Death Of A Salesman
The ‘American Dream’ left vast consequences in the American society, especially after the depression and war. Understandably this caused psychological effect on most man’s as the ‘American Dream’ is commonly known as the impossible dream and with this, left frustrations to those who tried achieving it. Therefore this essay will focus on to what extent is ‘Death of a Salesman’ about the inside of a man’s head. This analyse will include the language, structure and dramatic form of this play, highlighting the choice of words and the vocabulary used in 1949; the technical use of past and present through flashbacks and Willy’s dramatic and contradicting refuge of planting seeds. This perspective also portrays the tragedy of being a human and the
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On Willy’s flashbacks he knows that “business is bad, it´s murderous”, but yet prefers to believe that he’s exempt from it: “but not for me, of course.” Willy’s strongest flashbacks are with his brother Ben; he admires his brother for his success and gives a sense of regret for not following him. The main purpose of ‘Death of a Salesman’ structure is to present the audience with the Loman family’s background and Willy’s deterioration. This is most evident with the technical use of past and present alongside each other - so much of what determines Willy's downfalls are the events of his past. Miller chose to portray those events instead of telling us about them. These are more than just flashbacks; the past and present occur side by side on the stage, sometimes colliding. Willy hears the laugh of “the women” as Linda mends her stockings. Willy speaks to his brother Ben in the past as he plays cards with his neighbour Charley in the present. This weaving of text allows the audience to 'see' Willy falling apart – to the other characters he seems to be having intense conversations with himself, but the audience sees exactly who he's talking to. Miller’s main intentions on using flashbacks are empathy and consequences. The flashbacks shows Willy’s past and fantasises, however his reality portrays exhaustion and pain – this makes the audience empathise with him, as they realize the journey he has being through and yet did not achieve his dream. The consequence of these flashbacks and allusions is his pathway to death, as he is driven to suicide by one of his flashbacks with
On Willy’s flashbacks he knows that “business is bad, it´s murderous”, but yet prefers to believe that he’s exempt from it: “but not for me, of course.” Willy’s strongest flashbacks are with his brother Ben; he admires his brother for his success and gives a sense of regret for not following him. The main purpose of ‘Death of a Salesman’ structure is to present the audience with the Loman family’s background and Willy’s deterioration. This is most evident with the technical use of past and present alongside each other - so much of what determines Willy's downfalls are the events of his past. Miller chose to portray those events instead of telling us about them. These are more than just flashbacks; the past and present occur side by side on the stage, sometimes colliding. Willy hears the laugh of “the women” as Linda mends her stockings. Willy speaks to his brother Ben in the past as he plays cards with his neighbour Charley in the present. This weaving of text allows the audience to 'see' Willy falling apart – to the other characters he seems to be having intense conversations with himself, but the audience sees exactly who he's talking to. Miller’s main intentions on using flashbacks are empathy and consequences. The flashbacks shows Willy’s past and fantasises, however his reality portrays exhaustion and pain – this makes the audience empathise with him, as they realize the journey he has being through and yet did not achieve his dream. The consequence of these flashbacks and allusions is his pathway to death, as he is driven to suicide by one of his flashbacks with