Creating and Presenting: ‘Whose Reality?’ Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller ( ) American playwright Famous plays: Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, The Price. Later married to Marylin Monroe!

Historical Background Death of a Salesman was written in 1948 and premiered in 1949 at the Morosco Theater in New York City The play was immensely popular and influential and cemented Miller’s reputation Written in the immediate post-WWII period, a time of victory and general optimism, at the beginning of America’s post-war economic boom.

Historical Background BUT! The Cold War between the communist Soviet Union (USSR) and the democratic and capitalist United States (USA) was just beginning, with the Berlin Blockade in and the division of the world between the Western and Eastern Blocs This led many people to debate the merits of each political system. Many Western intellectuals and literary figures re-examined their own capitalist societies in order to ask whether they were successful Source:

Historical Background In the USA, fear of communism was strong and those with communist sympathies were treated with suspicion by the government. Miller was brought before the ‘House Un-American Activities Committee’ and in 1957 fined and blacklisted from working in Hollywood, after refusing to name others who had attended suspected communist meetings Miller’s experiences of the House Un-American Activities Committee influenced his 1953 play The Crucible, which allegorizes the blacklist era by telling the story of the Salem Witch hunts of 1692.

Reception “… there was no applause at the final curtain… Strange things began to go on in the audience. With the curtain down, some people stood to put their coats on and then sat again, some, especially men, were bent forward covering their faces, and others were openly weeping. People crossed the theatre to stand quietly talking with one another. It seemed forever before someone remembered to applaud, and then there was no end to it. I was standing at the back and saw a distinguished-looking elderly man being led up the aisle; he was talking excitedly into the ear of what seemed to be his male secretary or assistant. This, I learned, was Bernard Gimbel, head of the department store chain, who that night gave an order that no one in his stores was to be fired for being over-age” (Arthur Miller’s recollections of the opening night of Death of a Salesman, from his autobiography,Timebends, p.191)

Plot Summary - Act 1 The act begins in the evening. Willy Loman, a salesman in his 60s, returns home unexpectedly from a failed business trip. He explains to his wife Linda that he was too distracted to drive. Linda suggests Willy talk to his boss. Willy's sons, Happy and Biff, are staying in their old rooms discussing their father’s strange behavior. Willy has his first flashback. He thinks of happier times from his past with his sons. During one of the memories, he recalls an encounter with his older brother, Ben. Biff confronts his mother about Willy's behavior; Linda explains that Willy has been secretly attempting suicide. Happy and Biff are cheering up their father by promising to meet with Bill Oliver. Act One ends with Biff finding the tube,Willy has been using for his suicide attempts. Source:

Plot Summary - Act 2 Willy Loman asks his boss Howard Wagner for an advance. Howard fires him. Willy goes to visit Charley. Out of sympathy, he offers Willy a job, but Willy refuses. Willy borrows money from Charley. Meanwhile, Happy and Biff meet at a restaurant. Biff reveals that he did not meet with Bill Oliver. Willy arrives and announces that he was fired. Willy has another flashback. His memory drifts back to the day, when Biff was a teenager; he discovered that his father was having an affair. Happy and Biff leave the restaurant. Willy is at home in the backyard with a flashlight. Biff and Willy argue. Biff announces that he is never coming back. Finally, Biff becomes tired of his father’s tirade and reveals the tube Willy has been using for his suicide attempts. Biff begins to cry. Everyone goes to bed; Willy speeds away in the family car and there is a loud crash. Source:

Plot Summary - Requiem The family is at Willy’s grave site where they are joined by Charley. Not many people attended Willy’s funeral. Happy and Charley discuss Willy’s choices as a salesman. Biff disagrees with his father’s choices and believes his father had no identity. Linda cries and reveals she made the final payment on the mortgage. The play concludes with her words: “We’re free... We’re free...” Source:

Style and Symbolism In its notes to the 2012 production of Death of a Salesman, the Belvoir Theatre observed that: Death of a Salesman presents a challenge for set designers. If the play is at its core, as Miller has suggested, “the materialisation of Willy’s mental processes” (Miller, Salesman in Beijing, p7), then the set has to represent the past, the present and Willy’s imagination. Furthermore, it has to do so in a way that allows actors to easily shift between the three, over a very large number of scenes. So a set designer, in essence, has to find “a solution… to the problem of a play that present[s] time as fluid” (Bigsby, Arthur Miller, p329). Sketch by Jo Mielznier for the set of the 1949 production

Style and Symbolism

Some symbols for you to consider within the play: - The elm trees - The house itself (see e.g. the opening stage directions or the designs for the set from the original production) - The apartment houses - Material goods: The refrigerator, the Chevvy - Uncle Ben (think: can a character be a symbol?) - Willy Loman himself (same question!)

The Big Ideas The American Dream of Prosperity: is it a dream? The intertwining of reality, dreams and memories Different characters with irreconcilable perspectives Which Willy? Conflicting versions of Willy Loman.