Analysis of the Play by Arthur Miller - Death of a Salesman - Essay Example

? Analysis of the play by Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman Introduction: “Death of a Salesman” Death of a salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller in 1949 who was a famous American playwright. This play has received Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1949 and Tony Award for Best Play. The underlying theme of the play and the characters represent Miller’s modern thoughts and views. This play stands as one of the best modern American play. Death of a salesman represents the struggle of a salesman in the pursuit of acquiring American Dream. Willy Loman has portrayed as a modern tragic hero. This play is seen as modern tragedy drama by the audiences today. Analysis of the play in light of Miller’s and Klage’s Essay: According to Miller every common man is faced with tragedy in his real life. He believed that every human struggles for acquiring a rightful position in the society. In the play, Willy Loman holds the essential qualities of an American tragic hero. In this play, Willy Loman embodies the person who holds the basic qualities of Aristotle’s description of a tragic hero. Willy Loman bears power and strong hold which are the key characteristics of Aristotle’s tragic hero but ends up in a tragic yet emotional situation. Struggle for Acquiring the American Dream: Throughout the play, Willy has been seen as struggling hard to gain financial liberation and achieve his sound social status. According to Klage, Miller has perfectly highlighted the emotional trauma in Willy’s suicidal attempt as he considers himself responsible for the financial instability of his family. However, not all the deaths are tragic in nature. The personality of Willy embodies various flaws such as self-delusion, stupidity and complexes faced by majority of middle-class living in America. Willy had an immense burden on his shoulders to acquire perfect American Dream lifestyle for his family. However, according to Klages the human institutions have failed to provide Willy the sound mode of living and they rejected and denied his efforts and struggle in the quest for attaining economic and financial liberation. Willy’ efforts represent the modern American struggle of a common man in acquiring the rightful position and status in the society. Betrayal: Willy is portrayed as man with obsession to gain financial freedom and his struggle has been shown throughout the play. Willy considers Biff’s betrayal in his ambitions for him as an insult and rejection. Willy is a failed salesman who lacks the basic ability to sell his American Dream his son, Biff. Willy trusted his American Dream faithfully and death of his dream is no less than his own death. However, Willy believed that Biff’s betrayal is due to the discovery of his secret love affair with The Woman but on the other hand, Biff sees it as a result of Willy’s fake statements based on lies and fabricated stories. Willy has been shown as a man who is running between illusions and realities. Biff considers the death of his father as “a waste” “running after a dream” whereas on the other hand, Happy, his brother, takes the responsibility of running the home just like his father did. This is a true modern drama in which the hero sees a tragic end coped with emotions and distress. His optimism was killed by the brutality of capitalism, yet pushing him to attain the classic characteristics of a tragic hero in a modern age. Introduction to the play, “Glengarry Glen Ross” by David Mamet: This play was written by David Mamet in 1984. This play is a true example of postmodernism as it holds all the essential components. The play discusses the real world with all its brutality and competitiveness and the ruthlessness of real estate salesman. The play represents the postmodern time. The play represents the early era of 1980s in which America gained paced in consumerism, materialism and competitiveness. Politics and the play: Politics is a main component defining postmodernism and capitalism. During the era of 1980s, in America the rich were getting richer and the poor became poorer. This revolution came during the administration of President Regan. Thus, America changed into a new face during the first term of Regan’s administration. This brought a dynamic change among the working classes. David Mamet recognized the same change which he highlighted in its play. American during the time of Regan offered unlimited opportunities to the people to raise their living standards and to get rid of the poverty. This created the atmosphere of consumerism and materialism thus giving rise to competition. People started purchasing more; they started spending lavishly. This changed the overall behavior of the people. The shift in their behavior was plain and clear to observe. American Dream and David Mamet: During the postmodernism era, American Dream became a favorite topic for the playwrights to highlight the dream of a common man. This was again highlighted by David Mamet. Like Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman; David Mamet used the same theme and professional to highlight the concept and to criticize the consumerism and materialism approaches. The lust for money grew in this postmodernism era. The people convinced other people to multiply their money with them. It was the time when plastic capitalism was gaining its pace. This play highlights the struggle of the salesmen in attaining sound standard of living through better jobs and finding ways to earn more money. Mamet has showed the ruthlessness of the characters; none of the characters have any care, love, affection for anyone. The competition among them grew stronger and stronger. The play revolves around the basic components of postmodernism that how they all became lusty, inhuman and unethical. They ended up in destruction thus losing everything they owned. Mamet has successfully conveyed the message that greed can lead to ultimate self-destruction. Conclusion: From the above discussion of both the plays we can conclude that Arthur Miller’s play, “Death of a Salesman,” is a modern tragic play which links itself to the post-World war-II era and modern day society at large. The play reflects the tragedies of common people, their struggle and their heroic acts as how they overcome the obstacles unlike Willy who commits suicide because he thought it as the only escape. Willy had all the flaws of tragic heroes; he thought that committing suicide can enhance his dignity in the eyes of his family. On the other hand, David Mamet’s play, “Glengarry Glen Ross,” is a postmodern drama which highlights that how postmodern factors like materialism, consumerism, politics and competition have made the people to strive selfishly against each other. Greed always brings destruction. The similarity between the two plays depicts that how people strived hard to achieve their American Dream and how the capitalist society played an important role in shaping their behaviors. In both the plays, the end is however tragic and emotional. Works Cited: Arthur Miller. ‘Tragedy and the Common Man.’ The New York Times (1949). Mary Klages. ‘Postmodernism.’ Literary Theory - A Guide for the Perplexed. Continum Press, (2007). David Mamet. ‘Glengarry Glen Ross.’ London (1984). Read More