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Best known for his tragedy Death of a Salesman
Background Author Arthur Miller Born in New York City in 1915 Best known for his tragedy Death of a Salesman Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize It also made Miller a powerful literary influence throughout the country YES! That’s Miller with Marilyn Monroe!
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Background Author Outspoken in his beliefs regarding the inequalities in America in both labor and race Also known for his work, The Crucible. This worked served as an allegory for the anti-Communist hysteria of the 1950’s The movie version of The Crucible was met with critical success
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Background Information
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Takes place during the cold war
Families had become overly concerned with both social and economic status An artistic movement arose called existentialism Existentialism challenged the idea that financial success and social standing had to be intertwined Background Information Death of a Salesman
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Background Information
Death of a Salesman The play delivers a sharp social commentary about the folly of trying to “keep up with the Joneses”, a line of thought where families centered their lives around materialistic possessions The play is inspired by family and relationships from Miller’s own life Death of the Salesman has been described as the first great American tragedy
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Overview
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Overview The play opens in Willy Loman’s house in Brooklyn Willy, a traveling salesman of 63, is exhausted after years of making his trips Through flashbacks the audience becomes familiar with the salesman’s philosophy of success that has guided him to his current less-than-successful state
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Willy’s life is filled with disappointment:
his boss fires him his children are failures he has nothing of substance to show for his years of toil and work Desperate and delusional Willy searches for a way in his final days to make his children, life and legacy one of success versus bitter failure Overview
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Literary Focus
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Literary Focus Publication Genre Setting (time) Setting (place)
Flashback 1949 Play; Tragedy 1940’s; the play takes place during a twenty-four hour period with flashbacks mixed in throughout Brooklyn, New York and Boston The reminiscences and imaginary sequences allow the audience to understand the characters' inner thoughts and provide insight into their behavior during the present-day scenes.
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Literary Focus Symbol Seeds The American Dream Seeds are representative of Willy’s attempt to leave something behind of lasting value; to grow something that is positive and will last beyond his life In the case of Willie the American dream is symbolic of something that should come easily through materialistic possessions and people liking you; this contrasts with his neighbor Charley’s more authentic representation of the American Dream where hard work is needed in order to achieve success
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Man’s Superficial Nature
The American Dream Man’s Superficial Nature Man’s Desire to be likeable and have attractive things The value of hard work vs. the dream of money Betrayal and Anger Individual vs. Self and vs. Society Appearance vs. Reality Literary Focus Themes and Conflicts
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Characters
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Willy Loman Traveling Salesman Insecure about the worth of himself and family Strong believer in the American Dream, but he never achieves the wealth and success of his dreams Lives through his sons, hoping they will achieve where he has failed
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Biff Loman A star athlete in high school and Willy’s pride for his friends and female companions during this time Has since become a failure and a kleptomaniac
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Happy Loman Overcompensates because he has always played second-fiddle to his brother Aggressive sexually and in business Lacks a strong moral foundation within his job and his relationships
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Charley Willy’s next-door neighbor Charley’s success contrasts with Willy’s failures Willy spurns Charley’s offers for a job and is jealous of his success Despite this, Charley is Willy’s only friend
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Bernard Charley’s son Successful lawyer Ironically was thought of as a youth as being a nerd; mocked for his study habits Bernard has a close relationship with Willy’s children
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The woman with whom Willy has an extramarital affair
Other Characters Linda Loman The Woman Howard Wagner Wife of Willy The woman with whom Willy has an extramarital affair Willy’s boss Younger than Willy Howard’s father had been Willy’s boss until his death.
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