Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

• Bejenaru Denisa
• Buga Ana Maria
• Vâșcan Bianca
• Biligan Maria
A. Bibliographical references

 Arthur Miller is a Jewish

American dramatist who has
occupied a canonical status in
the history of modern drama.

 Arthur Miller (1915-2005).

• Arthur Miller has emerged as one of the most successful and enduring
playwrights of the postwar era in America, no doubt because his focusing
on middle-class anxieties brought on by a society that emphasizes the hollow
values of material success has struck such a responsive chord.

• The recurring theme of anxiety and insecurity reflects much of Arthur Miller’s
own past.

• Born the son of a well-to-do Jewish manufacturer in New York City, Miller had
to experience the social disintegration of his family when his father’s business
failed during the Great Depression of the 1930.

• By taking on such odd jobs as waiter, truck driver, and factory worker, Miller
was able to complete his studies at the University of Michigan in 1938.

• These formative years gave Miller the chance to come in close contact with those
who suffered the most from the Depression and instilled in him a strong sense of
personal achievement necessary to rise above the situation.
 Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman
(1949) is considered to be both the
playwright's masterpiece and a
cornerstone of contemporary
American drama.

 This play gained a number of

honors and awards including, the
Pulitzer Prize and the New York
Drama Critics Circle Award. When
Arthur Miller finished writing this
play, he entitled it as The Inside of
His Head.

 Later on he became dissatisfied

with this title. Then he conferred
second title of the play. This second
title is Death of a Salesman. From
the first title we get a profound
insight into the psychological make-
up of the protagonist who is a
salesman.
Name meanings
 Willy Loman
 The most obvious thing to notice
about this name is the surname:
Lo-man, or "low man." He's the
"low man" on the totem pole.
Loman means bare, empty.
 Also, "Will" might feed into the
idea that this character has a
strong will, but ironically, he is
unable to cope with is life and
kills himself.
 Linda Loman
 In Spanish, "Linda" means
beautiful or "precious"--"Oh,
you're such a doll." In the play,
Linda is a beautiful,
understanding person who
totally respects and admires
Willy. She is what a woman is
supposed to be.... a "typical"
housewife.
Happy Loman

 His name is ironic because he is

not really happy at all. "Happy" is
a nickname. (Happy says his real
name is "Harold." Kind of like a
dog's name. Perhaps this goes
along with people not taking him
seriously
Ben Loman
 "Ben" means son of the south, and
something about the right hand.
Biff Loman
 "Biff" seems to be a typical jock
name, a strong name, which aligns
with this character's former glory
days on the football field.. Here
again, we have irony because in
many ways Biff is anything but
strong.

Charley  "Biff" could also be associated with a

boxing match, "biff" signifying the
 "Charley" means "man." sound of a punch. This might go
along with the idea that the character
Howard Wagner Biff is a "blow" to his father's sense
of reality.
 "Howard" means "guardian of the
 Biff backwards is "ffib" or fib. A liar.
house." This would explain why
he fires Willy because he needs to
guard this business and interests
(to keep providing) and Willy
jeopardizes that
Conflicts in The death of a
salesman:
The conflict of Willy with himself
 The main conflict in this story
is the conflict of Billy Loman whit
himself. It deals whit frustration
and confusion caused by his
inability to face the reality of
modern society.
 Willy refuses to accept who he is
and his self-pride is too
important to him. He refuses to
admit that he is an ordinary man.
He must be the successful
American businessman that is a
leader among men.
The conflict between Biff and Happy
 Happy is jealous of his alder
brother because Willy only pays
attention to Biff. Willy began to give
more attention to Biff and less
attention to Happy.
 This discriminatory act of Willy
infuriated Happy and he used to
say to himself “why does not my
father love me the way he loves
Biff?"
 That is why Happy did not show
respect to his father when Willy
was on the brink of suicide.
The conflict between Biff and Willy
 Willy faces a father-son conflict with
Biff throughout the play.
 Willy and Biff have conflicting views of
what the American Dream is. Willy
believes that selling is the greatest job
a man can have. On the contrary, Biff
feels that the best job a man can have
is working outdoors with his hands.
When these two dreams collide, Willy
becomes frustrated because he
believes he is correct and his way is
the only way.
 "I am not a leader of men, Willy, and
neither are you. You were never
anything but a hard-working drummer
who landed in the ash can like the rest
of them! I’m one-dollar an hour, Willy! I
tried seven states and couldn’t raise it"
 In his childhood, Biff took Willy
as a model. One day Biff
happened to see his father
enjoying with a woman in a
hotel.
 Having seen his immoral liaison
with that woman, Biffs attitude
towards his father changed
permanently.
 On account of the disturbed
relationship between Willy
Loman and Biff Loman, the
family structure began to
crumble.
The conflict of Willy with the society
 In Death of a Salesman, Willy
Loman deals with an evolving
world around him. He fights with
the society that has formed
against his hopes and dreams to
do what he knows best, being a
salesman. Yet, the modern world
rejects him because of his age
and aspect.
 “I’m fat. I’m very — foolish to look
at, Linda. I didn’t tell you, but
Christmas time I happened to be
calling on F. H. Stewarts, and a
salesman I know, as I was going in
to see the buyer I heard him say
something about — walrus. And I
— I cracked him right across the
face. I won’t take that. I simply will
not take that. But they do laugh at
me. I know that.”
The conflict of Loman brothers and the
women
 They took Linda as an embodiment of
an ideal woman, a good woman. But
they did not come across women as
good as their mother. So, they just
treated women whom they met as a
means of enjoyment, just a disposable
item. This bad habit to treat women as
disposable item was acquired by Biff
and Happy from their father Willy.
“BIFF: Naa. I’d like to find a girl —
steady, somebody with substance.
HAPPY: That’s what I long for.
BIFF: Go on! You’d never come home.
HAPPY: I would! Somebody with
character, with resistance! Like Mom,
y’know? You’re gonna call me a bastard
when I tell you this. That girl Charlotte I
was with tonight is engaged to be
married in five weeks. (He tries on his
new hat.)”
 The Suicidal Causes of Willy
Loman

- Willy Loman committed suicide in order to revenge his sons who neglected
their father.

- Willy committed suicide to become victorious. At the last moment he knew that
his sons love him really, his heart was filled with a certain degree of gratefulness to
his sons. His suicide is a stroke of his victory, an expression of his gratefulness to
his sons for they loved him. “Loves me. (Wonderingly.) Always loved me. Isn’t that a
remarkable thing? Ben, he’ll worship me for it!”

- Willy's suicide is an expression of his courage. People are by nature, fearful of

death. They are afraid to die. It is an exhibition of courage.

- Willy wanted to prove to his son Biff once for all how well known and respected
he was. He thinks that a man is worth more death than alive. Ironically, no one
attends his funeral except for his family and Charley. The absence of people at the
funeral proves to the Loman`s that Willy`s entire life was an illusion. “But where are
all the people he knew? Maybe they blame him.” Linda said in the end.