Discuss Miller's Presentation of Self-Deception in Death of a Salesman.
Jonathan Ensall Discuss Miller's Presentation of Self-Deception in Death of a Salesman Throughout the play, Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman distorts the truth. Often his lies and exaggerations are not immediately recognisable as symptoms of his self-deception because they appear true. For example, Willy's claim that he is, 'Vital (to business) in New England' is not disproved until he loses his job in Act II. In this way Miller establishes a complex pattern of self-deception throughout the play which the characters either condone or refute as suits their purpose. There are, however, other presentations of Willy's self-deception that I find more straightforward. There is an immediately observable disparity between Willy's perception and reality when Willy physically enters his memories. He experiences what could be described as flashbacks however Miller asserts that, 'There are no flashbacks in, (Death of a Salesman) but only a mobile concurrency of past and present' Suggesting that Willy's delusional visions of the past are as real to him as his experiences in the present. Miller introduces Willy's older brother Ben as a hallucination when Willy has to make important decisions. Willy idolises Ben, despite having only met him a few times during his adult life, because Ben has achieved easy and lucrative success. I view their interchanges as representative of the mental
Analyse how character, language, setting and structure contribute to the dramatic effect of Death of a Salesman.
Death of a Salesman Analyse how character, language, setting and structure contribute to the dramatic effect of Death of a Salesman. The American Dream is the promise that any man may become a success through hard work and a good personality. Death of a Salesman is based on the false promises of the American Dream and follows the struggles for success of Willy Loman and his Family. Arthur Miller sets the play mainly in the Loman household in 1942. However, there are several dramatic flashbacks where Willy remembers back t o1928. Miller has set the play in the time of the American Dream and by using this real life situation he adds realism and dramatic devices in historical context. During scenes in the present, the actors ignore walls and all physical boundaries on stage. In the past, however, these boundaries are totally ignored. By using this theatrical technique, Miller not only helps to differentiate past from present, but also adds a dramatic effect by creating a sense of illusion and dreams. Another way in which Miller helps to separate the flashbacks from the rest of the play is by using music. In one of the scenes that is set in the past, happy and joyous music is played. This music is to represent the happiness of the past in Willy's mind; it also adds a sense of darkness and unhappiness to the present. At the start of the play, flute music is played. This gives
Arthur Miller said that his first title for “Death of a salesman” was “The inside of his head”. Why do you think Miller considered using this as a title and how can a production of the play convey to an audience that it is about Willy
The Perse school for girls English Literature Centre number: 22135 Twentieth Century Drama Michelle Cheung November 2001 Arthur Miller said that his first title for "Death of a salesman" was "The inside of his head". Why do you think Miller considered using this as a title and how can a production of the play convey to an audience that it is about Willy Loman's way of mind. "The image was of an enormous face the height of the proscenium arch which would appear and then open up, and we would see the inside of a man's head . . . it was conceived half in laughter, for the inside of his head was a mass of contradictions." - Arthur Miller Miller of course, did not use this 'arch' in any way in his play, but he did use a number of things to show what was going on inside Willy Loman's head. He not only showed the audience reality the way Willy Loman did, but at the same time show what was real. There are three levels of understanding: Willy's perception of reality, Willy's memories of his past, and the audience's perception of reality in the present. Past and present are used to show the audience what Willy Loman's past was like and how the present is linked
"The American Dream" in Arthur Millers Death Of A Salesman
The American Dream "The American Dream" is that dream of a land in which life should be better, richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position. American society is a curious thing. It has been praised, derided, ridiculed, and condemned throughout the years. In addition, over the years, people have flocked from foreign nations to come for diversity of America. They come with the hopes and dreams of the silver screens. However, many are faced with the brutal hardship, rather than the fairytale ending of a famous millionaire. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman examines the clashing of dreams against American Reality through the eyes of Happy, Biff, Linda, and Willy Loman. Happy is the Loman's youngest son. He is also of low moral character. Happy has always been the "second son" and tries to be noticed by his parents by showing off. Hap tries to be on Will's good side and keep him happy, even if
Do we have the ability to control our destiny - Death of Salesman.
Do we have the ability to control our destiny? The truth is this, one can set their goals and try to attain them and one can dreams their dreams and try to live them but the difference must be known. The character Willy Loman, in the play Death of A Salesman, seems to be a person who is not aware of the difference in reality and dreams. Willy's choices throughout his life undeniably lead to his own demise. Willy Loman is a tragic hero. His fear is that he wants to be viewed as a good, decent human being. He wants to believe that he's a well-liked, decent person who doesn't make mistakes. The truth is that he makes mistakes, many that haunt him, and that he is human. Willy does not consider this normal and severely regrets such failures such as raising his children poorly, as he sees it, not doing well in business, though he wishes he were, and cheating on his wife Linda, showing her to be a commodity of which he takes advantage. Linda has a true, pure love for her husband. Linda stands behind him through it all, through his dreams and broken promises, she still believes in him. The quality in such plays that does shake us... derives from the underlying fear of being displaced, the disaster inherent in being torn away from our chosen image of what and who we are in the world (Miller, Tragedy...). Willy's underlying fear of being displaced is the real tragedy. He wants to do
(Based on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller) The American Dream, the aspiration held by many people in the United State to live better (have a house
A Criticism to Idealism by Juan Pablo Cáceres (Based on Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller) The American Dream, the aspiration held by many people in the United State to live better (have a house, a spouse and a happy family). An ideal, that through hard work, courage and conviction, someone can achieve prosperity and happiness. That was the credo of Willy Loman, his ideology, what he lived for, but is it worth? Can you really rely on some ideal? Idealism in literature is the representation of things in an ideal form1. It is related to a direct knowledge of subjective mental ideas. I believe this is the motor that moves us throughout life, it give us hope, trust in the future, helps us set goals. Without idealism the mankind would be lost. But as everything in this world, there must be a balance between ideals and reality, otherwise it will become a utopia, some romantic dream with no real future. The play "Death of a Salesman" is the perfect example to support this thesis, its main character, Willy Loman; a sixty one years old salesman, in a capitalistic world is at the bottom of the hierarchic order. He posses nothing, and he makes nothing, so he has not got any sense of accomplishment whatsoever. Apart from that, he is blinded by the theory that if a person is well liked and has a great deal of personal attractiveness, all doors will automatically be opened for him.
HOW WELL DOES A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE FIT INTO THE TRAGEDY GENRE?
HOW WELL DOES A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE FIT INTO THE TRAGEDY GENRE? A view from the bridge is a marvelous tragedy that was written by Arthur Miller in 1956 following some of the guidelines of Greek tragedy. In this piece of coursework I will be examining how well the play fits into the tragedy genre, by looking closely at the character of Eddie as a tragic hero and the role of Alfieri as the chorus. I will also comment on the type of language Miller uses throughout the play. Since Eddie is the central character in this play, and while the story is weaved around him using his own actions and feelings as its threads; I am going to start my essay by analysing his nature as a tragic hero and the different flaws that ended with his distressing downfall. The ancient Greek tragedies and those of Shakespeare are about kings, dukes or great generals e.g. King Lear. However, Eddie is not a king or illustrious figure. This is because in their day, these individuals were thought to represent the whole people. Nowadays, we do not see even kings in this way. And so when writers want to show a person who represents a nation or class, they typically invent an "ordinary" person. In Eddie Carbone, Miller creates exactly that type. He is a very ordinary man, decent, hard-working and generous, a man no one could dislike and moreover, he is the head of his family; this means he has control over
Arthur Miller-Death of a salesman - Discuss, in close detail, the 'Requiem' (Pg.110-112) to show its relation to the play as a whole, and how far it is an appropriate conclusion.
OCR AS ENGLISH LITERATURE 3828,UNIT 2709- COURSEWORK Arthur Miller-Death of a salesman 2. Discuss, in close detail, the 'Requiem' (Pg.110-112) to show its relation to the play as a whole, and how far it is an appropriate conclusion. The requiem is the last act of Miller's play where the sad truth of Willy Loman's existence is revealed to the audience and the Loman family. The requiem serves as a place where Miller paints a picture of Willy's death as an ironic end to his tragic life. Charley's speech during the funeral is vital to understanding Willy as a tragic character because Charley takes the blame away from Willy for his death. "Nobody dast blame this man", are the opening words to Charley's speech that depicts Willy Loman as a product of his environment and a victim of his profession. He explains that the life of a salesman is an upward struggle to sell himself, "riding on a smile and a shoeshine...when they (customers) start not smiling back - that's an earthquake...and you're finished." Here Charley is alluding to Willy's inability to separate the personal from the professional. Willy took his professional rejections personally and it was a blow to his character. Willy wanted so desperately to be liked that he convinced himself that he was liked so he would be able to continue on with his life and his career. It is important that the
Is 'Death of a Salesman' anything more than a criticism of the moral and social standards of America in the mid twentieth century?
Is 'Death of a Salesman' anything more than a criticism of the moral and social standards of America in the mid twentieth century? Some critics have regarded it as Communist propaganda denouncing the evils of Capitalism, while others have seen it as a sympathetic study of the problems of big business. Some have interpreted it in Freudian terms and attributed to its author abstruse psychological theories, while from a Catholic point of view it has been approvingly regarded as a warning of the meaninglessness of life where there is no religious faith. Willy Loman is certainly a victim of the Capitalist system exploited and then cast aside. "He works for a company thirty years, opens up unheard of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away." Against this view is set the realism of the businessman: "When a man gets old you fire him." Miller says that he meant (among other things) to "celebrate the common sense of business men, who love the personality that wins the day, but know that you've got to have the right goods at the right price." The cult of the personality and the profit motive are the two main ideologies that come into direct into conflict in 'Death of a Salesman'. The play moves from the homespun myth of the fierce individualist who has pulled himself up by the bootstraps and into fame and fortune (i.e. Willy's father and Ben,
The office scene (pages 59 - 66) is a crucial part of the play as it sees the turning point in Willy's career and encourages the last part of his mental downfall towards destruction and dramatises many of the central concerns that are shown throughout.
The office scene (pages 59 - 66) is a crucial part of the play as it sees the turning point in Willy's career and encourages the last part of his mental downfall towards destruction and dramatises many of the central concerns that are shown throughout. Willy is humiliated during his time in Howard's office and the audience therefore have an increasing amount of sympathy and pathos for Willy. The scene opens with Willy entering Howard's office repeating the word "Pst!". From the very beginning of the scene the audience see Willy as a pathetic character and a failure in business. He shows his inability to show confidence around his boss, possibly because Howard is a successful businessman and this is exactly what Willy cannot achieve. Willy is already contradicting himself as he had previously told Biff to "Walk in very serious", yet he shows an undignified entrance which does not command respect from anyone around. Howard refuses to give Willy instant attention and he repeatedly ignores what Willy is saying which automatically gives Howard higher status. Howard is preoccupied with a newly purchased wire recorder and so is slow to listen to Willy's plea. This wire recorder highlights Willy's isolation from technology in the continually modernising America and could be seen metaphorically alongside the drama of this scene where the communication is one way between Howard and