Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays) by Arthur Miller
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Book Reviews of Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays)
Book Review: hidden issues and unspoken problems
Summary: 5 Stars
Although Arthur Miller's drama, Death of a Salesman, is regarded by many to be depressing and tragic, its message has a positive effect when put to use by the reader. The play deals blatantly with many of America's unspoken problems and shows the typical American family as they many times truly are, rather than how they wish themselves to be perceived. The primary family portrayed, the Lomans, have developed the lifestyle of many people that we see everyday: one tangled with lies, regardless of whether they are directed toward themselves or to those around them. These lies lead to another issue discussed throughout the plot: the attempt of many people to be something they are not for the sole sake of another person. As seen in the script, this tactic only brings failure and unhappiness. Because Miller was able to incorporate these issues within the story, along with many others, the play, however pessimistic it may seem, is positive in its overall outcome.
In every piece of literature, an author has many purposes and points they wish to communicate. In Death of a Salesman, Miller purposes to display an average man struggling to achieve the American dream among the business world that can never be obtained. Unfortunately, this failure is a picture of the lifestyle that was extremely common during the 1940s and 1950s. Men lost jobs quickly, and salesmen were plentiful, but only as good as their merchandise. This fact is plainly shown in the scene with Willy and Howard, and described in Charley's last monologue during Willy's funeral. Men's identities were wrapped up in their occupations and when those didn't succeed, many people were forced to live among dreams, for that's all that was truly left of them. However, it is when those dreams become confused with realities, as seen in Willy's case, that danger becomes existent.
Though there are multiple lessons found in Death of a Salesman, one stands out among the others. Miller effectively communicates the fact that pretending or attempting to be something we are not fools no one for long and eventually brings only personal unhappiness. For example, Biff strives to fit the mold that his father has created, but fails and is miserable because he's not living his own life and is attempting instead to do things that he was not meant to do. Willy, on the other hand, confuses his own true failures with his imagined successes invented merely to impress others. The constant lie lived by Willy not only affects his lifestyle, but is one of the causes of the deterioration of his mind. Happy as well seeks approval by doing all that he believes his father desires, but the end of the play leaves him still striving with no glimpse of a hopeful result.
By taking the three previous examples into consideration, it can be concluded that the ability to live one's own life and to be one's own person is essential. Others' input and advice certainly hold an important place within my life. However, I am the one who has to wake up each morning and live the life I have developed for myself. It is as impossible for me to be happy living another's dream just as it was for Biff to live out Willy's. Therefore, making personal values and decisions and facing personal consequences are imperative; otherwise an individual's existence is that of a puppet: constantly held back by strings.
The controversial topics brought to light throughout this drama are enough to support a strong recommendation. I believe that it is essential for teenagers and adults alike to face not only the problems outside of our country, but within it as well. Death of a Salesman communicates the unspoken fact of where the root of America's problems lies: not within her government, economy, or media, but within her own homes and families. The Loman family is a perfect picture of how messed up many relationships are, and how people would rather tuck this embarrassing problem away. Most individuals deal with situations outside of their own because they're uncomfortable with the trouble staring them right in the face. The denial of this mental insecurity is why I believe that Death of a Salesman should be an addition to every individual's personal library, for Linda's words apply not only to her opinion about how Willy should be treated but to how the crucial elements of the play must be acknowledged and learned from: "Attention must be paid."
Book Review: Another Man with Another Dream...
Summary: 5 Stars
As Arthur Miller intertwines his creative dialogue with the realistic lifestyle of Americans, he easily captivates the heart and mind into the story of The Death of a Salesman. The plot of this play revolves around the perspective on life held by a simple salesman. We are introduced to Willy Loman as a man consumed by the powerful dreams of success and honor. He has a caring wife, Linda, and two sons Biff and Happy. Willy seems continually haunted by his and Biffs previous close relationship and is unable to interpret Biffs current resentment towards him. Contrasting Willy's dedication to Biff, Happy is ignored and considered unimportant. Because of Willy's careless nature, Linda follows the example, leaving Happy left in the trail of Biffs glory.
The reason this play hit the hearts of so many Americans was how it explored the questions and doubts of life's purpose. It revealed the different opinions that post war was bringing to a hurt land. Miller intended to strike the people by delving deeper into the fear of a purposeless life. The uniqueness of his writing was in the way he portrayed both the wrong and right aspect of a salesman
Looking at Willy's faults only, it's easy to judge him as the cause of all the problems. Willy made many foolish choices that brought on consequences. He told small lies to make believe his dream was true. However, they soon grew larger then expected and caused damage to both Biff and Happy. Willy refuses to believe the truth because it is the only hope he has. When Biff confronts Willy with the truth he turns to anger and begins to push the blame to his son, refusing to admit to the responsibility. Willy bases success on being well liked and is so consumed with the idea that he convinces himself its true in his own life. While time goes on and the lies grow stronger in his mind, Willy is so consumed with the goal of being successful that he becomes blinded from the constant compassion of his wife, who attempts to save him from self-destruction. Although in his mind he is well liked, inside he recognizes his unimportance. Regardless of how hard he tries to ignore and cover the truth with lies, he can't escape the worlds rejection of who he is, of what he hasn't lived up to be.
However, Miller doesn't portray Willy in a negative way only. Miller places much concern and empathy towards Willy, and in a way defends the hopeless cause that Willy has fallen into. The habit of being fixated in the past goes beyond the poor relationship that he has with Biff. As a young boy, Willy's father and brother deserted him without even considering the family they left behind. Hurt and confused, Willy was discarded; left alone trying to learn how to be the man he never knew, how to love a woman without a role model to exemplify and how to cherish his children having no idea of what a true father is. Alone, without a strong love behind him, he became a salesman. While ambitious and young, he pursued the American dream of success. Encouraged by companion buyers to go beyond, he instilled himself into the life of a salesman. After years of dedication, Willy is fired and his hope for reaching the top became unaccomplished. With nothing to give, he has become worthless and dispensable, just another man with another dream. Willy's goal of being well liked crashes as he is removed from all that he is known and hoped to become. Loyally, Linda defends Willy to the last, knowing his heartache, his childhood fear of worthlessness, has left him a broken man.
The depth that is inside this play shows me many valuable life lessons. A prominent teaching is the importance of choices. Choices in life, from the largest down to the small insignificant decision, affect more then we usually consider. Willy chose to lie occasionally but the fabrication grew to change his and his family's perspective on their entire lives. There is importance in choosing to appreciate all the blessings that life gives. When Willy focused on the past, it resulted in both the present and the future becoming blurred.
I earnestly recommend this play not only to become perceptive and knowledgeable but also to be able to personally interpret the meaning and see the expression that Miller presents in his work. This tragedy shows the minds and hearts of Americans after the war and has valuable insight that goes beyond simple words and pages.
Book Review: An American Dream That Became An American Nightmare
Summary: 5 Stars
Arthur Miller's poignant drama, Death of A Salesman proves to be a great American tragedy. His crafted storyline has resounded throughout the generations while resting strongly on America today.
The Loman family depicts a piece of every family today as they struggle through a world of hard businessmen, changing suburbia, and the danger of being drowned in your own selfishness. We experience the desire for self-worth and self-gain tear down a family, and amidst the rubble leave a cracked and worn out foundation.
Miller's main character, Willy Loman the tragic incompetent businessman and father, revels in his tragedy even to his end. To afraid to let even his sons know who he really is sets the theme that begins to tear their family apart. Choices made by Willy in his past and present ultimately affect and hinder his sons. Willy's wife Linda allows her self to be pushed over and neglected. Even when problems arise Linda's lets her own love blind her from her reality. Willy and Linda's broken relationship shows a never-ending need for each other, which is never realized throughout the play.
Willy and Linda's two sons Biff and Happy also carry this tragedy through their choices and actions. Biff, the family jock that sometimes seems to speak his mind too much at times, never really allows his father into his life. Happy, the younger son, seems to be an exact opposite, wanting just that from his father- acceptance. The family neglect and anger boils over through each family member only to bring a crashing end to their falling lives.
Arthur Miller spoke directly to America through the pages of Death of A Salesman, revealing the risk and reality of chasing the American Dream. America's desire for the best and the most hasn't changed much since the birth of this drama in 1949. We also feel the trap so many family's fall into of neglecting those closest to them. Arthur Miller wanted people to stare these problems right in the face because everyone knows that they deal with them, whether in their own lives or in their family's lives.
As one character said about Willy, "...a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back that's an earthquake." Miller wanted America to see than many people go through life wanting only what others can give them, not wanting to give to others. People in America often place value on trivial things that won't last longer than a few weeks or years, pushing aside things such as family and friends that can change your life as well as, walk through it with you. If anything, Miller wanted people to evaluate their lives and see what has taken hold of them, the American Dream or their own?
Reading Death of A Salesman has put an entirely new perspective on my outlook of the American Dream. As I am about to graduate high school and go to college I've had to think a lot about what it is I want to do with my life. Having to choose between what I want to be doing instead of doing what I feel I have to do. I think that I have also taken away the importance of really connecting with my family. Your family should be the people that know the real you not the people that you hide the real you from. As Willy strived so hard to be successful in business he lost the family he once had. He gave up the best thing in his life for something he would never gain. As we see throughout the play Willy's American Dream soon became his American Nightmare.
Arthur Miller's voice echoes through these pages. It is a play I would recommend and even insist you read. Anyone today would find the relevance and raw storyline something to be cherished. I truly enjoyed this reading and will hold on closely to its message.
Book Review: Lore. Lies. Dreams.
Summary: 5 Stars
At the beginning of the play, Arthur Miller establishes Willy Loman as a troubled and misguided man, at heart a salesman and a dreamer with a preoccupation with success. However, Miller makes equally apparent that Willy Loman is no successful man. Although in his sixties, he is still a traveling salesman bereft of any stable location or occupation, and clings only to his dreams and ideals. There is a strong core of resentment within Willy Loman, whose actions assume a more glorious and idealized past. Willy sentimentalizes the neighborhood as it was years ago, and mourns the days working for Frank Wagner, while his son Howard Wagner fails to appreciate him. Miller presents Willy as a strong and boisterous man with great bravado but little energy to support that impression of vitality. He is perpetually weary and exhibits signs of dementia, contradicting himself within his conversations and showing some memory loss. Linda, in contrast, displays little of the boisterous intensity of Willy. Rather, she is dependable and kind, perpetually attempting to smooth out conflicts that Willy might encounter. Linda has a similar longing for an idealized past, but has learned to suppress her dreams and her dissatisfaction with her husband and sons. Miller indicates that she is a woman with deep regrets about her life; she must continually reconcile her husband with her sons, and support a man who has failed in his life's endeavor without any hope for pursuing whatever dreams she may have had. Linda exists only in the context of her family relationships as a mother to Biff and Happy and a husband to Willy, and must depend on them for whatever success she can grasp.
The major conflict in Death of a Salesman resides between Biff Loman and his father. Even before Biff appears on stage, Linda indicates that Biff and Willy are perpetually at odds with one another because of Biff's inability to live up to his father's expectations. As Linda says, Biff is a man who has not yet ?found himself,' thus using a euphemism to describe his string of perpetual failures. At thirty-four years old, Biff remains to some degree an adolescent, as demonstrated by his inability to keep a job. He and Happy are even at home in their old bunk beds; for Linda this is a reminder of better times, yet this is also a sign that neither of the sons has matured.
A major theme of the play is the lost opportunities that each of the characters face. Linda Loman, reminiscing about the days when her sons were not yet grown and had a less contentious relationship with their father, regrets the state of disarray into which her family has fallen. Willy Loman believes that if Frank Wagner had survived, he would have been given greater respect and power within his company. And Willy also regrets the opportunities that have passed for Biff, whom he believes to have the capability to be a great man, despite his repeated failures.
Miller uses the first segment of the play to foreshadow many of the significant plot developments. Willy worries about having trouble driving and expresses dissatisfaction with his situation at work, while Linda foreshadows later conflict between Willy and his sons. Each of these will become important in driving the plot and the resolution of the play.
Book Review: The shattering of the American dream
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the most popular and famous plays of post-O'Neill theater, Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is the playwright's masterpiece and a true classic not only of American drama, but also of American literature as a whole. Though it came out in the late 1940's, its universal applicability has endured throughout the ensuing decades and the play still has much to tell us today. As has been noted, 20th century American drama tended to focus primarily on the family. The family presented in Death of a Salesman -- like the families in Tennessee William's The Glass Menagerie and Cat On a Hot Tin Roof -- is, in many ways, the prototypical American family, although many would not like to admit it. Salesman's dysfunctional family preceded the rosier, harmonious families that would come to dominate 50's television; it doesn't take a prophet or even a sociologist to determine which of the two is more true-to-life. In the Loman family, we can see much of ourselves and our families -- even if it is the parts that we would rather not think about and focus on. The play also deals with the capitalist system as it stood in the middle of the 20th century; most agree that, to the extent that it has changed since then, it has only been for the worse. Willy Loman, the play's main character and the prototypical Everyman, is a victim of the dog-eat-dog world of business that is a true manifestation of "survival of the fittest": good times are forgotten; nobody cares what one has done in the past: all that matters is, What have you done for me lately? The play shows how a man -- and yes, a man: the play was written in the 1940's, after all... and notice that the matriarch, despite the family's hard times, does not work -- is judged not by whom he is, not by his virtues, but simply by what he does and how much money he makes (of course, nearly 60 years later, this now extends to women as well.) It doesn't matter how good a man is, how much he loves his family, how much he cares for his children, how much he loves his wife -- if he can't make enough money to keep food on the table. A man who doesn't do that, at least in society's eyes, is a complete and total failure: nothing else matters. Willy's inability to escape from this system leads to his total and complete focus on money and work, driving his attention away from what matters most to him, his family, and ends in his tragic fate. Such a plight is, no doubt, familiar to many Americans. The right to the "pursuit of happiness" may be in the Declaration of Independence for all to read, but achieving the proverbial American Dream isn't always that easy: it's trying, it's difficult, it's hard -- and, indeed, it can be fatal. This is what the play tells us, and its truth is why the play has endured through the years and why it will continue to endure. This is a true masterpiece that deserves to be read by all.