Death of a Salesman
Introduction
ENGLISH
American Literature
ARTHUR MILLER: The
Playwright
Arthur Miller was born in New
York City on October 17, 1915.
He wrote Death of a Salesman
which won the Pulitzer Prize
and transformed Miller into a
national sensation. Many critics
described Death of a Salesman
as the first great American
tragedy, and Miller gained
eminence as a man who
understood the deep essence
of the United States.
Miller continued…
He published The Crucible
in 1953, a searing
indictment of the antiCommunist hysteria
that pervaded 1950s
America, which is set
during the Salem Witch
Trials of 1690. Miller is
also famous for having
been one of Marilyn
Monroe’s husbands!
He died in 2005.
The Play
Death of a Salesman,
Miller’s most famous work,
addresses the painful
conflicts within one family,
but it also tackles larger
issues regarding American
national values. The play
examines the cost of blind
faith in the American
Dream, that success and
status are rights, not
earned privileges.
(www.sparknotes.com/lit)
The Play continued…
It is a play viewed by
many as a scathing
attack on the
American Dream of
achieving wealth
and success without
regard for principle
or morals
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_o
f_a_Salesman).
“The American Dream”
 The American Dream is a belief that in the
United States of America, hard work and
determination can lead to a better life, usually
through the earning of money. These were
values held by many early European settlers,
and have been passed on to the newer
generations.
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Dream)
“The American Dream” cont’d
 Traditionally, Americans have sought to realise the
American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift
and hard work. However, the industrialisation of the 19th
and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it
with a philosophy of "get rich quick". A variety of
seductive but elusive strategies have evolved, and today
the three leading ways to instant wealth are large-prize
television game shows, big-jackpot state lotteries and
compensation lawsuits. In this article, Matthew
Warshauer, Professor of History at Central Connecticut
State University, examines why so many Americans are
persuaded to seek these easy ways to their dream.
(http://www.americansc.org.uk/Online/American_Dream.htm).
The Lomans.
 The play centers on
Willy Loman, an
aging salesman who
is beginning to lose
his grip on reality.
Willy places great
emphasis on his
supposed
native
charm and ability to
make friends;
The Lomans…
[…] stating that once he was known
throughout New England, driving long
hours but making unparalleled sales, his
sons Biff and Happy were the pride
and joy of the neighborhood, and his
wife Linda went smiling throughout the
day. Unfortunately, time has passed,
and now his life seems to be slipping
out of control.
The Lomans…
Willy has worked hard his entire life and ought
to be retiring by now, living a life of luxury and
closing deals with contractors on the phone—
especially since increasing episodes of
depersonalization and flashback are
impairing his ability to drive. Instead, all of
Willy's aspirations seem to have failed: he is
fired from his job—which barely paid enough
anyway—by a man young enough to be his
son and who, in fact, Willy claims to have
named.
The Lomans…
Willy is now forced to rely
on loans from his only real
friend (and the word is
used loosely at that),
Charley, to make ends
meet. None of Willy's old
friends or previous
customers remember him.
The Lomans…
Biff, his 34-year-old son,
has been unable to 'find
himself' as a result of his
inability to settle down
(caused by Willy
drumming into him the
need to 'make it big within
two weeks'), and Happy,
the younger son, lies
shamelessly to make it
look like he is a perfect
Loman son.
The Lomans…
In contrast, Charley (who, Willy
tells
his
boys
conspiratorially, is not wellliked), is now a successful
businessman, and his son,
Bernard,
a
former
bookworm, is now a brilliant
lawyer. We are told how
Willy had at least one affair
while out on business trips:
one
in
particular
was
discovered by Biff, and broke
his faith in his father.
Reality vs. Dreams of Past
Finally, Willy is haunted by memories of his nowdead older brother, Ben, who has constantly
overshadowed Willy, and he is in many ways the man
that Willy wanted to be.
Willy's emphasis on being well-liked stems from a
belief that it will bring him to perfect success—not
a harmful dream in itself, except that he clings to this
idea as if it is a life-preserver, refusing to give it up.
His boys are not only well-liked but quite handsome,
and as far as Willy is concerned, that's all anyone
needs. He pitches this idea to his sons so effectively
that they believe opportunity will fall into their laps.
The Tragic Flaw
Willy witnesses his and his sons'
failures and clings ever more
tightly to his master plan, now
placing his hopes vicariously on
them: he may not succeed, but
they might. His tragic flaw is in
failing to question whether the
dream is valid.
Tragic Flaw: a flaw in character
that brings about the downfall
of the hero of a tragedy; e.g.
hubris (or excessive pride) or
avarice (financial greed).