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Title: Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (Modern Critical Interpretations) by Arthur Miller, Harold Bloom ISBN: 1-55546-061-5 Publisher: Chelsea House Pub (Library) Pub. Date: December, 1988 Format: Library Binding Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $37.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.88 (136 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Death of a Salesman
Comment: Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman offers a tragic yet realistic view on society of the 1950's. Willy Loman's distorted outlook on life, success, and happiness is perhaps the cause of his downfall. This is truly a disheartening play, and has a bleak outlook on the life of an unnoticed, unsuccessful man searching to be great. Although this play was not one to be taken lightly I enjoyed reading about the Loman family and Willy's pursuit to become liked.
Arthur Miller had many lessons in this play, and I believe the one lesson in Death of a Salesman that has the greatest effect on myself and other students my age deals with abandonment. The issue of abandonment and letting our pasts haunt us in the future is an important aspect in this play. Willy's abandonment started at an early age, His father left him and his brother Ben with neither tangible nor intangible heritage. Shortly after Ben left Willy for Alaska on a search for great riches. When Willy has a family of his own he has a distorted view of the American Dream and wishes for his family to conform to it. He strives to be well liked at his job, a wonderfully father to perfect sons, and to be happy, yet his inability to understand reality interferes with the boy's upbringing. Willy believes Biff to be on the verge of greatness and when at the restaurant Biff destroy Willy's view of him and with Happy abandons Willy in a bathroom.
While some may argue that the past will mainly control your actions in the future, I on the other hand disagree. I believe you can change your future and life is what you make of it. We all go through trials and make bad decisions but that is when you must learn from your mistakes and carry one. Willy Loman through no fault of his own had a difficult childhood; it was his fault however that he took out his feelings on his family. Through this play I have been reminded that life can become a tragic waste if focused on the wrong things. Willy's goals in life were focused on the material things; he also searched to be a likeable man in his workplace. Willy was not a great man but his family loved him and in his search for greatness he became blind to their love.
I would recommend this play, although a tragic play it reminds the reader of what is truly important in life.
Rating: 4
Summary: Death of a Salesman; A good read
Comment: Remember those television shows that displayed the perfect American families?
Like, The Brady Bunch, Leave it to Beaver, or Seventh Heaven. All these shows displayed
the perfect American families: happy, secure, no problems or conflicts, and all these
dreams that came true. These types of shows were composed of illusions. These shows
were far from reality. These illusions are a lot like the ones Willy Loman from Death of a Salesman, by Arthur
Miller,experiences. Throughout the whole play Willy seems to have a hard time distinguishing these
two. The author does a good job at describing the journey of Willy and his problem
dealing with these two concepts.
The play starts out when Willy returns home from a failed sales trip. Finding out
his son Biff is home he criticizes him for not living up to his full potential. After feeling
really depressed he immerses himself in a flashback. These flashbacks happen quite
frequently throughout the play and are very confusing. On the contrary, the author's
placement of these flashbacks help represent the theme. His flashbacks are examples of
his illusions. Willy looks back on better times when his life becomes unsatisfactory to
him. He surrounds himself in these illusions so he does not have to face reality.
His flashbacks are only one of his types of illusions. Another illusion of Willy's
deals with his definition of a good salesman. He thinks that if there is a 'man who makes
an appearance in the business world, [a] man who creates personal interest, is [a] man
who gets ahead' (33).Willy feels that success in the business world is based on looks and
response from others around them. Hard work has no merit at all. This is an illusion as
well. This illusion replaced the little reality that Willy had left in his mind. It was this
illusion that explained the affair he had. He felt that if he was well liked and attractive
someone would want to have an affair with him. After this point Willy's mind only falls
deeper and deeper into his illusions.
By the end of the play Willy's sense of reality was so far gone he ended up
committing suicide. He could not handle what was really going on in his life. His inability
to distinguish reality from illusion is what led to his downfall. This was the point that
Arthur Miller expressed exquisitely.
This play is excellent at showing the affects of a life surrounded by illusion. It was
clearly stated that a life immersed in illusion leads a person to their ultimate downfall.
This play gives a dramatic look at this concept. It was probably very easy for Arthur
Miller to write this play because he said that he relates and understands, '[Willy
Loman's] longing for immortality, Willy's writing his name in a cake of ice on a hot day,
but he wishes he were writing in stone'(Miller). He understands the reason for Willy's
illusions. It is this understanding that helps the play be the masterpiece it is. These
illusions that Willy experiences are similar to the ones that television watchers can have
everyday. The television families that they thought were real were a lot like Willy's
flashbacks. Miller's play taps into that concept through a dramatic and tragic drama. A
drama that is good for anyone and everyone to read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Death of a Salesman
Comment: By all means, read this novel. It concerns the American dream and truly is a classic. It has brilliantly realitic characters and, though it is short, has an truly meaningful story.
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