Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
symbolism in death of salesman
role of women in Death of a Salesman
Linda's character in the death of a salesman
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: symbolism in death of salesman
The Power of Love in Death of a Salesman
Love is one of the most confusing emotions that one can experience. It is simple yet complicated, unconditional but demanding, overused and unique. It is hard to explain what its means to feel love, to feel loved, or to be in love, however, there are aspects of love that are easily expressed. For example, ones unquestionable affection to the one they love, or the hardships and sacrifice that is endured for loved ones, and the underlying fact that once it is experienced it is not easily dismissed. The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller describes love in just these ways, and, most of all, as the ultimate moral value that is the eternal bond that keeps people together. One can see this in the love that Linda has for her husband Willy, the unmistakable devotion that Willy has to his family, and the masked love that Biff has for his father, Willy.
Before experiencing the play Death of a Salesman the reader or viewer must understand the family standards that were in place during the time period that the play was set. It was a time where the man of the house had the final word in everything. The woman of the house was the follower of the man through any hardships, and never overstepped her role. Linda is that woman, always putting her needs second to Willy's. She is the eternal wife and mother, the point of affection both given and received, the woman who suffers and endures for her family. Linda's love for Willy is unquestionably pure and unconditional:
No. You can't just come to see me, because I love him. He's the dearest man in the world to me, and I wont have anyone making him feel unwanted and low and blue. You've got to make up your ...
... middle of paper ...
... that love makes is extremely strong, and can withstand the strongest and longest tests that humankind could put it through. It is everlasting, and beautiful to experience.
Sources
Field, B.S. "Death of a Salesman" Twentieth Century Literature. January, 1972. 19-24. Rpt. in World Literary Criticism. Ed. Frank Magill. "Arthur Miller" Detroit: Gale Research, 1992. 2366-2368.
Hoeveler, D. J. "Redefining Love" Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: Modern Critical Interpretations. Ed. Harold Blum. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1988. 72-81.
Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Gerald Weales, ed. New York: Penguin, 1996
Parker, Brian. "Point of View in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman." Arthur Miller: A Collection of Critical Essays. Ed. Robert Corrigan. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1969. 98-107.
Foster, Richard J.Confusion and Tragedy: The Failure of Miller's `Salesman', in Two Modern American Tragedies: Reviews and Criticism of Death of a Salesman and A Streetcar NamedDesire, Edited by John D. Hurrell, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1961, Pp. 828.
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
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.
Gioia, Dana, and X.J. Kennedy. "Death of a Salesman" Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing, Compact Edition, Interactive Edition. 5th ed. New York: Pearson; Longman Publishing, 2007. 1212-1280. Print.
Murray, Edward. “The Thematic Structure in Death of a Salesman.” Readings on Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman. San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc., 1999.
In 1949, the pinnacle of contemporary American playwright, Arthur Miller, published his works “Death of a Salesman”. After the advent of this play, not only caused a sensation in the theaters in the United States, but also became the Western model of modern tragedy as one of the most important drama after America's World War II. Miller was twice won the “New York Drama Critics Award” and also awarded the “Pulitzer Prize.”[
Eisinger, Chester E. "Critical Readings: Focus on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: The Wrong Dreams." Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman (2010): 93-105.
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
Miller, Arthur “Death of a Salesman” Literature: Craft and Voice. Ed. Nicholas Delbanco and Alan Cheuse. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw Hill, 2012. 205-13. Print.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a tragic play about an aging and struggling salesman, Willy Loman, and his family’s misguided perception of success. In Willy’s mind, being well-liked is more important than anything else, and is the means to achieving success. He teaches this flawed idea to his sons, Biff and Happy, and is faithfully supported by his wife Linda. Linda sympathizes with Willy’s situation, knowing that his time as an important salesman has passed. Biff and Happy hold their father to impossibly high standards, and he tries his best to live up to them. This causes Willy to deny the painful reality that he has not achieved anything of real value. Willy’s obsession with a false dream results in his losing touch with reality and with himself.
“Death of a Salesman” written by Arthur Miller in 1948 attempts to give the audience an unusual glimpse into the mind of a Willy Loman, a mercurial 60-year-old salesman, who through his endeavor to be “worth something”, finds himself struggling to endure the competitive capitalist world in which he is engulfed. Arthur Miller uses various theatrical techniques to gradually strip the protagonist down one layer at a time, each layer revealing another truth about his distorted past. By doing this, Miller succeeds in finally exposing a reasonable justification for Willy’s current state of mind. These techniques are essential to the play, as it is only through this development that Willy can realistically be driven to motives of suicide.
In the original 1949 play of Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller was the American playwright. Death of a Salesman was a tragic play that presents a story about a salesman named Willy who believes that personality and being “well-liked” will achieve his American Dream. The play premiered on February 10, 1949 at the Morosco Theatre in Manhattan, New York (Avery). Miller’s play reflected on his relationship with uncle, Manny Newman who was also a salesman like the protagonist of the story and two sons who he took great pride on (Tierney). Through his characterization of Willy and Biff Loman, Miller presents contrasting (or surprising similar) illustra...
Miller, Arthur. “Death of a Salesman.” The Norton Introduction to Literature 10. New York: W. W.
"Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller ." Goodreads . N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Eisinger, Chester E. "Focus on Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman': The Wrong Dreams," in American Dreams, American Nightmares,