Explore the dramatic significance of the first time switch in "Death of a Salesman". What might the dramatist have been suggesting to the original audience about society at that time?
Explore the dramatic significance of the first time switch in "Death of a Salesman". What might the dramatist have been suggesting to the original audience about society at that time? Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" is a detailed review on the capitalist American society of the 1940s and also on human psychology and how much materialistic success means to us. He uses the misfortunes of a salesman named Willy Loman to illustrate this. Miller introduces the Loman family in a depressing mood-dim lighting is used and shows a house that has "towering, angular shapes" surrounding it and with little furniture. This immediately gives the audience a glum feeling about the play. The Loman family is a very stereotypical American family, with the father, Willy, working all day, a loving mother, Linda, and two children, Biff and Happy. As the play develops however, we learn more and more about the real tragedy of the family. Willy believes in the American dream. It was very influential in the American society of the 1940s and still is to some people, today. But only a few people have benefited from it. The American dream is based on the idea that as long as someone works hard, they will achieve great success no matter what their sex, age, nationality is. As the audience learn about the Loman family's poor financial situation, it becomes clear that Willy is a victim of the
How do The Odyssey and The Crucible use the hero in order to explore the concerns of their times?
How do The Odyssey and The Crucible use the hero in order to explore the concerns of their times? The concept of what constitutes a hero varies according to the values, culture, context and setting of the society in question. Homer in his epic poem The Odyssey and Arthur Miller in The Crucible through the portrayal of the hero's in their texts; Odysseus and John Proctor, reflect the values of the time in which the text was set but more importantly provide a social commentary on the context of the texts. Both looking to the past to provide answers and draw parallels with the present. The Odyssey was written approximately in 700 BC and was set in twelfth century BC, in what was known as the Bronze Age. The Greeks believed that this earlier period was a more glorious and sublime age, when Gods still frequented the Earth and heroic, godlike mortals with superhuman attributes populated Greece. The Odyssey is episodic in nature and in many ways consisted of nation building myths which were unifying and drew on what was common in Greek culture by detailing the exploits of the classical archetypal Greek hero, Odysseus. Essentially it is an epic tale in which the wicked are destroyed, right prevails, and the family is reunited. On the other hand, The Crucible was written in the early 1950's in America and is set in 1692 in Salem, a small town in colonial Massachusetts. It follows
The falsity ofthe American Dream is the dominant theme of Arthur Miller's play. Willy Loman represents the primary target of this dream. Like most middle-class working men, he struggles to provide financial security for his family and dreams about mak...
The falsity of the American Dream is the dominant theme of Arthur Miller's play. Willy Loman represents the primary target of this dream. Like most middle-class working men, he struggles to provide financial security for his family and dreams about making himself a huge financial success. After years of working as a traveling salesman, Willy Loman has only an old car, an empty house, and a defeated spirit. Miller chose the job of salesman carefully for his American Dreamer. A salesman does not make his/her own product, has not mastered a particular skill or a body of knowledge, and works on the empty substance of dreams and promises. Additionally, a salesman must sell his/her personality as much as his/her product. Willy Loman falsely believes he needs nothing more than to be well liked to make it big. Minor The tragedy of the dysfunctional family, which helps to keep the American Dream alive, is a second important theme of Miller's play. Linda and Happy especially work very hard to keep the fantasy of the dream of success alive. In the dysfunctional Loman family, the wife is restricted to the role of housekeeping and bolstering her husband's sense of self-importance and purpose. A contradictory role given to her is that of the family's financial manager. In effect, Linda juggles the difficult realities of a working class family
The Crucible - character study of Reverend John Hale.
When we first meet or are introduced to Reverend John Hale, we are told that he, Hale is a scholar from Beverly and feels pride in the work he does. He comes to Salem on Reverend Parris' request to investigate the possibility that supernatural causes are causing Betty Parris' suspicious illness. Hale approaches the situation precisely and intellectually, believing that he can find the cause to her illness. Despite his early enthusiasm for finding the presence of witchcraft in Salem, Hale soon grows disillusioned with the witchcraft accusations and then starts encouraging people to testify so that they would not be hung. In Act II, Reverend Hale starts showing sympathy towards the men and women who have been accused of witchery, for it was he who signed their death warrants. He undergoes an internal crisis, feeling guilty that he might be responsible for all of the accusations. Even though this is the case at the end, at the beginning we found that he enjoyed being called to Salem to fix things. It made him proud that his expertise was finally in demand, (obviously in his mind they were not being fully appreciated). However, he was surprised at hearing about Rebecca and Elizabeth's arrest, which reveals that Hale is no longer in control of the predicament. Throughout the play there are many accusers and defenders for the witch trials. There is one man, Reverend John Hale,
How is Willy’s retreat into the past a form of escape from his unpleasant present reality? How does it function as a way for Willy to cope with the failure to realize his ambitions?
How is Willy's retreat into the past a form of escape from his unpleasant present reality? How does it function as a way for Willy to cope with the failure to realize his ambitions? Arthur Millers "Death of a Salesman" tell the tragic tale of a man, Willy Loman who was unable to settle for less than his dream. Willy Loman wanted it all; a nice house, a nice car ,to be successful like his brother Ben, but more than anything in the world he wanted to be 'well liked' and respected by others. Willy's insistence of placing such great significance on these things eventually led to his self-destruction. His failure to realize that he had not accomplished his ambitions led to him living his life half in reality and the other half in a time switch. This essay will focus firstly on how Willy's retreat into the past serves as a form of escape for him, and secondly it will try to explain how this functions as a way for Willy to cope with the reality of his failed ambitions Reality can be a somewhat uncompromising fellow. He does not permit the use of a 'rose-tinted' view of events. Nor does he allow for aspects to be misinterpreted. Rather, he serves up an awareness of how things really are, regardless of how painful or difficult to accept they may be. Willy's failure to accept such characteristics of reality have led him in search of a more sympathetic ally. In contrast to
Death of a Salesman - Write a critical appreciation of the Requiem. To what extent does this passage reflect the tone, style and concerns of the play as a whole?
Death of a Salesman - Context Question Write a critical appreciation of the Requiem. To what extent does this passage reflect the tone, style and concerns of the play as a whole? In Death of a Salesman Miller fuses the realist and expressionist styles with an ultimately realist purpose. Throughout the course of the play, we see the scenes of Willy Loman's last two days of life intertwined and overlapped with those of his memories and fantasies. This use of "daydream" scenes is an expressionistic device. However, it is not only these memory scenes which can be said to be expressionistic, as some of the expressionistic scenes in the play take place in the present, when Willy is not even there, and therefore cannot be said to be a result of his troubled mind. One of these scenes is the Requiem, when the characters break the wall lines to come downstage, and the apron represents the graveyard. As Willy is already dead, this cannot be thought of as a "distortion of his mind." This extension of expressionistic devices to non-memory scenes seems to suggest that we the audience see them through Willy's eyes. Brian Parker suggests that this technique "forces the audience to become Willy Loman's for the duration of the play." We see in the requiem scene how Willy's dream of a large funeral, like Dave Singleman's, to prove to his boys how well-liked he was, proves to be just another
Arthur Miller.
Arthur Miller Biography The legendary Arthur Miller b.1915 has inspired and touched many with his famous writing pieces such as The Crucible (1953). Before venturing into the playwright profession, Miller majored in journalism in the University of Michigan in 1938, showing skills as a reporter and night editor for his school newspaper. Although Miller is mostly associated with the writing of plays, he has also written novels such as Focus (1945) and Misfits (1961). As he became a rising playwright, he decided to write an autobiography titled Timebends: A Life in 1987. Miller's first taste of success came from All My Sons in 1947, winning him the New York Drama Critics Circle award. However, another brilliant piece of his, Death of a Salesman, raised controversial issues1 as to why the main character was merely just an ordinary man. Miller strongly stood firm to his view of tragedy, stating that emotion can be drawn from the audience through any character regardless of status if they are willing to die for a just cause. Death of a Salesman earned him the Pulitzer Prize in 1949, proving him to be once again, one of the greatest writers in America. Miller continuously emphasized themes dealing with morality, teaching his readers life lessons. Many of his plays also had to deal with family values and issues which many could relate to. Miller himself had been engaged in three
Death of a Salesman.
Death of a Salesman During the 1940s, American society became increasingly consumerist and more competitive than ever before. Arthur Miller's play 'Death of a Salesman' questions the values upon which this society is based and the way in which these contribute to the destruction of a man such as Willy Loman. He is very critical of a society which he seems to see as being destructive in many ways. The idea of the 'American Dream' made people believe that any man living in America could, with personality and dedication, become very successful. Miller has launched a somewhat scathing attack on the very notion of this dream. He highlights the many flaws within it; how such an idea can mislead good men like Willy, who devotes his entire life to being successful. The emphasis on being an owner of goods, the competitive nature of society, the callousness of the business world, the American Dream and the way in which success is measured are all criticised in 'Death of a Salesman'. Miller criticises the general way of the business world. Howard, the young boss of Willy's company, represents the ruthless and impersonal nature of capitalistic enterprise. When Willy goes to ask Howard if he can be transferred to a job in New York, Howard refuses to help him even though Willy has been working for the company for a long time and
Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller
Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller TABLE OF CONTENTS A. Background Information . Biographical about Arthur Miller 2. Description of USA at the time Miller wrote this play - social, political and economic conditions. B. Staging . Music, lighting and non-realistic staging are all important in the play. Discuss how they are used and what effect. 2. How does Arthur Miller achieve the blending of present reality with dreams of the past and with what success? C. Summary . Write a plot summary for Act I 2. Write a plot summary for Act II D. Character Description . Willy Loman 2. Linda 3. Biff 4. Happy 5. Bernard 6. Charley 7. Uncle Ben 8. Howard Wagner E. Essays . All the principle character in the play are trying to understand what is driving Willy to suicide. What is your understanding of this? 2. How far would apportion the blame for Willy's suicide between Willy's own character and the society in which he lived in? A. Background Information Biographical information about Arthur Miller Arthur Ash Miller was born in New York City on the 17th of October 1915 as the son of a clothing company owner. During the Depression his family lost the business. He visited the University of Michigan where he started his career as a playwright. In 1947 he had his first great success with All My sons. Only two years later he produced his most important piece, Death of
Organisational change.
Act One - Opening Scene . What is the value of the lengthy stage directions at the very beginning of the play? 2. How would you describe the relationship between Willy and Linda? 3. How does Miller suggest that Willy is on the verge of a breakdown? 4. What are Willy's main problems? 5. What is Willy's attitude to Biff? Scene with Howard Wagner . What are your impressions of Howard Wagner? 2. This scene has some embarrassing moments. Explain. 3. What dramatic purposes does Howard's tape-recorder serve? Why can't Willy turn it off? 4. This scene tells us a good deal about the realities of the business world. Explain. 5. What lessons does Willy learn from Howard? 6. Why does Willy comment in such detail on Dave Singleman? 7. Do you believe Willy when he tells Wagner about his 1928 earnings? 8. Is Howard a shrewd businessman cutting off the dead wood or a compassionate man who has kept Willy on for as long as possible? Restaurant Scene . What is Willy's mood as he enters the restaurant? 2. Comment on the various changes in Biff's mood as the scene develops. 3. How does Miller convey Willy's anxiety for good news from Biff? 4. Why does Biff become angry and frustrated? Biff can no longer feed Willy lies and half-truths about himself. He wants to deal on 'cold fact' and painful reality. Willy wants to hear good news, but he doesn't seem to care whether the