Analyse the dramatic effectiveness of the opening to ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller.

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Antonio Masih

20th Century Drama Coursework: Analyse the dramatic effectiveness of the opening to ‘Death of a Salesman’ by

Arthur Miller.

In this essay I will be analysing the dramatic effectiveness of the opening to ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller.

        Before this can be done a brief summary of the play is necessary.

‘Death of a Salesman’ is about fantasy versus reality, which eventually brings about Willy’s downfall. Willy as a character has too much pride in himself and lives a lie, unlike his brother Ben who is completely ruthless. Both brothers chase the ‘American Dream’ and Ben achieves it, because of his character described as ruthless.

        I will first of all begin by analysing the characters. The main character is Willy Loman. He is a tragic hero, who ends up on a path that leads to his own destruction. This is because of his flaws in his character. Willy has too much pride in himself and lives a lie as a corollary he is unemployed and his debts are raising. Linda is a humble wife and is the arbiter of peace in the family she is protective of Willy and stands in between Willy and her sons to ease tension. She realises Willy is now old and tired and desires the family to be happy, which is impossible because of financial problems. Confuting this, Willy had an affair with a woman he met on a business trip and was caught by Biff. This reveals Willy’s character to be unfaithful, back stabbing and untrustworthy. Despite this Linda puts all this behind her. Willy is a failure who doesn’t achieve the ‘American Dream’ and disbelieves his sons are failures too. The tension, which rises between Biff and Willy, climbs to an extent where Willy commits suicide so Biff can become successful with Willy’s insurance money. The tension is a shared secret between Willy and Biff about the affair.

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Willy’s major downfall is his dwelling on the past too much. This is shown by what he say’s and his demeanour.

        ‘I was driving along, you understand? And I was fine. I was even observing the scenery the. You can imagine, me looking at the scenery, on the road every week of my life…’ At this section of his speech Willy is fine and observing nature.

        ‘But it’s so beautiful up there, Linda the trees are so thick, and the sun is warm. I opened the windshield and just let the warm air bathe over me.’ At this stage Willy ...

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