The Death of a Salesman

An Introduction

Outline Stage Directions General Introduction

Arthur Miller The American Dream The development of capitalism The play and its Style

Stage Direction –Symbolic of their dream and social conditions

Willy & The flute: "It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon"

the house with "one-dimensional" roof-line vs. the angular shapes behind it – apartment buildings & skyscrapers representing over-population and power

Kitchen, refrigerator and 3 chairs – the center of life for this family

Elements of dream –silver trophy The apron as backyard with or without wall-lines the colors –blue sky (suggests desire for freedom),

angry orange (of constraint and competition)

General Introduction --Arthur Miller

interested in father-son relationships, critiques the American Dream; his conflicted relationship with his

uncle, Manny Newman, also a salesman. “Newman imagined a continuous competition between his son and Miller.” (source)

married Marilyn Monroe in 1956; they divorced in 1961

Politically active; in support of Communist party during the time of red scare.

Another famous play, The Crucible 激情年代

General Introduction (2)

American Dreams Americans’ (or immigrants’) dream of success

which “should be” easy and quick “as long as” you work hard (esp. material success and social climbing; e.g. “Two Kinds.”)

Related concepts: self-made man; US as the New World promised by God; freedom to expand (to go West and explore new frontiers).

Related signs of success: car, suburban house (with a backyard), furniture and machines

Criticism: contradictions between idealism and materialism other factors of success ignored (luck, family

background, toughness and even dirty-dealing) hiding the reality of inequality.

Today’s examples: Dot-com boom and illegal immigrants (boat people)

General Introduction (3) Development of Capitalism (Industrial Electronic/Media)

19th century 20th century: social mobility or the rise of the middle class and the fall of aristocracy (e.g. Pygmalion);

Mechanical Reproduction; alienation of workers and then everyone (Salesman)

Improvement in the means of transportation and mass communication (“The Man in a Case,” “In the Station of a Metro”)

Abstraction of money and social values Continuous Expansion of the capital the

commercial world and increasing desire of the consumers (“A&P”)

buying things on credit and mortgage (Salesman)

General Introduction (3) Development of Capitalism (Industrial Electronic/Media)

buying things on credit (installment plan or mortgage) e.g. cars and houses p. 1211 (they owe 120 dollars by the 15th—

fridge, carburetor, washing machine, roof) p. 1230 (fridge broken all the time, insurance

premium, car, house mortgage) Willy's only relief is that after twenty-five

years he has finally paid off his home mortgage

General Introduction (4) Death of a Salesman (1949) –consider the

first great American tragedy.

Setting: New York City and Boston in the late 1940s

The places mentioned: New England, the West, Texas, Florida, Africa, Alaska.

Major Issues: American Dream -- What are their dreams?

Where do these dreams come from? And how are they broken?

Father-Son Relationships “Lowman” – as a tragic hero?

Styles: Expressionism

Expressionism & Stage Direction

Miller once said that "Any dramatic form is an artifice, a way of transforming a subjective feeling into something that can be comprehended through public symbols." (Introduction to Collected Plays from the Viking version p. 156)

Pay attention to the expressions of subjective

feelings Thru’ public symbols

Act I: Plot Summary Willy Loman returns to his New York home;

expression of fatigue, d worries over Biff; Biff and Happy talk about the past and their

present problems, which ends with Biff’s decision to visit Bill Oliver, and ask the latter for a job.

Flashbacks: 1207 1) Willy talks to Biff and Happy when they

were in high school; Biff is popular then, but Bernard warns him that he may fail his math. Strong father-son bond.

2) Willy and Linda discuss their financial problems, which is followed by Willy’s expressions of diffidence, Linda’s confirmation, the appearance of a woman, and then Bernard’s searching for Biff.

Act I: Plot Summary (2) 1214 The present flashback: Happy tries to

comfort Willy first, and then Charley appears and plays cards with Willy, while Willy imagines talking to Ben.

1220 Ben gone; Willy goes to the bedroom; Linda reveals their financial difficulties to her sons; Linda suspects that Willy uses a tube to asphyxiate himself with gas.

Biff promises to stay and try again to work; as they talk, Willy comes in and the four of them talk about their plans, argue with each other while showing their love.

Starting Questions 1. the first stage direction a) the characters Willy

and Linda, b) the central theme of the play (e.g. "the fragile-seeming house," apartment buildings, the "one-dimensional" roof, the colors, the flute, etc.)?

2. The first dialogue between Linda and Willy: What is Willy like in the "present" of the play?  What is bothering Willy? And the relationship between Willy and Linda? Willy's views of Biff?

3. The dialogue between Biff and Happy-- the two

brothers are set in contrast in terms of their working experience, their desire and dream, and their relationship to their parents.   How are they similar to each other in terms of the ways they use to achieve their respective dream?

Overall Questions on Act I: the Characters’ Dreams and Efforts Where does Willy get his dream? How is

Willy’s dream different from and similar to Ben’s? And Happy’s and Biff’s?

How do the parents, Willy and Linda, educate their sons?

How do Charley and Bernard serve as foil to Willy and Biff?

What social conditions do the characters exist in?