TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I: THE 20TH CENTURY

1. General overview of the socio-political and socioeconomic reality of the 20 th century
society
2. How these changes and turmoil of 20th century affected theatre
3. America’s 20th century economic and political upheaval; Its impact on American
authors and American theatre
4. Introduction to Arthur Miller as the Special Author
5. Playwrights associated with this period; Arthur Miller’s theatre comrades.
6. The impacts of Arthur Miller’s work in 20th century America

PART II: DEATH OF A SALESMAN

1. Introduction to Death of a Salesman; General Overview and Plot Analysis
2. Structure of the play
3. Character and Characterization
4. Themes in the play
5. Other elements; The Setting, Diction and Language
6. Social Realism; Death of a salesman as a Modern Drama
PART I: THE 20TH CENTURY

GENERAL OVERVIEW OF THE SOCIO-POLITICAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC

REALITY OF THE 20TH CENTURY SOCIETY

The 20th century was one of transformation and turmoil. In the 19th century, ideas spread

widely, which sped up the development of technology. A number of protracted wars sprang

out around the world during this period as well. Not every one of the wars were significant

global confrontations. Nearly every day, there was small-scale violence somewhere in the

world. Political, social, economic, and religious disagreements all played a role in these

conflicts. Significant wars of the 20th century include the following:

 World War I (1914-1918)

The First World War was a global conflict centered in Europe in the early twentieth century,

with the Allies on one side and the Central Powers on the other. Remembered as the "war to

end all wars" for its massive death tally, more than 9 million combatants lost their lives in the

Great War."

 World War II (1939-1945)

The Second World War was the deadliest conflict in human history, involving the militaries

of every world power and marked by the emergence of the German Nazis, the ensuing

Holocaust, and the only deployment of nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.

 Korean War (1950-1953)

The first "hot" conflict in what would become the Cold War, the mid-twentieth century's

Korean War was costly and frustrating -- with territorial gains fluctuating rapidly over the

course of four years, exceptionally brutal weather conditions, and atrocities committed on

both sides.
  Vietnam War (1961-1975)

In 1955, the communist North Vietnamese National Liberation Front invaded South Vietnam

in an attempt to overthrow leader Ngo Dinh Diem and reunite the country by force. The

United States became increasingly involved in Vietnam over the next several years, and

began deploying troops in 1964 with the passage of the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution.

 Cold War (1945-1991)

The Cold War was a period of political and military tension between the Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics (USSR) and the United States. From the end of World War II in 1945

until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, these superpowers and their respective allies stood toe

to toe in a nuclear weapon standoff.

 Gulf War (1990-1991)

The Gulf War was the first major military conflict following the end of the Cold War. Events

began on August 2nd 1990 when Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein, invaded the neighboring

country of Kuwait. In response, the United States and coalition forces.

The Great Depression

After World War I, the global economy remained strong through the 1920s. The war had

provided a stimulus for industry and for economic activity in general. There were many

warning signs foretelling the collapse of the global economic system in 1929 that were

generally not understood by the political leadership of the time. The responses to the crisis

often made the situation worse, as millions of people watched their savings become next to

worthless and the idea of a steady job with a reasonable income fading away.
Many sought answers in alternative ideologies such as communism and fascism. They

believed that the capitalist economic system was collapsing, and that new ideas were required

to meet the crisis. The early responses to the crisis were based upon the assumption that the

free market would correct itself. This, however, did very little to correct the crisis or to

alleviate the suffering of many ordinary people. Thus, the idea that the existing system could

be reformed by government intervention in the economy, rather than by continuing the free

transaction aapproach, became prominent as a solution to the crisis. Democratic governments

assumed the responsibility to provide needed services in society, and to alleviate poverty.

Thus was born the welfare state. These two politico-economic principles, the belief in

government intervention and the welfare state, as opposed to the belief in the free market and

private institutions, would define many political battles for the rest of the century.

The rise of Fascism, Totalitarianism and Dictatorship

Fascism first appeared in Italy with the rise to power of Benito Mussolini in 1922. The

ideology was supported by a large proportion of the upper classes as a strong challenge to the

threat of communism.

When Adolf Hitler came to power in Germany in 1933, a new variant of fascism

called Nazism took over Germany and ended the German experiment with democracy.

The Nazi Party in Germany was dedicated to the restoration of German honor and prestige,

the unification of German-speaking peoples, and the annexation of Central and Eastern

Europe as vassal states, with the Slavic population to act as slave labor to serve German

economic interests. There was also a strong appeal to a mythical racial purity (the idea that

Germans were the Herrenvolk or the "master race"), and a vicious anti-semitism which

promoted the idea of Jews as subhuman (Untermensch) and worthy only of extermination.
Many people in Western Europe and the United States greeted the rise of Hitler with relief or

indifference. They could see nothing wrong with a strong Germany ready to take on the

communist menace to the east. Anti-Semitism during the Great Depression was widespread

as many were content to blame the Jews for causing the economic downturn.

Hitler began to put his plan in motion, annexing Austria in the Anschluss, or reunification of

Austria to Germany, in 1938. He then negotiated the annexation of the Sudetenland, a

German-speaking mountainous area of Czechoslovakia, in the Munich Conference. The

British were eager to avoid war and believed Hitler's assurance to protect the security of the

Czech state. Hitler annexed the rest of the Czech state shortly afterwards, indicating that he

had ulterior motives.

Fascism was not the only form of dictatorship to rise in the post-war period. Almost all of the

new democracies in the nations of Eastern Europe collapsed and were replaced

by authoritarian regimes. Spain also became a dictatorship under the leadership of

General Francisco Franco after the Spanish Civil War. Totalitarian states attempted to

achieve total control over their subjects as well as their total loyalty. They held the state

above the individual, and were often responsible for some of the worst acts in history, such as

the Holocaust Adolf Hitler perpetrated on European Jews, or the Great Purge Stalin

perpetrated in the Soviet Union in the 1930s.

These are some of the global social-cultural, political, religious and economic issues that

happened in the 20th century. All these definitely affected the playwrights of this period and

it played out on their writing and their style and genre. For instance, Arthur Miller’s Death of

a Salesman was actually written during the period of The Great Depression, being an

aftermath of the wars fought. Also playwrights like Samuel Beckett and Eugene Ionesco

came up with concepts (the absurd theatre) which was as a result of the modern era, its
nothingness and vagueness after all the wars and events that have happened. Concepts like

realism, naturalism, surrealism, absurdism, expressionism, humanism and so on came about

and all of these were reflected in the plays written.

In addition to the wars, and occasionally because of them, technology advanced incredibly

quick. Following a millennia of rather slow advancement, the first 100 years of the 20th

century saw a boom in communications and transportation-related technologies. We

transitioned from horse-drawn carriages to modern vehicles. From hot air balloons to

supersonic jets, we ascended into the air. The telegraph dramatically accelerated

communication in the 19th century, but in the 20th century, we transitioned from Alexander

Graham Bell's basic telephone to the ubiquitous mobile phone.

From very primitive radio to the on-demand world of portable television, civilization

advanced. Computers have evolved from their first room-sized versions, which had less

processing capability than a simple contemporary calculator, to internet-connected, data-age

handhelds. And then to the space age, from basic solid fuel rockets to a whole industry

developed to send men and machines to other planets.

HOW THESE CHANGES AND TURMOIL OF 20 TH CENTURY AFFECTED

THEATRE
Theatre in the 20th century mirrored all these new ideas and technology. In fact, it was early

in the 20th century that theatre started to be regarded a mirror on reality - a method for the

audience to reflect on the society we are all living in. The plays and methods of presentation

absorbed the new philosophical notions. The changes and fading of religion as a key effect on

theatre, and society, was an early development of the 20th century. New ideological views

and the effect of psychology and its study of how humans think and how the brain operates

was an increasing influence in theatre. The various new economic ideas and practices touched

theatre, too. Another key field that made its way into the scene was science. The discoveries
of scientific concepts and technical applications constitute a subtle, but crucial feature of 20th

century theatre.

The 20th century theatre was also loaded with explorations of new ideas and new genres and

styles. Some of them we have mentioned in earlier supplements, but there were more than the

ones that were eventually successful. Multiple of these grew out of the psychological and

sociological stressors of the early 20th century, with its many conflicts and the development of

nuclear power and nuclear weapons. These are frequently categorized under the common

umbrella of Avant-Garde, or “cutting edge” theatre. They comprise the following types that

were rooted in advances of comparable philosophical movements of intellectuals and

researchers.

Realism: Probably most notably in theatre, the 20th century represents the birth of what came

to be dubbed “realism.” This philosophy is mirrored in the plays, the performances, and the

production values. The influence on acting is most evident in the study and writings of

Stanislavski. The three playwrights that pioneered realistic theater are Henrik Ibsen, Anton

Chekov and August Strindberg. Realism in the theatre is designed to represent actual life, to

“mirror” what the spectator thinks to be its reality. That is, it is supposed to “look genuine”

and to give the spectator the sensation that it is real by adopting the appearance of reality. It is

designed to imitate observable life, to match how people speak, how they walk, how they

dress, etc.

It purposefully avoided most of the non-real aspects, the deviations from realism, such as the

supernatural, the use of poetry in dialogue, songs being sung by the protagonists (like in

musicals), the inclusion of fantasy elements or dreams.

Naturalism: In parallel to Realism, a sort of extreme realism, or “hyper realism” evolved that

was dubbed Naturalism. Naturalism elevated realism to the point of not simply mimicking

reality or the impression of reality, it produced reality on stage. This is frequently referred to

as the slice of life – “cutlery in the drawer” form of theatre. Basically, that means that the

staging and production elements would be so genuine that there would be silverware in the

drawer of a kitchen set, even if the drawer were never opened over the length of the play.

This type of theatre seeks to depict a photographic reality to stress the tangible components of

existence. Plays created in this form tend to center on lower class individuals, and they

typically look at the darkest sides of human nature – often as satire.

Symbolism: It deals with spirituality, imagination, dreams, etc.

Expressionism: It explore spiritual enlightenment and anguish, episodic, frequently anti-

father, heightened language/dialogue, etc.

Futurism: It stressed the automation of society and machinery.

Surrealism: It opposes norms and examines the working of the subconscious, mystical and

metaphysical ritual events

Theatre of cruelty: it is quite related to surrealism but deals more with the physicality of

mystic and metaphysic ritual with violent and sensual impulses

Epic theatre: It opposed the illusion and escapism of Realism. It stressed intellect, the

intellect of the spectators and it is connected to Bertolt Brecht.

Theatre of the Absurd: It stresses that life is meaningless and that human existence has no

reason or purpose. The pioneers are the likes of Samuel Beckett John Paul Sartre, Albert

Camus, Eugene Ionesco, etc.

 AMERICA’S 20TH CENTURY ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL UPHEAVAL; ITS

IMPACT ON AMERICAN AUTHORS AND AMERICAN THEATRE

American culture underwent a revolution during the 20th century as a result of social and

political changes. The United States began a new era in 1945, with the end of World War II.

A prosperous economy, rapid population expansion, and rising living standards were all

present. By the late 1950s, American society had begun to feel standardized. Several

progressive movements that sought to reject this uniformity grew as a result of this. Below

are some of the movements that happened in the 20 th century that gave America and her

Citizens a new look they have been craving for.

The Counterculture Movement

Following the 1950s' conformity, counterculture started to emerge in the US. By 1963, young

people started to reject their parents' cultural norms. They choose to adopt progressive

attitudes instead. This became more pronounced as the Civil Rights Movement gained

momentum and as Americans became weary of the Vietnam War. The movement helped

make alternative lifestyles and progressive values more acceptable. The "Summer of Love"

led to a rise in popularity for the hippie counterculture. Thousands of people gathered in San

Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district in 1967. Haight-Ashbury in New York City joined

Greenwich Village as a centre for the counterculture movement.

The Civil Rights Movement

The United States began a time period known as Reconstruction after the American Civil

War and the abolition of slavery. Black Americans continued to experience economic

discrimination and segregation throughout this time. Black Americans launched campaigns of

civil disobedience in the early 1950s. These highlighted the necessity of civil disobedience

and nonviolent protests. The movement led to some effective initiatives. Rosa Parks served as
the impetus for the 1955–1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott. It fought against Alabama's

public's racial segregation policy. The American South saw a rise in popularity of "sit-in"

protests. Various marches were also held. Activists traveled 54 miles from Selma to

Montgomery, Alabama, seeking the right to vote. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X,

Andrew Young, James Farmer, and others were notable civil rights activists.

The African American Civil Rights Movement

Despite the 13th Amendment's official abolition of slavery, Jim Crow laws across the nation

ensured that African Americans faced prejudice and violence well into the 20th century. The

Cold War and World War II both highlighted the conflicts between American ideals of

democracy and equality and its domestic treatment of minorities. African Americans fought

for school desegregation, equal access to employment opportunities, an end to housing

discrimination, and the removal of voter suppression during the civil rights movement of the

1950s and 1960s.

The Asian American Civil Rights Movement

Asian Americans pondered on their experiences and saw how they too faced discrimination

when the African American civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s exposed

institutional racism. Activists from the Asian American community joined the African

American civil rights movement, fighting for the same goals of achieving freedom and

equality for everyone. They also expressed their opinions and demonstrated in support of

issues that were particular to their communities, such as equal access to city services in

Chinatown and possibilities for employment. Following the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin,

which resulted in a federal civil rights prosecution and signalled a turning point for Asian

American civil rights activism, Pan-Asian identity and community gained traction.
The Mexican -American Civil Rights Movement

One of the movements from the 1960s that has received the least attention is the Mexican-

American Rights Movement, or Chicano Movement. It covered a variety of problems that the

sizable Mexican-American population faced. This included restoring land grants, educating

farm labourers, and securing their political and voting rights. The youth community was

largely responsible for this movement, which started in the Southwest. On university

campuses around the world, they expressed their worries. The campaign quickly gained

traction across the nation. The struggle to forge a new transnational identity drew in

additional Latino communities. American agricultural worker and labour leader Cesar

Chavez was in charge of the movement. He rose to prominence as one of the most prominent

Latino campaigners of the time. He also participated in the founding of the National Farm

Workers Association. The movement's participants remained active throughout the 1970s, but

it lost steam in the decade that followed.

The Indigenous Rights

In order to assist American Indians in metropolitan areas who had been uprooted by

government initiatives, the American Indian Movement (AIM), a grassroots civil rights

movement, was founded in 1968. Its objectives later grew to include addressing the decades

of discriminatory federal Indian policy that violated American Indian peoples' civil rights and

sovereign rights. Indigenous rights concerns range from high unemployment to slum living,

from racist treatment to the federal government's resource exploitation of Indian lands to

treaty rights and the reclamation of tribal land.

The Gay Liberation Movement

In the summer of 1969, the Gay Liberation Movement got started. Police searched the

Stonewall Inn, a well-known tavern in New York City, on June 28. A series of violent
protests by members of the LGBTQ community followed, known as the Stonewall Riots.

Within a few months, organizations like the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists'

Alliance were created. These organizations elevated the cause of LGBTQ rights in American

politics. LGBTQ organizations sprang up quickly all around the world. By 1970, New York

and other American cities hosted the first Gay Pride marches to mark the anniversary of the

Stonewall riots. Today, the custom is still practiced everywhere. The NYC Landmark

Preservation Commission granted the Stonewall Inn landmark status in June 2015.

Many movements happened during this period that was not mentioned in the above-

mentioned movements. Some of them are:

The Effect of 20th-Century Socio-cultural Socio-political Movements on Theatre and

Drama, most especially in America

The term "twentieth-century theatre" refers to a time when the theatrical culture of the 20th

century underwent significant development, primarily in Europe and North America. Long-

standing conventions governing theatrical representation were widely contested, which led to

the creation of a number of new theatrical forms, such as modernism, expressionism,

impressionism, political theatre, and other forms of experimental theatre, as well as the

continued development of already well-established forms like naturalism and realism.

After being mocked throughout the 19th century, theatre’s artistic reputation improved over

the course of the century. The development of alternative media, particularly film, has

reduced television's influence on culture as a whole, though. Theatrical artists are being

compelled to look for new methods to interact with society in light of this transformation. Its

modern history has undergone changes as a result of the many responses that have been

provided in reaction to this.

Gender theory and postmodern philosophy developments recognized and generated topics for

the theatre to investigate. These occasionally overtly meta-theatrical performances aimed to

challenge the audience's preconceptions and prejudices while posing issues with their own

culture. The last two decades of the 20th century were largely characterized by these tough

and significant plays.

The next 50 years witnessed an acceptance of non-Western theatrical styles, despite the fact

that they were mostly developed in Europe and North America around the turn of the century.

A diverse theatre has been produced by a number of new artists who were influenced by the

fall of empires and the ongoing development of post-colonial thought.

INTRODUCTION TO ARTHUR MILLER AS THE SPECIAL AUTHOR

Arthur Miller was born on October 17th,1915 and died on February 10th 2005 (90yrs). He

was a 20th century American playwright, essayist and screenwriter. He grew up in New York

City’s Harlem.

He was born to a Jewish immigrant parents in Manhattan. His parents had a coat-

manufacturing company which flourished for years but eventually failed. The failure of the

business pushed his father into depression. Miller was greatly affected by this, seeing the

meltdown of the society and how depressed his father was. His family moved to Brooklyn

after his father’s business failed. After graduating from high school, Miller had no other

choice but to work a number of jobs in order to save up for his college education and

delivered bread every morning to support his parents. Miller was refused admission by

Cornell university and The University of Michigan, making him work several jobs including

hosting a radio program.

Eventually, Miller got admitted into the university of Michigan in 1934 and there he studied

journalism and learned how to write and also worked on a number of plays. He became the
night editor of “The Michigan Daily” even though Miller was not well exposed to the theatre,

he began experimenting theatre. It was at this time he wrote his first play “No Villan” which

won the Avery Hopwood Award. Miller received his bachelor’s degree in English and

immediately after his graduation from the university of Michigan, Miller went back to New

York and worked as a freelance writer.

He got married to Mary Slattery who was his college friend. In 1944, Miller wrote his play

“The man who had all the luck” which was rejected by several producers and was badly

criticized. He fought to establish himself as a playwright after writing a few plays, until 1947

when he produced his play “All my sons” which got him into the limelight. The play was

performed over 300 times and won the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and two

Tony Awards. The success of the play was based on the societal situations surrounding

Americans, it appealed to the nation because they had just gone from war and depression.

Immediately after the success of the play “All my Sons” was followed by another huge

success in his career. The premiere of “Death of a salesman” his most famous, respected and

well acknowledged work. The play was performed for 742 times and won several awards

such as Tony Award for best play, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and New York Drama Critics

Circle Award. The success of this play was also based on the happenings of the time it was

written. Few years after, following the post-war delusion in 1950, Miller began to work on

his play “The Crucible”. The play criticized McCarthyism and was set during the witch-hunt

in Salem in late 17th century. The play was a parable play in which Miller likened the

situation with the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) to the witch-hunt in

Salem. The play opened at the Beck Theatre on Broadway on January 22, 1953. Even though

this play was seen as unsuccessful at that time, it has become one of his most produced work

today.
Miller and Elia Kazan were very close friends and he was responsible for producing most of

Miller’s works but the friendship ended after Kazan’s testimony to the HUAC. In 1956,

Miller was summoned before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Miller refused

to name the people he had seen ten years ago at an alleged communist writers’ meeting. He

was convicted of Contempt but he appealed and won the case.

In 1957, Miller and his wife Mary Slattery got divorced. He went ahead to marry a film star

Marilyn Monroe. Miller could not write for a while due to his conviction by the HUAC

which had affected him, but during this time, he wrote a screenplay adaptation of his short

story “The Misfits” because he wanted his wife Monroe to play a major role, but the play was

a huge failure. Following other happenings in his marriage, the couple got divorced. One year

after, Miller got married to Inge Morath who was a photographer and they both worked on

several photo-journalistic projects. They lived together until her death. Miller was elected

international PEN’s president, and he became the organization’s first American president. A

position which he held for four years. The organization defended the rights of political

oppressed writers. Miller actively spoke against the Vietnam war and continued to concern

himself with social and political issues.

It must be noted that Miller kept a strong bond with the university of Michigan all through his

lifetime. He established the Arthur Miller Award in 1985 and Arthur Miller Awards for

Dramatic Writing in 1999… Arthur Miller is one of the most recognized and valuable

American writer in the 20th century.

List of some Arthur Miller’s plays his Plays

Most of his works were written to address social issues and they always centre around an

individual in the mercy of the society and capitalist system. His first play “No Villain” was
produced was produced in 1936 and it was based on Marxist theory. This play revolves

around an individual facing inner conflict and difficult times dues to strike.

“Honours at Down” is another okay with similar theme. This particular play was talking

about an individual who’s not able to express himself. Other plays include:

 The Crucible
 Death of a salesman
 All my sons
 The Misfits
 A memory of two Mondays
 After the fall
 The price
 Focus
 The great disobedience
 The Golden Years.

PLAYWRIGHTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS PERIOD; ARTHUR MILLER’S

THEATRE COMRADES

1. Tennessee Williams: He was an American playwright and screenwriter who after

years of being unimportant suddenly became famous after the success of his work

‘The Glass Menagerie’ (1944) in New York city. The play by Tennessee Williams

that shot him from obscurity to fame has autobiographical elements featuring

characters based on its author like his sick mother and his mentally ill sister as well. It

is important to know that Tennessee Williams is considered among the foremost

playwrights of the 20th century American drama.

2. Born in Independence Kansas on May 3, 1913, William Inge was an American

playwright and novelist, he was a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who had hits

plays on Broadway. Inge’s interest for the theatre began early, In the 1920’s,

Independence Kansas had many cultural events where top artists performed their

shows, Although Inge was not from a well-to-do family, he saw many shows as a
member of a local Boy Scout Troop. The small town of Independence Kansas, had a

profound influence on the young Inge and he would later attribute his understanding

of human behaviour to growing up in this small town environment. He never sought

to write plays that only tell a story; he was concerned with dramatizing the dynamics

of human behaviours he said “I regard a play as a composition rather than a story, as a

distillation of life rather than a narration of it.” In 1935, Inge graduated from the

University of Kansas at Lawrence with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Speech and

Drama. in 1943, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where he worked as the drama and

music critic for the St. Louis Times, it was while he worked as a drama critic that Inge

became acquainted with Tennessee Williams. Some of his plays are come back

(1950), little Sheba (1950), farther off from heaven (1947), bus stop (1955). Inge

wrote plays that reveal rustic small-town Americans struggling with sexual

repression, alcoholism, gossip and religiosity and he paid special attention to the

theme of darkness, desperation, anxiety and human weaknesses. These themes

haunted Inge persona life. Inge was talented, but tortured. That was not that unusual

for a gay man of his era. His long struggle with alcohol, depression, and the profound

shame over his being gay plagued him before, during, and after his decade of great

success. Inge was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, The Drama Critic Circle Award, The

Outer Circle Award, and The Theatre Club Award. On the surface One might see he

plays as common conversation about the smallness of people’s lives but the characters

go very deep, human pain permeates Inge’s dramas. In 1973, Inge ran out of reasons

to continue to live a life in the closet. He went into the garage of his Hollywood

home, shut the door and started up his brand new automobile and committed suicide,

he was just 60years old.

 THE IMPACTS OF ARTHUR MILLER’S WORK IN 20 TH CENTURY
AMERICA
Miller's work remains important and is often produced because of its strong, transcultural

human resonance and breadth of subject. Ben Brantley pointed out Millers " makes us look

and listen, and feel the problems and pain of others as if they were our own". He wrote about

things that mattered on both a microcosmic and macrocosmic level. Miller wrote about

families and the society of which they are part. While his individual characters resonate in the

audience's memory, he never presents them as disconnected from the ongoing society to

which they are inextricably bound, and so his plays become larger than mere snapshot in

time.

According to Sir Anthony Sher, he said that Miller writes about the experience of being

human in a very raw but very compassionate way. We recognize ourselves in characters, and

that's a timeless thing. In respect to this, Miller is more like Shakespeare. Contemporary

circumstance doesn’t need to be right to make those play relevant. It is not just the audiences

who enjoys the performance but also those who creates the performance. Over the years,

critics have considered a great variety of possible influence on Miller's work, but the clearest

one are those who Miller himself acknowledged. He believed that the best drama is social

drama. By that he did not mean socialist drama, but rather plays concerned with more than

the life of the individual plays that consider the whole society. He also noted a disturbing

trend in America drama to separate the individual and society and to write about the

separation rather than the connection, which he saw as basically dehumanizing. A fierce

desire to help others evolve into better people and belief that such evolution is possible.

Miller is also a humanist concerned with the examination of human nature, with the aim of

improving it. We could see in one of his play "All my son" which teaches us about our

responsibility to others, just as Death of a salesman teaches us about our responsibility to

ourselves. Death of a salesman also successfully address the illusion of the “American

Dream”. Many working class Americans were under this illusion until the mass production of

Death of a Salesman which addressed this intricate societal problem.

PART II: DEATH OF A SALESMAN

INTRODUCTION TO DEATH OF A SALESMAN; STRUCTURE AND PLOT

ANALYSIS
Death of a Salesman is a 20th century play that mirrors the typical 20th century American

society. It is regarded as one of the best 20th century realistic play as it focuses on the

problems capitalism causes in the life of a working class individual. The play received a lot

of accolades and even won the Pulitzer award. It can be regarded as Miller’s most successful

play.

Death of a Salesman centres on the character Willy Loman. Willy Loman comes home earlier

than expected from the road as a result of his lack of concentration, nearly crashing the car

several times which he explains to his wife Linda. She advises him to go and see Howard, to

plead with to let him work in New York to avoid the long drives from work home. Biff, his

oldest son had just returned back to the West, totally unsure of his future path. The boys have

a conversation about their lives and jobs, Happy says he is waiting for the merchandise

manager to die that way he can get promoted and be content, Biff brings up the idea of the

two of them going to the West to start up a business plan, a ranch.

Willy often gets lost in his mind, daydreaming, being very forgetful, he spends time in his

head talking to his late brother Ben, who had gone to Alaska and the Africa to become a very

successful man, Ben’s success remains a steady reminder of Willy’s failures, he recalls

cheating on his wife. Living in his past and reality, Biff sees this actions as a shameful one,

comparing his father to Bernard’s father, Charley. Linda feels disrespected by what Biff says

about her husband, she explains the how hardworking Willy Loman is, she explains that a

terrible thing is happening to him and he needs lots of attention, also that he works for a

company thirty-six years, his salary is taken from him while he has been on commission for

five weeks, he borrows fifty dollars from Charley every week pretending it is his pay. Linda
tells Biff and Happy that Willy has been trying to kill himself, she pleads with sons to re-

establish their relationship with their father.

Willy is informed about Biff going to see Bill Oliver, he hears the business ideas, he sees it as

a million-dollar idea. Linda chips in Willy asking Howard to let him work in New York again

he agrees and says first thing in the morning everything will be alright. In the morning when

Willy is dressing to work, Linda reminds him of talking to Howard about working in New

York, she informs him about meeting his sons for dinner. He is happy about this and speaks

of how he is going to get an advance then finally be in New York with his family close to

him.

Willy visits his employer Howard Wagner, he tells him about working in New York, his

request is turned down despite the fact Willy has worked several years, he tries so hard to

persuade Howard, he talk about old times, how Howard’s father asked him what he felt about

the name ‘Howard’, he talks about his struggles growing up with his brother Ben, how Ben

had left to find their father in Alaska, he mentions the salesman he met, Dave Singleman,

Willy gets really desperate, speaking angrily, Howard tells him he will not be able to

represent them at the company anymore saying he needs a good long rest.

Willy is compelled to seek financial assistance from Charley at his place of business where

he see Bernard who is now a successful lawyer. Biff tells Happy Oliver ignored him so he

could not get the loan, he shows Happy the pen he has stolen from Oliver’s place of work, he

did it because he wanted to get back, he does not feel proud of his actions,

Willy speaking to his brother’s ghost again, discusses with his brother about leaving

insurance money for his family. After a long heated argument between Biff and Willy about

Biff not sealing the deal with Oliver, he tells his father they both cannot be great men, saying

Willy should give up on his American dream. Everyone goes up to bed, Linda waiting for
Willy to come to the room, she hears no response from him down stairs, they all start to pay

attention, suddenly they hear the sound of a car starting and moving away at full speed. It

appears Willy drives himself to death. Willy’s funeral is attended by just his family, Bernard

and Charley. Biff sees his father’s death as one that is in vain while Charley pays respect to

him as a salesman with so much aspirations. Linda gives her speech to her dead husband,

firstly still in shock as to why he killed himself, she later tells him she made the last payment

on the house and they are finally free.

CHARACTER AND CHARACTERIZATION

Willy: Willy is a 63-year-old salesman who has worked his whole life for his children and his

family but he has failed. He believes in the American dream thinking it is in quick wealth

because of his illusions about his brother Ben who says he went into Africa at age 17 and

came out at 21 a rich man. Billy sets high expectations which he fails to achieve or meet up

with his expectations. He sees himself as a very important person and feels the need to be

liked by everybody. Having worked for the Wagner company all his life, he now lives off

commission and is eventually fired. Willy fails to realize that he cannot achieve his dreams

and Project the American dream on his son Biff. After his delusional conversation with Ben,

he realizes he is worth more dead than alive and commits suicide so his family can have his

insurance money.

Biff: Biff is a 34years old son of Willy and Linda Loman who is dissatisfied with himself. As

a young boy, Willy adores him as he has great hopes for him and Biff idolizes his father and

sees him as a perfect role model. He was the star of the football team and was always praised

by Willy even when he doing the wrong things. like when he stole the basketball from the

locker room, Willy just laughs it off. He eventually sees his father as a fake when he meets a

woman in his hotel room. He loses trust in his father and confidence in himself. Although he
is dissatisfied with himself, he breaks out of the delusions of his family and decides to find

himself and do what he loves rather than live off a dream that doesn’t suit him (a lie)

Happy: Happy is the younger son of Willy and Linda. He’s 32years old and has he’s fathers

traits. He is a womanizer and just like his father sets unrealistic goals he cannot achieve. He’s

lived in the shadow of his brother Biff. He’s delusional carrying himself as an assistant buyer

whereas, in reality, he’s one of the assistants to the assistant buyer. Biff tries to make him see

the reality of things but he fails to realize it even after his father's death.

Linda: Linda is the wife of Willy Loman, a loyal and devoted wife who loves her husband

with all her heart. She supports Willy in his delusion as she feels that’s the only way he can

continue to live. She allows Willy to be condescending towards her because she feels home is

the only place he can get some sort of self-importance but when she speaks to her sons, she’s

very stern. She places so much importance on her husband even more than her sons that she

even asked them to leave if they’ll not respect him.

Charley: Charley is Willy's neighbour and friend, Charley offers Willy a job because of his

incessant begging for money but Willy turns the offer down, as he sees it as an insult. Willy

believes he's better than Charley even when it's glaring that he isn't. He tells his sons that

Charley is liked but not well-liked.

Bernard: Bernard is Charley’s son and Biff’s childhood friend who is a successful lawyer.

He was there for Biff and tries to assist him in every way he could.

Themes in the play