Transcript PowerPoint Presentation - Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman
Arthur Miller
The American Dream:
At what cost?
THE PLAY
Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller’s most
famous work that not only addresses the
painful conflicts within one family, but also
tackles the fundamental questions about
America, its social values, its family values,
and the American Dream.
Death of a Salesman opened on Broadway on
February 10, 1949, and ran for over 742
performances. Hailed as a masterpiece, it
won the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for
Drama.
About the Playwright:
Arthur Miller
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 Born in New York City on October 17, 1915
 Began as playwright at University of Michigan
 Pulitzer Prize winner for Death of A Salesman
 Double winner of New York Drama Critics
Circle Award
ARTHUR MILLER
 He published The Crucible in
1953, a searing indictment of
the anti-Communist hysteria
that pervaded 1950s America.
 Miller is also famous for having
been one of Marilyn Monroe’s
husbands! He died in 2005.
 Along with Eugene O’Neill and
Tennessee Williams, Miller is cited
as one of the three greatest
American playwrights.
Social Realism in Death of a Salesman
 In many ways, Death of a Salesman continues the
tradition of social realism: an international art
movement that refers to the work of painters,
printmakers, photographers and filmmakers who
draw attention to the everyday conditions of the
working classes and the poor, and who are
critical of the social structures that maintain
these conditions.
 Miller presents recognizable characters – a workingclass family – who interact through colloquial
dialogue and who confront common but deep
problems associated with their class and times.
 Like the earlier social realists, Miller creates complex
characters whose internal conflicts are as dramatic as
the external action.
Expressionism in Salesman
 To reveal Willy’s internal conflict, his mental
disorientation and spiritual dislocation, Miller
uses expressionistic techniques.
 Expressionism results in a distortion of external
reality to reveal the internal workings of a character.
 Note Miller’s use of lighting and his stage directions.
As the play opens, he directs the audience to be
aware of Willy’s “small, fragile-seeming home” and
the “towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding
it on all sides.” What does this setting suggest about
Willy’s state of mind?
Expressionism continued
 Throughout the play, Miller calls for the
music of a flute. Consider its implications
and associations.
 Note the expressionist techniques in Willy’s
scenes with his brother Ben. To Willy these
scenes unfold in the present. They are not
flashbacks.
 Miller said: “I wished to create a form, which,
in itself as a form, would literally be the
process of Willy Loman’s way of mind.”
AMERICAN DREAM
The Wikipedia definition:
…a national ethos of the United States, a set of ideals
in which freedom includes the opportunity for prosperity
and success, and an upward social mobility for the
family and children, achieved through hard work in a
society with few barriers.
AMERICAN DREAM
 Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the American
dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard
work. However, the industrialization of the 20th centuries began
to erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy of "get rich
quick".
 Many critics viewed Miller’s play as a scathing attack on the
American Dream of achieving wealth and success without
regard for principle or morals
Major Characters
 Willy Loman
 Biff Loman
 Linda Loman
 Happy Loman
 Charley
 Bernard
 Ben
 The Woman
 Howard Wagner
 Stanley
 Jenny
 Miss Forsythe and
Letta
Willy Loman
 The play centers on Willy Loman, an
aging salesman who is beginning to
lose his grip on reality.
“He was the kind of man you see muttering to
himself on the subway, decently dressed,
on his way home or to the office, perfectly
integrated with his surroundings
excepting that unlike other people he can
no longer restrain the power of his
experience from disrupting the superficial
sociality of his behavior. Consequently he
is working on two logics which often
collide. … He is literally at that terrible
moment when the voice of the past is no
longer distant but as loud as the voice of
the present.”
Willy Loman
 Willy is a traveling salesman in his sixties and has
reached that point in life when he realizes his dreams
will never come true. He is frustrated, confused,
unpredictable and often volatile. He is profoundly
disappointed with his life.
 Just about everyone and everything Willy comes in
contact with remind him of his failure.
Biff Loman
 Elder son, 34 years old
 High school standout-football star, many
male friends, and female admirers
 Academic failures lead to a life of
kleptomania
 Represents Willy’s vulnerable, tragic side
 Fails to reconcile his father’s
expectations
Linda Loman
 Loving, devoted wife
 Naïve and realistic of Willy’s hopes
 Emotionally supportive of Willy
 Willy’s strength until his tragic
perishing
Happy Loman
 Younger son, 32 years old
 In Biff’s shadow all his life
 Relentless sexual and professional drive
 Represents Willy’s sense of self
importance and ambition
 Often engages in bad business ethics
Charley
 The Lomans’ next door neighbor
 Successful businessman
 Often gives Willy financial support
 Described sadly as Willy’s only
friend although Willy is jealous of
Charley’s success
Bernard
 Charley’s son
 Successful lawyer
 Often mocked by Willy for being
studious
 Compared to Loman sons by Willy;
they do not measure up to his
success
Ben
 Willy’s deceased older brother
 Independently wealthy
 Appears to Willy in daydreams
 Willy’s symbol of success that he
desperately wants for his sons
The Woman
 Willy’s mistress
 Her admiration for Willy is an ego
boost
 Biff catches Willy with her in a hotel
room
 Biff loses faith in his father due to
infidelity
Initial Themes
 Addresses family conflict in post World War II
America (1949)
 Takes a close look at the price paid for the
“American Dream”
 Charges America with creating a capitalist
materialism centered around a postwar
economy
Themes in Death
 Willy Loman as a modern tragic hero
 An individual’s search for meaning and
purpose in life (not Willy, but Biff)
 failure in pursuit of success
 Man’s need to “leave a thumbprint
somewhere in the world.”
 An examination of the materialistic
values of society
More themes in Death
 The love of a father for a son and a son
(Biff) for a father
 The conflict between father and son
 The problem of communication
 Abandonment and Betrayal
Symbols
 Seeds: opportunity for growth, but will not
always germinate.
 Diamonds: Material & tangible wealth
 The Woman’s Stockings: betrayal and
infidelity.
 The Rubber Hose: Suicide
 Alaska, Africa…The American West:
success and failure
TRAGIC FLAW IN A TRAGIC
HERO
.
Tragic Flaw: a flaw in character that
brings about the downfall of the hero of
a tragedy;
excessive pride financial greed).
Willy’s tragic flaw is in
failing to question whether the
dream is valid
A few key traits of the
Tragic Hero
 Usually evokes sympathy…
 Has a weakness, usually pride
 Something has gone awry in his/her life
 Usually faced with a very serious decision he
must make
 Must understand his mistakes…
 Likely doomed from the start…
The Common Man as Hero
Miller’s thoughts:
 “Everyone knows Willy Loman.”
(allusion to the morality play,
Everyman.)
 “The common man is suitable for a
tragic hero.”
 Willy is meant to be seen as greater
and better (at least in potential) than
his society.
Miller’s Modern Tragedy
 The
 The
 The
 The
hero is a common man.
hero struggles against society.
hero meets his downfall.
downfall is a result of an
incongruity between his own perception
of the world and reality.
 The hero achieves a kind of redemption
in his downfall.