It can be argued that the Great American Novel-that always elusive imaginative summation of the American experience-became the Great American Drama in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Esther Merle Jackson, “ Death of a Salesman: Tragic Myth in the Modern Theatre” For it articulates, in language which can be appreciated by popular audiences, certain new dimensions of the human dilemma. The influence of this drama, first performed in 1949, continues to grow in World Theatre.
Perhaps the most significant comment on this play is not its literary achievement, as such, but is, rather, the impact which it has had on spectators, both in America and abroad. The chief value of this drama is its attempt to reveal those ultimate meanings which are resident in modern experience. And by God I was rich” (Bentley 661).Analysis of Arthur Miller’s Death of a SalesmanĪrthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is, perhaps, to this time, the most mature example of a myth of Contemporary life. A key phrase of Ben is the following: “When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. He is opposed to the protagonist, as he is rich and successful, and for Willy he is the incarnation of the dream, and his firm belief that it is possible to become rich overnight, relying on your luck only. These conversations also contribute to the creation of the impression of a mentally unstable person, making the play realistic and impressive.īen Loman is a very significant character of the play, though he is the late brother of Biff and he is present only in his hallucinations. This is why they are a bit difficult for understanding, however, these conversations are necessary for the understanding of the main aim of the character – his desire to make the materialistic American dream come true. They are presented in the manner of “stream of consciousness”. Internal conversations inside Willy’s head are masterful methods of narration, used by the author. The intense emotions, which can be observed in the text, make the play realistic.
We can see that at the beginning of the first chapter Willy is unsatisfied with Biff, and his attitude towards the son changes dramatically at the first pages of the first cat, when Willy calls his son lazy to deny this the next moment (Bentley 637-638). It may be vividly described by the changing relationship between the father and the son, Willy and Biff.
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On the whole, the play may be characterized by high dynamics of action, because it is full of events and changing relationships between the characters of the play. Here I would like to answer the last question in advance: the description of the setting is the most impressive thing of the whole play for me, as it captures the reader’s attention at once and keeps him “glued” to the text up to the end of the play. It is really surprising, that using several sentences the dramatist successfully manages to describe the relationship of the married couple that could well cover many pages. The literary talent of Arthur Miller can be an observer in the final paragraph of the setting, where he characterizes Linda. These details suggest that the inhabitants of the house are isolated from society and locked in their house as in a prison. Besides, it is stated that the “small, fragile-seeming” house is surrounded and oppressed by large buildings, and “angular shapes” may be observed (Bentley 633). The colors, which are mentioned in the setting, are also symbolic: blue light suggests the idea that there is still life in the house, but “angry glow of orange” hints at the coming tragedy (Bentley 633). Besides, this sound of flute symbolizes the beginning of the mental disorder of the protagonist. However, we remember the title of the play, and we are prepared for the sad atmosphere, this is why the melody does not make us glad, but, on the contrary, arouses anxiety. In “Death of a Salesman” setting performs a task of great importance: the melody, the sound of flute, which is the initial element of the setting, speaks about something light and pleasant. Such an important task is performed by the setting, because plays are deprived of the author’s descriptions, let alone author’s remarks. Its aim is to give the reader a preview of the act, to create favorable ground for the perception of the action, to initiate the reader into the action. On the whole, the setting is one of the special features of plays. It would be logical to start the analysis with the examination of the beginning of the Act I, that is, the setting.
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