Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman - Book Report/Review Example

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman Summary Act I   Willy Loman is an ageing salesman who is unhappy and confused and suicidal. He returns to his home in Brooklyn one night, exhausted from a failed sales trip. He tells his wife Linda, about an accident he had and the ensuing dialogue reveals that he has had many accidents before (they are actually suicide attempts). Linda tells him to get a non-traveling job. His two sons, Biff and Happy, who are visiting wake up and reminisce about old times and discuss their father’s strange behavior. Throughout the play Willy has flashbacks that reveal him to be a liar and a contradictory man. He does not reprimand Biff for stealing when he is a teenager and constantly tells his sons that looks and popularity are more important than hard work, and believes that he is giving them good advice. He also hallucinates that his rich and successful brother Ben is with him and drives away his friend Charley who is trying to help him. Linda, Biff and Happy discuss Willy’s condition and his sons try to cheer him up with the promise of opening a new business. Summary Act II  The next day Linda informs Willy of dinner plans Biff and Happy have made for him. Wily happily goes to ask his boss for a desk job but is fired. Stunned he goes to Charley’s office where he has another flashback. He is at Biff’s football game and Charley teases him for giving a game so much importance. Willy argues loudly with Charley. In the present Bernard’s (Charley’s son & Biff”s friend) secretary asks him to calm Willy. Charley enters the scene and Willy leaves the office with a fifty dollar loan. At the restaurant Happy flirts with the women and lies to his father about opening a business but Biff tries to tell him the truth. Willy loses himself in a flashback and starts shouting at Biff for failing in math, then he completely loses control of reality; starts shouting and hitting Biff who takes him to the washroom and then both sons leave. Willy goes home where he plants some seeds in the garden and has an imaginary conversation with Ben. Linda reprimands her sons for abandoning their father and they have a fight. Biff goes to the garden to say goodbye to his father but Willy is now totally set on suicide and does not come in. He drives off into the night. Summary of Requiem Linda and Happy are stunned after Willy's poorly attended funeral. Biff tells everybody that Willy had the wrong dreams, but Happy denies it. He declares that he will stick it out in New York to fulfill Willy’s dream. Charley defends Willy as a victim of his profession. Linda asks Willy for forgiveness for not crying. She begins to weep, repeating “We're free. . . .” (1) Literary terms Illusion- it is a false reality created either deliberately or mistakenly as in the case of Willy Loman. For example Willy believed that there would be many people at his funeral. Instead the absence of people at the funeral validates to the Loman's and the audience that Willy's entire life was an illusion.  Static Character – a character that does not develop or change throughout the play. For example Happy Loman is a static character who remains self deceived and shallow till the end of the play. Climax – it is the high point of a drama. For example the climax of this play is when Willy and his sons have the confrontation at the restaurant. External conflict – it is the conflict that the character has with the outside world. For example Willy’s conflict of wills with his sons. His friend Charley also tries to help him but Willy refuses. Internal conflict – it is the conflicts that the character has with his identity and character. For example Willy wanted to be good provider for his wife but his affair and poverty make him feel guilty, but instead of doing something about it Willy shouts on Lily when she mends her stockings. Symbols – are objects that represent particular concepts. Three important symbols in this play are seed, diamonds and stockings. The seeds symbolize for Willy the opportunity to prove the value of his struggle, both as a salesman and a father. Diamonds symbolize corporeal wealth and, hence, both justification of one's life’s work and the ability to pass material goods on to one's offspring, two things that Willy desperately craves. Stockings symbolize betrayal and sexual infidelity of Willy. They also signify his failure to provide simple material comforts for his wife and family. (2) Colloquial language 1) “Pop, I’m a dime a dozen and so are you.” Biff uses the term a dime a dozen which means commonplace or ordinary. 2) “Take your phony dream and burn it” Biff uses this remark to tell his father his dreams are false and he should literally burn them or get rid of his false illusions and hopes. 3) “The door of your life is wide open!” Willy is telling Biff that he can still turn around his life and do whatever he wants. (3) Vocabulary 1) anemic- weak, feeble, someone with low blood count. 2) cliché- truism, common saying 3) desert- barren region, abandon 4) hammock- sling like bed hung between two poles. 5) idealist- realistic, optimistic 6) magnificence- splendor, grandeur 7) merchandise- goods, products 8) philandering- to flirt with and have casual sexual affairs with many women, especially when married to another woman 9) remiss- negligent, careless 10) self-centered- selfish, self absorbed Response Death of a Salesman is a very touching play. It is not just a play about a suicidal salesman, but about families. I feel that every teenager and adult can connect to this play. Every parent wants his children to be successful and every child wants to be a success and gain the approval of his/her parents. For me this play symbolizes what can go wrong when a parent fills his child’s head with false longings and weak morals. As a dad Willy should have educated his sons on wrong and right, instead of ignoring Biff’s stealing he should have scolded him and forced him to return it. Willy taught his sons to place an exaggerated value on beauty and popularity. He makes fun of Charley’s son Bernard who is hard working but not very popular. Yet the play shows us that popularity gains nothing and hard work and honesty gets you everything. Bernard is a successful young lawyer whereas Biff the high school football star is a drifter. Even after they grow up Willy treats his sons as adolescents and is constantly berating them to become something. Willy’s sole measure of success is money and he does not understand the value of relationships. Charley is a good father, the exact opposite of Willy and has raised his son to be a good man; this is seen in Bernard’s gentle treatment of the mentally unstable Willy. I think Death of a salesman is a lesson on how not to raise your children and the consequences of living a life of lies and distancing ones family through unrealistic demands. Reference 1) Arthur Miller (1949) Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem, The Viking Press 2) SparkNotes ( no date) Death of a Salesman: Themes, Motifs & Symbols Accessed on: July 19, 2009 Read More