Death of a Salesman, Act I
Marxist Criticism
Grade Sheet for Essay 2
• Organization (10 points)
– Does the paper have a clear thesis statement that is supported by the body
paragraphs?
– Does the paper use appropriate transitions and read smoothly?
• Use of Quotations/MLA (20 points)
– Are quotations appropriate in length and correctly formatted?
– Are quotations used to support the paper's thesis?
– Is works cited page present and correct?
• Response to Prompt/Analysis (60 Points)
– Does the paper effectively respond to the prompt in a thoughtful, thorough
manner?
– Are claims cohesive, well-explained, and adequately supported by analysis and
evidence from the text of the poems?
• Proofreading/Presentation (10 points)
– Is the paper neat and free of errors?
– Is the paper formatted correctly?
(100 points total)
What is Marxist Criticism?
• We already learned about how psychoanalytic theory
applies the field of psychology to the study of literature.
Similarly, Marxist Criticism applies political science and
economics to the study of literature.
• Grew out of the writings of Karl Marx, who was highly
critical of the capitalist system and concerned about the
ways in which governments and businesses that control
the means of production (factories, etc.) exert control
over the working classes.
• Marxist Criticism is concerned with issues of class
conflict, wealth, work, and the various ideologies that
surround these things. (An ideology is a group of
ideals/values and ideas, especially one that forms the
basis of a political of economic system.)
Questions Marxist Critics Ask:
• How do issues of social class and economic
status affect the characters and events in this
work?
• Are characters aware of the economic and
political forces that are acting on them?
• What ideological assumptions about class and
economic status does this work make?
• In what ways does this work either challenge or
support the class or political structures it
describes?
Questions for Death of a Salesman,
Act I
• What kind of a man is Willy Loman? Pick a few lines in
the first act that are revealing about his character. What is
the significance of his name? Can you think of any other
significant names in this play?
• This play is full of complicated family relationships.
What is Willy's relationship like with his sons? With his
brother? His wife? Point to some lines that illustrate these
relationships.
• This play has an interesting way of dealing with time. Pick
a section of one of the "flashback" sequences to reread
carefully. How does the bit of the past you chose
illuminate the events going on in the "present"? (The first
longer flashback starts on p. 882 at the top, and several
more follow. The scene with Uncle Ben starts on p. 891.)
Applying Marxist Criticism to Death
of a Salesman
• What social and economic issues are at work on the
Loman family?
• What assumptions do these characters make about social
class and money? What, for them, is essential for
financial success and happiness? (Different characters
will have different answers… consider Willy's emphasis
on business and being liked vs. Biff's desire to be outside
and making things.)
• In what ways does this play challenge or support the
system that it describes? What comment do you feel the
play is making about American business and capitalism?
How did you feel about that system after reading this first
act? Is this a critique of the idea of the "American
Dream"?