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, 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.
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, 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.
AMERICAN DREAM
 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
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.
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.” Arthur Miller wanted to comment
on this new ethos in American culture.
The Play
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;
Theme: THE AMERICAN DREAM
 American Dream: financial success and material
comfort lies at the heart of Death of a Salesman.
Various secondary characters achieve the Dream in
different ways:
1. Ben goes off into the wilderness of Alaska and
Africa and lucks into wealth by discovering a
diamond mine;
2. Howard Wagner inherits his Dream through his
father's company;
3. Bernard, who seemed a studious bore as a child,
becomes a successful lawyer through hard work.
4. Willy Loman's version of the Dream, which has
been influenced by his brother Ben's success, is that
any man who is manly, good looking,
charismatic, and well-liked deserves success
Theme: FATHERS & SONS
one of the conflicts of the
play is between Willy and his elder son Biff.
 The play traces the values that Willy instilled
in his sons, —luck over hard work, likability
over expertise—which lead to disappointment
for Willy, Biff, and Happy; these values leave
them barren and aimless.
THEME: Nature vs. the City
 Willy’s small house juxtaposes the
encroaching, towering apartment buildings
that surround Willy’s house.
 The apartments represent the artificial
world of the city – with its commercialism,
superficiality, and modernism –
 Willy has stayed the same while the world
around him has changed.
 Willy longs to escape to the country.
Nature vs. the City
 The country/natural world are represented by Ben
and Willy’s father who succeeded in a wild frontier
that no longer exists.
 The urban world has replaced the rural, and Willy
chooses to throw his lot in with the world of sales,
which does not involve making things but rather
selling oneself.
 Biff and Happy embody these two sides of Willy's
personality: the individualist dreamer and the eagerto-please salesman. Biff works with his hands on
farms, helping horses give birth, while Happy
schemes within the stifling atmosphere of a
department store.
THEME: Denial
 Each member of the Loman family is
living in denial or perpetuating a cycle
of denial for others.
 The reality of the Loman’s failures
cause each character to retreat in one
way or another. i.e.: Willy retreats into
the past and chooses to relive past
memories and events in which he is
perceived as successful.
THEME: Betrayal
 The Woman, with whom Willy cheats on
Linda, is able to feed Willy's salesman ego by
"liking" him. He is proud of being able to sell
himself to her, and this feeling turns to
shame only when he sees that by giving
stockings to The Woman rather than Linda,
he is sabotaging his role as a provider. He
doesn't see that his love, not material items,
is the primary thing Linda needs from him.
THEME: Abandonment & the Search
for Significance
 Willy’s abandonment by his father
leaves him feeling inadequate and;
therefore, in search of validation and
significance.
 These feelings are often illustrated in
Willy’s conversations with Ben, Charley,
and Linda.
Symbols
 Seeds: opportunity for growth, but require the
right conditions to germinate. The sons Willy
has “cultivated” with his own values have
shown to disappoint him. By planting vegetable
seeds, Willy is attempting to begin anew.
 The Rubber Hose: Willy’s impending suicide.
The rubber hose points how the conveniences
such as the car and water heater that Willy
works so hard to buy to afford might, under
their surface, be killing him.
Symbols
 The Woman’s Stockings: the
intimate gift Willy gives to his mistress.
They become a symbol of Willy’s
betrayal and infidelity. They illustrate
how he lets down his wife and strains
the family’s financial resources to
maintain his ego-stroking affair.
Symbols
 The Flute and the flute music
represent the single faint link Willy has
with his father and the natural world.
 Willy’s dad made flutes and made a
good living by traveling around the
country selling them. The anticipates
Willy’s career as a salesman, but also
his underused talent for building things
with his hands, which might have been
a more fulfilling job.
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
 Father, 63 yr. old traveling salesman
 Buys into a version of the American
dream in which charisma, good looks
and luck count for more than diligence or
wisdom.
 Invests all his hope in his sons, but is
disappointed in the how they turn out.
 Doesn’t realize his influence on his sons’
failures.
 The schism between his dreams and
reality results in his mental collapse.
Biff Loman
 Elder son, 34 years old
 High school standout-football star, many male




friends, and female admirers
Willy’s shallow dream of success influences
Biff’s disillusionment
Has always been in the shadow of Willy’s
expectations.
Changes by the end of the play. Has a revelation
about himself and realizes how to achieve
happiness.
Represents Willy’s better, more honest nature.
Linda Loman
 Loving, devoted wife
 Emotionally supportive of Willy
 Willy’s strength until his tragic perishing
 Encourages Willy in the pursuit of his
dream. Her encouragement, and denial of
Willy’s failures, may play a role in Willy’s
doomed pursuit of glory.
Happy Loman
 Younger son, 32 years old
 In Biff’s shadow all his life
 Relentless sex and professional drive
 Represents Willy’s sense of self
importance, ambition and
disillusionment.
 Assistant to the assistant manager at a
department store, and is willing to do
whatever is convenient to get ahead.
Charley & Bernard
 Charley:
1. The Lomans’ next
door neighbor
2. Successful
businessman
3. Often gives Willy
financial support
4. Described as Willy’s
only friend although
Willy is jealous of
Charley’s success
 Bernard:
1. Charley’s son
2. Successful lawyer
3. Often mocked by
Willy for being
studious
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
 Willy’s connection to his father
The Woman
 Willy’s mistress
 Her admiration for Willy is an ego
boost
 Biff catches Willy with her in a hotel
room
 Biff loses respect in his father due
to infidelity