Death of a Salesman

In 1949 a play that was to influence the views of many about the American Dream and its realities was published. Death of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller and eventually went on to earn him the prestigious Pulitzer prize. This play was predominantly set in the 1920s-30s and gives a deep insight into how the great depression affected working families during this period in time. Miller based this dramatic play solely around the American dream. The American dream was a far fetched belief that if u migrated to America with a little money and an amount of self belief, through hard work you could become prosperous and be able to provide for your family. Arthur Miller himself had been a victim of the American dream, his Austrian father had owned a thriving clothing manufacturing company when in 1929 the stock market crashed and left him with no business.

Death of a Salesman is about a salesman who has long passed his “sell by date”, and after being a salesman for thirty-four years, is being pushed to one side by his employer. Miller shows how his whole life has been based on lies and stories that he has led his naive family to believe. However this all changed when Willy Loman was caught with another woman by his son Biff. I believe that Miller is trying to convey his views through Willy Loman as a character.

Throughout the play, Miller uses various methods or devices to portray Willy Loman as a failing salesman. One of these dramatic scenes is the card game between Willy and Charley. This scene is very cleverly set, for example Willy Loman’s house is “surrounded by towering buildings on all of its sides”. When Willy has flashbacks to the past, we are allowed to see that his house was once a pleasant place that was surrounded by trees and fields and not skyscrapers. These skyscrapers give us the impression that even Willy’s home is being enclosed and downgraded, and also provide a similar comparison to Willy’s life itself. This is a fair comparison because Willy views himself as a failure in all aspects of life, even as a father! Near the end of the play when Biff confronts Willy, Biff starts to cry. “He cried! Cried to me.” This quotation shows us that Willy is surprised by Biff’s emotional actions and is overwhelmed that Biff embraces him as a father. It acts as a relief to Willy that Biff still does feel enough respect for his father to embrace him in such a manner, as Miller shows how he thinks he has failed his family.

The opening sequence to this scene involves Charley entering into Willy’s household. Charley is described using very effective language; “He is a large man, slow of speech, laconic, immovable. In all he says, despite what he says, there is pity, and now, trepidation. He has a robe over his pyjamas, slippers on his feet.” The fact that Charley is being described as slow of speech, laconic and immovable allows us to believe that he is a very relaxed man who is successful and seen a lot. This description is an incredibly obvious contrast to Willy, who twitters and mutters to himself, and he moves very slowly and in a tentative way. He appears to be on his ‘last legs’ and could even be described as slightly senile, although stage directions just describe him as with “exhaustion”, he “thankfully lets his burden down”.

After Charley enters the scene he offers a game of cards to Willy, “Come on, let’s shoot. Tire you out a little.” I believe Charley does this because he thinks that it will calm Willy down and will reduce the overwrought sensation that Willy is emitting. He also does this because Willy has a very explosive temper. For example he always interrupts Linda, his wife, and tells her to be quiet. He also becomes angry suddenly when Charley offers Willy a job, “I got a job, I told you that. (After a slight pause.) What the hell are you offering me a job for?” This manner in which Willy becomes apparently very angry shows us that even though he failed miserably in his career he still has a great amount of pride that is not easily quashed. His anger may also be a result of the incredible pressure that he is undergoing in this period of his life, as he is realising that he can no longer provide for his family. I believe another reason that Willy rejects the job is not just because of his pride but because he is incredibly jealous of Charley because he has been very successful in comparison to Willy, as Miller’s contrast of the two characters shows.

Later on during this scene Willy has flashbacks which involve