Death of a Salesman Arthur Miller American International School, Lusaka IB SL Language A English

ARTHUR MILLER: The Playwright Arthur Miller was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize and transformed Miller into a national sensation. Many critics described Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States.

Miller continued… Miller 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.

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.

The play continued… 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.

The American Dream The American Dream is a belief that in the USA, 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.

The American Dream cont’d Traditionally, Americans have sought to realize the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. However, the industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy of ‘get rich quick’. A variety of seductive but elusive strategies have evolved, and today the three leading ways to instant wealth are large-prize television game shows, big-jackpot state lotteries and compensation lawsuits.

The Lomans 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.

The Lomans… […] stating that once he was known throughout New England, driving long hours but making unparalleled sales, his sons Biff and Happy were the pride and joy of the neighborhood, and his wife Linda went smiling throughout the day. Unfortunately, time has passed, and now his life seems to be slipping out of control.

The Lomans… Willy has worked hard his entire life and ought to be retiring by now, living a life of luxury and closing deals with contractors on the phone - especially since increasing episodes of depersonalization and flashback are impairing his ability to drive. Instead, all of Willy's aspirations seem to have failed: he is fired from his job - which barely paid enough anyway - by a man young enough to be his son and who, in fact, Willy claims to have named.

The Lomans… Willy is now forced to rely on loans from his only real friend (and the word is used loosely at that), Charley, to make ends meet. None of Willy's old friends or previous customers remember him.

The Lomans… Biff, his 34-year-old son, has been unable to 'find himself' as a result of his inability to settle down (caused by Willy drumming into him the need to 'make it big within two weeks'), and Happy, the younger son, lies shamelessly to make it look like he is a perfect Loman son.

The Lomans… In contrast, Charley (who, Willy tells his boys conspiratorially, is not well-liked), is now a successful businessman, and his son, Bernard, a former bookworm, is now a brilliant lawyer. We are told how Willy had at least one affair while out on business trips: one in particular was discovered by Biff, and broke his faith in his father.

Finally, Willy is haunted by memories of his now dead older brother, Ben, who has constantly overshadowed Willy, and he is in many ways the man that Willy wanted to be. Willy's emphasis on being well-liked stems from a belief that it will bring him to perfect success - not a harmful dream in itself, except that he clings to this idea as if it is a life-preserver, refusing to give it up. His boys are not only well-liked but quite handsome, and as far as Willy is concerned, that's all anyone needs. He pitches this idea to his sons so effectively that they believe opportunity will fall into their laps.

The Tragic Flaw Willy witnesses his and his sons' failures and clings ever more tightly to his master plan, now placing his hopes vicariously on them: he may not succeed, but they might. His tragic flaw is in failing to question whether the dream is valid. Tragic Flaw: a flaw in character that brings about the downfall of the hero of a tragedy; e.g. hubris (or excessive pride) or avarice (financial greed).