death of a sales man

    Cards (18)

    • Where/When was Arthur Miller born
      New york city on October 17, 1915
    • Death of a Salesman
      Play by Arthur Miller
    • Arthur Miller
      Playwright born in New York City on October 17, 1915, began career as student at University of Michigan, wrote Death of a Salesman which won Pulitzer Prize
    • Death of a Salesman
      • Miller's most famous work, addresses painful conflicts within one family, tackles larger issues regarding American national values, examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream
    • Subject
      The waning days of a falling salesman
    • Setting
      1940, Willy Loman's house in New York City and Boston
    • Main Characters
      • Willy Loman
      • Linda Loman
      • Biff Loman
      • Happy Loman
    • Willy Loman
      • The play revolves around his actions during the last 24 hours of his life, craves attention and is governed by a desire for success, carefully selects memories or re-creates past events, perceives himself as a failure
    • Biff Loman
      • Drives Willy's actions and thoughts, particularly his memories, grew up believing he was not bound by social rules or expectations, rejects Willy and his philosophy after learning of his affair
    • Happy Loman
      • Incorporates his father's habit of manipulating reality, exaggerates his position to create the illusion of success
    • Linda Loman
      • Loving, devoted wife, naïve and realistic of Willy's hopes, emotionally supportive of Willy, Willy's strength until his tragic perishing
    • Major Themes
      • Theme of success
      • Theme of pride
      • Theme of infidelity
      • Theme of American Dream
    • Theme of Success
      • Willy pursues concrete evidence of his worth and success, projects his obsession with material achievement onto his sons
    • Theme of Pride
      • Pride functions as a means of self-deception, the Lomans celebrate their own success despite struggling financially
    • Theme of Infidelity
      • Willy betrays Linda's love and Biff's trust with his affair, preoccupied by the fear of betrayal
    • Theme of American Dream
      • Willy is a dreamer of epic proportions, his dreams of material success and freedom dwarf other aspects of his mentality
    • Techniques used to reflect Willy's inner conflicts
      1. Flashbacks showing Willy's misconceptions about the American Dream from the past
      2. Hallucinations alongside the current action of the play in the present, Willy breaks from his present and shifts to talk with imaginary people
    • Different concepts of the American Dream shown in the play

      • Willy thinks success = being well-liked and attractive
      • Charley and his son Bernard believe success is determined by hard work
      • Willy's manager Howard embodies a materialistic, capitalistic view