rueful nature, which is akin to an everyman. This personality was described by Arthur Miller himself who "Believe[s] that the common man is as apt a subject for a tragedy in its highest sense as kings were" (Tragedy 1).
the tragic feeling is evoked in us when we are in the presence of a
Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller The Requiem seems to simply conclude the play at the funeral and let us see the other character's view of events with some retrospect. However, with closer scrutiny, we see that old issues and resentments. are still very prevalent in the U.S. The Requiem can be split into two halves.
Relations between fathers and the younger generation have been and continue to be an important theme for various literary genres (King Lear, Shakespeare; Fathers and Sons, Turgenev). For many famous writers the significance of fathers’ influence on their children forms a subject of particular interest. . In the play, Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller shows in a very striking manner that the father's influence can be either positive or fatal. The dispiriting story of the three generations of the Lomans family contrasts with the happy account of the life of their neighbors, Charley and his son Bernard.
on him, but the boys aren't willing to help Willy out when he needs them.
Throughout the play Death of a Salesman the main character, Willy Loman, struggles to find a medium between his family and career life. Such an occurrence is common throughout history, and one only needs to look at celebrities to see that such a statement is accurate as more often than naught, the pursuit of wealth and a tight family unit don’t often correlate well together. Perhaps this is a matter of balancing one’s personal life, and one’s career. Yet few have managed to succeed in maintaining both on equal level, as one is valued above the other. This may not be seen as a drastic problem, for most people, as they are happy with their income rates and family relationships, and thus doesn’t see a need to change to improve either one. Some might even argue that it’s the normal thing, and that the other side is not affected by the amount of time that they prioritize with either their family or work. In fact, most might say, that in focusing more on one aspect, be it their job or their family, the other simply balances out. However, this tends to be more noticeable in families that prioritize their relationships above their career, as they see their wealth as something that
What is man’s focus in life? What is man’s purpose in life? Is it materialism and/or the prospect of how others may view him? Should man put their trust in God’s Word the Bible or leave it up to himself? In “Death of a Salesman” by Arthur Miller, but is it correct to define this theatric drama as a tragedy.
The play Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, is about an average salesman living in Brooklyn, New York in the 1940’s named Willy Loman. Willy firmly believes in the American dream and is living his life aspiring to gain the wealth and materials associated with those of higher status in society. This American dream tears apart his family and the end result is his own demise. Glengarry Glen Ross, by David Mamet, has a plot similar to Death of a Salesman in that it is about salesmen and it shows the effects of capitalism on people and society. A difference between the two, however, is that Glengarry Glen Ross includes a group of salesmen working a firm who are trying to win a sales contest in which the first prize is a Cadillac, the second price is a set of steak knives, and the remaining salesmen will be fired. The main difference in the plays is that Death of a Salesman is decidedly a modern play and Glengarry Glen Ross is a postmodern response to Death of a Salesman.
“Every year, an average of 1.8 million people immigrate to the United States” (migrationpolicy.org). The reason behind someone leaving their native land so they can venture into uncharted territory is powerful and enchanting. It is the same reason why today there are people who possess elevators and bowling alleys in their homes, while others are faced with the burden of depending on food stamps and sleeping under park benches. Immigrants would agree that opportunity is the popular reason for these causes. The opportunity of a better life intrigues humans all around the globe. In their home land, they hear rumors that the United States can provide freedom, along with an outstanding future for their family. Although, most of them do not realize that opportunity, in general, can be as kind as a mother’s touch, but it can also be as cruel as Arizona’s summer weather. Consequently, they come to America full of confidence and ready to track down and seize the American Dream. In Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, Miller uses a variety of characters to express the successes and failures behind the American Dream.
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller concerns itself with the fall of a simple man perpetually in a steadfast state regarding his own failure in a success-driven society. The protagonist of the play, Willy Loman, will follow a tragic trajectory that will eventually lead to his suicide. Arthur Miller's tragic play is an accurate portrayal of the typical American myth that sustains an extreme craving for success and a belief in the illusion of the American dream, a dream attainable only by a handful of people. Having chosen a career in sales Willy Loman constantly aspires to become 'great'. Nevertheless, Willy is a poor aging salesman that considers himself to be a failure when comparing himself to his successful father and brother, but he is incapable of consciously admitting it. Consequently, Willy will measure his level of success with the level of success attained by his offspring, particularly his eldest son Biff. Their difficult relationship contribute to the play's main plot. Willy unfolds his deluded perception and recollection of the events as the audience gradually witnesses the tragic downfall of a man shadowed by a mental illness that has already began to take it's toll on his mind and personality.
The only way to become a truly happy person is to surround yourself with the things that make you happy. Setting logical goals and pursuing dreams is going to lead to a successful life. In the play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy use self-deception as a means to mentally escape the reality of their lives. Biff is the only character who becomes self-aware by the end of the play. He realizes that his whole life has been a lie and that Willy’s standards for Biff’s achievements in life are simply unreachable. Happy is too caught up in himself throughout the play to realize that his father is in need of an escape from his dysfunctional life. Willy has lived his whole life setting these goals for himself that he simply can’t attain. Happy makes it known at the end of the play that he is planning to follow in his father’s footsteps. This foreshadows the downfall of Happy’s life to come. Linda is constantly reassuring Willy that the decisions he has made are the right choices. She finds out about his possible suicide attempts and she refuses to seek help for him. She constantly tells his that he is doing great when in reality his career is going nowhere and his relationship with his sons gets worse as the days go on. Willy was a man who claimed to have a good sense of pride. He believes that he thrived in his times of struggle. He lost the battle for his life and ended his life due to the constant disappointments and failures that he had to live with every day. Willy refused to see the truth in his life and continued to feed off the lies. He got so caught up in his lies that he lost what the truth really was.
Arthur Miller is recognized as an important and influential playwright, not to mention essayist and novelist. Although he has had plenty of luck in his writing career, his fame is the product of his ingenious ability to control what he wants his readers to picture or feel. As one of his critics states, "Miller writes ingeniously, conveying the message that 'if the proper study of mankind is man, man's inescapable problem is himself (Broussard, 306).'" Miller accurately puts into words what every person thinks, feels, or worries about, but often has trouble expressing. By the use of symbolism, Arthur Miller portrays Willy's (along with the other Lowmans') problems with family life, the society, and himself in Death of a Salesman.
A tragic hero brings his own demise upon himself due to a crippling character flaw. Willy Loman from “Death of a Salesman”