Furthermore, on the set there are grotesque, towering buildings surrounding the Lomans' house and ‘an angry glow of orange’ filling the skyline. Miller has used the tall buildings to show how trapped Willy is in his life. Everything is above him and he is made to appear insignificant. The colour orange is used because it is associated with flames and more importantly, hell. By using this colour, Miller is conveying how Willy has an unfortunate life and is heading nowhere good.
On the other hand, Miller could have been subtly informing the audience about the fact that Willy would soon kill himself. In Christianity it is a sin to commit suicide. Therefore, Miller may be showing that Willy will be going to hell in his afterlife.
Conversely, Miller may have been showing that Willy is incredibly small and insignificant in the scheme of things. The tall buildings could show the Lomans are unimportant because there are so many others, struggling to live the high-life. They are only a common example of the vast population of America.
Throughout the play an overall impression given of Willy, is that his life hasn’t quite panned out the way he hoped. He had always had high expectations for his sons, Biff and Happy. They were always first-rate at sport; they were popular and charming with the ladies; unlike Charley’s son Bernard, who Miller portrays as a nerd, who strives to learn. Miller shows how sport is the single most important thing in their lives. ‘On a shelf over the bed a silver athletic trophy stands.’ There are not many props used on the set, so this emphasises how important the trophy is. Although it is only one trophy, they are proud of it, because it is a symbol of success and they don’t have much success in other aspects of life.
However, in later life it turns out that Bernard has become the more successful in his work. So it proves to Willy that being a popular person isn’t everything.
Alternatively, the trophy could be interpreted as an important prop because it is made of silver and therefore reasonably expensive. By having it on show, they could be trying to illustrate a false image of wealth.
What’s more, a symbol of success at the time was a gold fountain pen. Only the richest of businessmen could afford such an item. Biff stole one of these fountain pens, ‘You stole Bill Oliver’s fountain pen!’ He knew he could never earn a gold fountain pen truthfully, so he took the easy root. Furthermore, this shows how the Lomans see materialistic objects as thee ultimate goal in life. Miller’s use of the word ‘stole’ shows how neither Biff nor Willy have been able to honestly achieve success for themselves; they therefore resort to scrounging off what others have earned.
Willy’s view of life is that if you are an interesting and well-liked person, you will almost automatically have a good life with a large house, plenty of money and a close family. ‘What’re you lookin’ so anaemic about, Bernard?’ By referring to Bernard as an anaemic, Willy is suggesting that he studies too much Miller is displaying how many people in America have a false image of how wonderful life can be: the typical ‘American Dream’ that the government portrays as being a mandatory fact of living in a capitalist nation.
In the scene where Willy is playing cards with his neighbour Charley, the props that Miller uses are key dramatic devices that subtly inform the audience about aspects to do with Willy’s life that are not necessarily spoken. The playing cards represent the fact that throughout Willy’s career in sales, he has been gambling. If he had worked hard at school and got a high-paid safe job, like Bernard turns out to achieve, he wouldn’t be in the insecure position that he finds himself - on commission.
Unlike Charley, who has a better job, more money, and the fact that the actor used in the film is overweight, suggests that he has a lot of money to spend on food and luxury beverages. Charley knows he is more important and successful than Willy. He often asks Willy if he needs help or money. ‘You want a job?’ Charley is simply trying to be kind and to help Willy out. However, Willy’s view is that Charley is just trying to make him feel small and insignificant, so he feels insulted by being made to feel lower than he depicts himself.
Furthermore, around the kitchen table, there are only three chairs, yet there are four members of the family. Willy’s relationship with Biff is so damaged that he has even discarded his own son’s place at the table.
Initially, Miller informs the audience that this is because Biff disappointed his father by flunking his maths exam. This allows the audience to interpret their own viewpoint on whose fault the conflict is. However, you are later informed that Biff lost the will to fight for success because of his father’s affair. Miller has twisted the story, in order to keep the viewers engaged and focused on the main plot and to feel as though they are a part of the play and feel the same emotions as the characters.
As a result, in all the scenes involving both Willy and Biff, Miller creates a tense atmosphere that could be cut with a knife, ‘Hey, hey, Biffo!’ Biff ferociously replies ‘What the hell is the matter with him’. Whenever Willy does anything unexpected or overemotional, Biff just gets angry. Furthermore, Miller has referred to ‘hell’ once again; reflecting on the fact that their life is antagonising, traumatic and stressful, due to the tense relationship between father and son.
Miller portrays Willy as a crazy and schizophrenic man. During their game, Willy believes he can really see his brother, Ben; who, after years of success in the gold and diamond industry, sadly died. Miller once again, shows how Willy less important than someone close to him. His older brother is more successful than he is and lived the high life, exploring the world: ‘William, when I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty-one. And by God, I was rich!’ Miller’s use of long and short sentences make this phrase powerful and emphatic. In particularly the ‘by God I, I was rich!’ because it is exclaimed and makes Ben appear to be the dominant brother. When talking with Charley, Willy says ‘There was the only man I ever met who knew the answers.’ This shows how he does look up to Ben as a role-model and a respectable person. Just like what he wanted to be himself.
Although the audience is able to see Ben, elegantly drifting around the stage in a ghost-like manner, Charley cannot. I believe this is a spectacular way of showing how Willy is going mad because there is brilliant interaction and confusion throughout the conversation. Charley is proven to be an outsider of Willy’s chaotic life ‘Heh?’, ‘Who?’, ‘Who died?’ The repetition of the question marks shows he has no idea Ben is there and also how perplexed he is.
Furthermore, a prop that miller has used in this scene is Ben’s watch. Ben is a busy and important man, who has deadlines to meet. ‘Ben looks at his watch I only have a few minutes’ The fact that he only has a few minutes shows that he hasn’t got time to spare with Willy; further displaying the notion that he believes he is the superior brother. However Willy’s view is that he could’ve easily been as successful as Ben if he’d wanted to. ‘Sure, sure! If I’d gone with him to Alaska that time, everything would’ve been totally different.’ In actual fact, many people went to Alaska for the gold rush, but only a few made any money whatsoever. Therefore Willy is deluding himself that everything would have been better. Right the way through the play Willy says how it would’ve worked out well, but he was just unlucky. Miller has portrayed him as a man who thinks ‘the grass is always greener on the other side’, because he expected himself to be thriving salesman, but wasn’t, so he decides to put the blame on something, or someone else.
Moreover, Willy is shown to be insecure, depressed and easily infuriated. ‘(as though to dispel his confusion he angrily stops CHARLEY’S hand) That’s my build!’ This proves how he is easily frustrated. From the start, Miller builds up the feeling of anxiety; he shows that Willy has a very short temperament, so all he needs is one slight irritation and he will go let out all his feelings and emotions.
On the whole, Miller has used the card game scene as a way of showing the audience how the business world has affected Willy psychologically. By showing him going mad and schizophrenic, the audience can feel for Willy and are given an insight into the harsh reality of the so called ‘American Dream’. In particular, Ben is a powerful, dramatic device, because not only does he allow the audience to understand Willy’s mental problems, but he is a strong example of what Willy dreams are all about. However, by conveying Ben as a mystical ghost-like character, it confirms the notion that it is exceedingly difficult to be a success in the world of business; it is not simply a mandatory aspect of living in America.
Personally, I believe ‘Death of a Salesman’ is necessary in today’s culture, because it shows how hard life can really be in the business and social world. For me, this play has been influential in displaying how you cannot cruise through life easily. You actually have to work hard to achieve something.
