Death of a Salesman Film/drama Comparison

Arthur Miller has been considered a leading American playwright for ages. His ability to create dramatic plots involving political and moral issues made him famous for plays like Death as a Salesman. But can such greatness achieved through plays also be achieved through film? It is a rarity when a movie based on a book or play follows closely to the plot intended, and it’s even more of a rarity when the tone, mood, and characters of that book or play are channeled precisely as the author intended. The movie version of Death as a Salesman closely correlates with the play, but along with every other play-turned-movie, differences are apparent.

Many of the actors chosen for roles in the movie seem to fit Miller’s portrayal of the characters. However, in the play, Willy Loman is portrayed as a man of considerable size even being called “walrus” at one time, while in the film he is much smaller and is called “shrimp”. Although Dustin Hoffman depicts the character of Willy Loman well, he gets so enthralled in the heat of the scene that it sometimes makes the audience wonder if Miller intended for Willy to