...Death of a Salesman Analysis In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller crucifies the old-fashioned American Dream. Miller, while striking down the old idea that being well liked equates to being successful, shows that the American Dream of yesteryear can no longer be achieved. This idea is shown in both the last section of Act 2 and in the Requiem. Arthur Miller illustrates the condemnation of the old American Dream through Biff’s epiphany, Happy’s delusional success, and Willy’s funeral. While Biff flees Oliver’s office, he comes to a sudden realization that he’s been lying to himself his entire life and that Willy’s outdated version of the American Dream is unachievable for Biff and has caused him to fail. To reiterate this, Miller uses the “sky” (Miller, 1520) as a symbol for Biff’s possibilities. This is ironic, because Biff is running through “the middle of the [office building] and [he saw] the sky” without there being any windows mentioned. The “sky” (1520) that Biff sees isn’t the real sky, but the open-ness and the freedom that it grants. The sky also represents Biff’s chance to escape the web of lies that he has entangled himself in since high school, as its vastness is open and clear. The next way that Biff’s realization shows that the old American Dream has been demolished is that he denounces himself and his father of faking their way through life. As Biff and Willy argue, Biff admits that “[he is] not a leader of men” (1520) and that Willy is not either...
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...Fiction analysis 702 Words March 2, 2013 Death of A Salesman By Arthur Miller Death of a salesman is a play that displays an imagine of the “American Dream” . Critics describe Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy and gave Miller credit for being the first in understanding the deep fundamentals that make up the United States. The play by Arthur Miller is based on the difficulty of achieving economic and individual success in a World War II society. In the play Miller presents differences between successful visions of the "American Dream" and "unsuccessful" ones. As the play goes on it continues to describe how the failure of William Loman’s and son’s Biff and Happy’s dream dies out. William Loman is portrayed as an insecure self-deluded traveling salesman. In a flashback, Willy tells his sons what it takes to be successful in America. He states, "Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want. You take me, for instance. I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loman is here!" That’s all they have to know, and I go right through" (Miller). In reality this is only Willy’s fantasy. It appears that Willy is actually taken as a joke to other salesmen. Willy’s instability doesn’t allow him to fit into the society he pictures. As Willy is taking a shot at success his personal relationships begins to fail him. Willy is than found...
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...to an audience. In American literature, the focus of these devices has become the use of language, aesthesis, truth, expression, fiction, and affectiveness. In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller’s stylistic devices convey not only bitter deception and bleak despair, but also hopeless despondency and forlorn anguish to display the realism and iniquity of the common man. As a representative form of American realism, Death of a Salesman portrays the use of language to convey a feeling of acrimony that demonstrates the relationship between the ideas of Willy Loman and the American common man. Willy Loman as the protagonist and the antagonist of his own story creates the sense of language that develops the idea of being “liked and you never will want” stating the façade of the Willy’s society (Miller 21). While communicated to the audience through a form of realism, his language functions as the crevice between the real and non-real. As development of language continues sometimes Willy Loman’s clichés “rise to the level of pure poetry” (Roudane 369). The use of language constructs poetic symbolism and closes the gap between non-realism and realism. Throughout the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain utilizes a poignant sense of diction reciprocating the slang the common man used in the Antebellum South. The language exhibits the principles of Death of a Salesman in its acrimony and pain through Loman’s statement “a man is not a piece of fruit!” (Miller 61). This sense of...
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...accepted worldwide as one of the greatest American dramas to premier in theatre. The story behind the play is based on Miller’s interactions with his Uncle, a salesman whose efforts to obtain the “American Dream” and pass his success on to his two sons becomes his main focus. Miller’s life during the preparation of Death of a Salesman provides the spark and inspiration needed to pen a literary classic. Almost five decades later, Death of a Salesman’s themes is still relevant in today’s society. Arthur Asher Miller was born October 17, 1915 in Harlem, New York City. Miller was the son of Isadora and Augustus Miller, Polish Jewish immigrants who settled in Harlem in the early 1900’s. Arthur’s father owned a successful women’s clothing manufacturing company that employed hundreds of people. Although he was a figure of wealth and prominence in the community the Wall Street Crash of 1929 left the successful family in a financial struggle. They relocated to a section in Brooklyn known as Gravesend. There Miller delivered bread to help the family maintain. In 1932 he graduated Abraham Lincoln High School. After high school miller enrolled at the University of Michigan. He worked several small jobs to pay for his college tuition. He first majored in journalism, taking up freelance writing for the Michigan Daily. While he served as a reporter and night editor he penned his first play, No Villain. After receiving the Avery Hopwood Award for No Villain, Miller changed his major to English and began...
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...author of death of a salesman is Arthur Miller and his death of a salesman is known to be used in conveying social matter on the American society. Death of a salesman shows how the American dream can be harder to achieve than some people expect it to be. Arthur uses time to his advantage as he uses flashbacks to at one point have a conversation with his dead brother of a past conversation that he is showing other people as he is playing cards. They are used to show his brothers success to try and push him in the right direction for willies sake. His sons also go back to see their past and recollect. Gripping with a influence of the past is a theme that all literature has become in modern literature and of Death of a Salesman ("What Literary Devices Does Miller Use In "Death Of A Salesman"?", 2015). The American Dream The American dream in my eyes is for wealth and happiness and many people would have the same dream and thoughts of what the American dream is and how they would precede it. Willy is always looking for a way to fix his sons after their failures and he uses the aspect of foreshadowing to try and show that even with the best of wises there is not always a way to fix problems for people that do not want to be fixed or that cannot fix themselves. Biff and willy also have a different look on the American dream and because he cannot live up to his father standards and expectations it contributes to the breakdown of the family ("Arthur Miller'S Death Of A Salesman Has...
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...Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman is one of the most popular classics in our written literature. The play was shown all over the world in America, China, England, Germany and India. (Miller, Arthur) Arthur Miller’s first success was Death of a Salesman which was performed in Broadway in 1949. He had a rough start with his first play he ever wrote, The Man Who Had All the Luck which got cut off after being shown only four times. Arthur grew up in the east side of Manhattan until the Wall Street Crash. His family moved and he had to work three jobs to save enough money to attend the University of Michigan. Arthur won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award twice. In 1949 he was presented with the Pulitzer Prize.( Miller,...
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...These common themes in all three plays stem from events that Miller had experienced in his own life as a young man. Miller’s father was a Jewish immigrant from Poland who was illiterate, but managed to run a successful coat manufacturing business in New York. This business helped Miller, his siblings and his mom continue to be financially stable. Due to the fact that Miller’s father, Isidore was illiterate, there was a stronger bond with his mother, Augusta because she enjoyed reading and was an educator herself. The family managed to live lavishly until the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which had led to The Depression caused them to lose practically everything. As a result of the Wall Street Crash, he had to move into a smaller home and struggled financially which shows that he experienced struggle firsthand. After that, Miller managed various odd jobs that helped him get by financially (Rachel Galvin). However, the sudden change influenced him in the rest of his life. In his autobiography, he wrote, “This desire to move on, to metamorphose – or perhaps it is a talent for being contemporary – was given me as life's inevitable and rightful condition” (Miller, Timebends, a Life 2). He had then turned to playwriting. His 1944 first Broadway show was of his first play,...
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...Reaction Paper – “Death of A Salesman” by Arthur Miller Marcos Leiva ENG/125 April 6, 2015 Mr. Ozichi Alimole Reaction Paper – “Death of A Salesman” by Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman is a tragedy about the struggles of a middle class family living in Brooklyn, New York during the 1940’s. The play is a scathing critique of an American society that places emphasis on hollow materialistic values. Arthur Miller personifies the struggle between what society believes to be the “American Dream” and the middle class family trying to make that dream a reality, through the play’s protagonist Willy Loman, who is a depressed, overworked, and spiritless working man with delusions of grandeur. Originally written as a short story, Arthur Miller’s uncle (who was a salesman) inspired him to turn the story into a play. When the drama hit Broadway in 1949 it was a total hit and transformed Miller’s career, as well as gained him recognition as a gifted playwright, with the production winning the Pulitzer Prize that year and has remained a classic to this day. Chasing the “American Dream” Willy Loman is the play’s tragic hero and as the story line progresses the audience gets to learn how truly depressed Willy Loman is and how he has an unrealistic view on the world. The play starts with Willy coming home early from work because of a business trip to New England he has cut short. He tells his wife that he kept finding himself daydreaming while he was driving...
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...Building Castles in the Air: An Attempt at Living in Them Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is a fast paced drama. In this play, he manages to bring out the elements of the American Dream. Miller illustrates the materialism shrouding the American dream. The effects of the American Dream may not be as profound in the present as they were in the time after the World War II. Today, the United States of America has the option of criticism and an in-depth self-analysis that saves people from the post-war tensions and immense contradictions. At the time of the setting of the play, there was a lot of denial, and this saw the rise of the ilk of artists and writers who fought for self-realization and created an awareness of the importance of “self.” Miller’s play, The Death of a Salesman, set in the post-war period, 1949, exemplifies the necessity to see the American as a myth because it does not have the capacity to encompass the innate human weakness such as doubt and insecurities and also economic changes. He illustrates this through his character Willy Loman who held the American dream as his unshakable tenet and his faith in it resulted in his tragic death....
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...of struggle to many of Arthur Miller’s poems. “The Crucible” deals with extraordinary tragedy in lives of normal people due to the witch-hunts. “All My Sons” probes with the idea of dissatisfaction and unrest within the greater American population, influenced from the desperation and paternal responsibility put on people. Lastly, “Death of a Salesman” a work based on the American dream and national values, was influenced greatly by his hatred relationship with his uncle. The historical and personal events that occurred during Arthur Miller’s early life greatly influenced his writings of “The Crucible”, “Death of a Salesman”, and “All My Sons”. “The Crucible” was historically influenced by those trying to cleanse American culture of anyone who persisted in seeing the Soviet Union as a source of good in the world. This disgusted Miller so much that he based “The Crucible” on the anti-communist hysteria that pervaded the 1950s America, and the witch-hunts of the late 17th century He hated the idea of tragedy in ordinary lives and had much concern for the physical wellbeing of the working class. The outburst of these ideas caused him to be called before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and was convicted of contempt of Congress for not cooperating (this conviction however was later appealed). The unraveling of his troubled and turbulent marriage with Marilyn Monroe was the main personal event that influenced Miller’s writing of this play. Miller reflected that the meaning...
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...The Great American Disillusionment in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Conjecture clouds an American man’s pursuit of success, leading to unfortunate ends in Arthur Miller's timeless production, Death of a Salesman. A post-depression era drama, Death of a Salesman challenges its audience to analyze universal components of the American Dream. Most people consider success a collision of past effort, future goals, and an appreciation for the present. Miller's character Willy Loman is convinced attractiveness, popularity, and physical prowess is all any man needs for prosperity. In the beginning, Miller introduces Willy's flawed insight linking personal attractiveness to success. Act I opens with a conversation between Willy and his wife, Linda. While discussing their son, Biff, Willy wonders how, “a young man with such – personal attractiveness, gets lost” (Miller 1237). Proudly, Willy continues his high praise asking Linda if she remembers how they all used to follow Biff around in high school and, “When he smiled … their faces lit up” (1237). As critic, Chester E. Eisinger points out, Willy so thoroughly indoctrinates his sons with his dreams of success they, are victims of illusions” (Eisinger 101). They invent, “impossible schemes for making money,” (101). Willy’s corruption, “prevents his sons from achieving a mature manhood” (101). Willy even stoops to dishonesty and self-destruction in his efforts to appear successful. His appreciation for physical appearance extends...
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...house. You finally own it, and there’s no one to live in it.” This line was from the 1949 play Death of a Salesman. In his early years Miller wrote plays, but none of them were produced. Death of a Salesman was not his first success, but was still widely admired. He grew to become one of the century’s greatest American dramatists. However this title was not easily achieved. After growing up in Harlem and working the Brooklyn Navy Yard to becoming a Pulitzer Prize winner, Arthur Miller is held with high respect. Miller had a lifelong dream. That dream was to become a famous playwright. With a lot of hard times and struggles, he reached his goal. Miller went through college with many failed and unpublished plays. Still, he never gave up hope. Finally he hit one success which kept him on the Broadway stage for several decades to come. Arthur Miller is a New York born American playwright who developed a reputation by dealing with political and moral issues through his plays. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg with it comes to the story of Arthur Miller. Arthur Miller was a good man, and with a good man comes character strengths. He always put forth the effort to judge a man by his rightful position and his fair play. He also attempted to judge a man by his moral sanity and his welfare of the community (Foner and Garraty, 1). Miller never judged someone based upon a first impression. He made great attempts to know people thoroughly before finally judging them. This...
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...Professor Macy 12 April 2015 The Dream The American Dream has many definitions. There are many different answers to describe Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. The American Dream in the late 1940s was to have the “perfect American household”(The American Dream). This was to have a house in the suburbs, a steady job, being married, having a few kids, and keeping up with the Jones’. Death of a Salesman is a harsh criticism of the American Dream. The American Dream in Miller’s play is depicted as the ability to become prosperous by being well liked, the ability to start from nothing to something, and pursuing others dream. It also depends on which character is asked: Willy Loman, Ben, and Biff’s American Dream. Willy Loman’s American Dream is the ability to become prosperous by popularity. Willy believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to success. Time and again, he wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and popular. For example, when his son Biff confesses to making fun of his math teacher’s lisp, Willy is more concerned with how Biff’s classmates react. Biff says he crossed his eyes and talked with a lisp (Miller 1770). Willy giggles and asked him did the kids like it and Biff responds with “They nearly died laughing!”(Miller). They all make fun of Bernard at the beginning of the movie. Willy marks Mr. Bernard for getting his stuff together and says “Oh well he won’t ever amount to anything like you Biff” (Miller). Once, his wife asked him about...
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...answer. One cannot live in the past. Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman” tells the story of Willy Loman, a salesman who lives in the past because he cannot handle his downward-spiraling reality. When he realizes he is not a great salesman and his sons will not follow in his footsteps, he becomes angry and reverts to his better memories to cope. This proves to be fatal. 2, Is Miller using the story of Willy to send a message? If so, what do you think that message is? Willy’s story gives us the message to move forward in life. If people only look back instead of moving forward, they are not really going anywhere. They cannot change what has been, but are able to change where they are going. Change in inevitable and Willy Loman cannot accept that things need to be different if the method usually used is no longer effective. When one becomes obsessed with their memories and wishes for what could have been, sometimes actual memories are mixed with fantasies, creating a new memory that did not actually happen. One can forget their truth and therefore, not be able to move on. 3, Are there any themes that surfaced in the play? A theme from the play is the telling of truth. Dishonesty only causes troubles and more dishonestly because one lie always leads to another. As stated above, if lies are mixed with personal truth, the realness is lost, but the event cannot be replayed, so it is irreverent to lie to oneself. The American Dream theme that Willy Loman, and he represents...
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...Death of a Salesman Brian Kelnhofer English/125 April 2, 2015 University of Phoenix Online Death of a Salesman Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is one of my favorite plays growing up and one that defines history. Achieving the American dream is sought by so many people in society with little regard to what makes us truly happy. Willy Loman, the main character, works his whole life to provide financial security for his family and dreams about becoming rich only to be left with nothing at the end. The major driving theme behind the play is the American dream; which Miller points out is an allegory, the fallacy of working hard your whole lives chasing the American dream only to die a lonely and depressed man. Death of a Salesman challenges the effects of the American dream in a negative way. The American Dream All your life you are told that to be successful in life you need two things: a career and money. This I find to be the American dream falsehood that today’s society is based on. The Death of a Salesman points out the flaws in that statement. Most Americans don’t work past 72 so we spend our whole life chasing a false dream only to die an unhappy and lonely person. Allegory Willy creates an illusion of what the American dream should be like when he witnessed the accolades of Dave Singleman prolonged success. Willy pressures his children to seek the same ideals but Willy doesn’t even understand the meaning of success himself. I really connected...
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