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Major themes and dramatic techniques in the death of a salesman
Death of a salesman theme essays
Death of salesman themes essay
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The term, “American Dream,” came from American historian James Truslow Adams who first used the term in his published book, “The Epic of America.” According to Adam himself, he believes that the American Dream is the “dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement” (Amadeo). The term has been used differently in today’s society and recalls it as maturing, getting married with the love of your life, having a beautiful home, and positioning in a good paying job to provide for your kids. Others say that the dream is to have a better life and do what you love. Either way, it all boggles down to just being happy. The “American Dream” became widely popular in the United States as Adam published his book during the 1930s and has been used in speeches, memoirs, and literature (Fallon). This term became important to the people in the U.S. because it sets a goal for all of the citizens to work hard for their dreams and happiness. Without this vision, most people wouldn’t know what to live for in life.
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...
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...ng no fun can be just as bad as what Willy Loman has done; he was so caught up in being popular and having these materialistic items that he didn’t get the chance to spend time with his family and do things that he wanted to do.
Works Cited
Amadeo, Kimberly. "What Is the American Dream." About US Economy. About.com, 18 Apr. 2011. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Avery, Joe. "Arthur Miller Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, 22 Feb. 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Fallon, George. "The American Dream." Redefining The Dream. Center for a New American Dream, 20 Feb. 2010. Web. 26 Apr. 2014.
Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Compact Literature. Ed. Laurie Kirszner and Stephen Mandell. 8th ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. 1262-331. Print.
Tierney, John. "The Big City; Willy Loman: Revenge Of a Nephew." The New York Times. The New York Times, 07 Feb. 1999. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
Wilson, Robert N. “The Salesman and Society.” The Writer as Social Seer. Chapel Hill: U of North Carolina P, 1979. 57-71. Rpt. in Willy Loman. Ed. Harold Bloom. Major Literary Characters. New York: Chelsea, 1991. 79-89.
Adams, James . "What is The American Dream?" Library of Congress. Library of Congress, n.d. Web. 1 Jan. 2014. http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/american-dream/students/thedream.html.
Cardullo, Bert . "Death of a Salesman and Death of a Salesman: The Swollen Legacy of Arthur Miller." Columbia University in the City of New York. The Columbia Journal of American Studies, n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014. .
Willy Loman, a hard worker aged to his sixties never accomplished this goal. He always talked the talked, but never achieved to walk the walk. Willy Loman would always talk about who he's met and how he has always well known and liked, but truthfully he never was. "Willy: He's liked, but not-well liked…I got on the road and I went north to Providence. Met the Mayor. (ACT I, lines 232, 234)…Willy: And they know me, boys, they know me up and down New England. The finest people. And when I bring you fellas up, there'll be open sesame for all of us, 'cause one thing, boys: I have friends. I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own…(ACT I, line 242)." Willy can talk of meeting wonderful and powerful men, but his limits stretch to the Mayor of Providence. Willy Loman's dreams seem to outlive Willy.
The American Dream came to mean fame and fortune, instead of a promise that shaped a nation. (David Kamp, Vanity Fair) This so- called dream has done incredible damage to our companies and corporations in America...
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller was first presented in 1949 and has been studied and reproduced countless times since. The plot revolves around a salesman named Willy Loman and his family. Willy is 63 years old, and on the decline. His career as a traveling salesman is going badly, and during the play he is let go. Willy’s flashbacks to a better past take up much of the past, and are brought on by the return of Biff, Willy’s favorite son, who comes to visit from out west. Biff is 34 and Willy’s favorite son, but Willy’s high expectations him cause many issues for both of them. The overall tone of the play is sobering as we watch the family (especially Willy) fall apart because of various reasons, including the way they treat each other.
Death Of A Salesman by Arthur Miller is about a salesman named Willy Loman and his family. The Loman family story switches between the past and the present time during the play. The play explores the constant day-to-day struggle that many families face, and how this challenge takes a toll on the head of the household. Willy Loman continuously strives for a happy life. The way in which Willy goes about obtaining a happy life ultimately leads him to commit suicide. Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller suggests that Aristotle’s theory on obtaining a happy life is correct.
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.”[
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.
reputation: Death of a Salesman…” (“Bloom’s Notes” 8). Other plays that Miller has written include The Crucible and All My Sons. He also “…published an autobiography, several volumes of essays, two collections of short stories, and two novels…” (Gioia and Ken...
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.
Willy Loman has been a businessman all of his life. In the first scene of the play his wife Linda states: “But you’re sixty years old. They can’t expect you to keep traveling every week” (964). Willy and his family lives in
Evensvold, Marty D. "The American Dream: Stories from the Heart of Our Nation." Library Journal Dec. 2001: 200. General OneFile. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
What is the American Dream? That’s a question everyone is trying to answer. People find it in their own unique ways; money, success, freedom, or love. However, these aren’t easily obtained, and in most situations people figure this out the hard way. People can be immensely wealthy but still fail in their journey to the American dream. A man may be the most successful in the world but in his eyes he may have not reached his American dream. People fight for their dream every day, as colonists they had to fight for our freedom and to pursue our dream. Some think that to obtain their dream and goal is to fall in love, but they may never be able to find or have “the one” and will never truly be in love. The American dream is an unobtainable ideal that everyone is still searching for today.
Miller, Arthur "Tragedy and the Common Man," Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. 1991: 1831-1833