Death of a Salesman - 1278 Words

Steve Flatley Flatley 1 Mr. Nevels English 102 June 17, 2010 The Struggle Within There is a complete descent into madness evident in Miller’s â€Å"Death of a Salesman.† The struggle Willy Lowman has come to endure during a life of lies and false hope is portrayed very well by Miller’s use of dialogue, stage comments, prologue, and time and perhaps best shown by the use of dialogue and character interaction. By putting all of these elements to good use Miller paints a perfect picture as our main character Willy Lowman quickly fails to see the distinction between the fantasy he has created and the reality that has come about by a lifetime of deceit. Miller’s use of prologue is evident from the very beginning of the play.†Before†¦show more content†¦His own boss won’t even give him a job at the central office there in New York after a lifetime on the road. Yet Willy still thinks that after having one great year on the road he deserves the best. Whenever he thinks things aren’t going the way the way they should, he escapes into his dream world where everything is perfect while he is on the road where he can be anyone he wants to be. That is, of course, until Biff pays him a surprise visit in Boston and catches him fooling around with another woman behind his mother’s back. Much of the play takes place in a psychological construct which Willy creates. An Eden-like paradise which lies at the center of his neurosis, it is characterized by the paradoxical union of reality and his delusory fulfillment of his grandiose dreams of omnipotence. Willys paradise, which he identifies with the time in which Biff and Happy were growing up in Brooklyn, was also synonymous with his and his sons exclusive society in which they expressed, reflected, and validated his belief in their virtual divinity. (Ardolino, Frank. Im Not a Dime a Dozen! I am Willy Lowman!: The Significance of Names and Numbers in Death of a Salesman. Journal of Flatley 4 Evolutionary Psychology (Aug. 2002): 174-184. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 179. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resource Center. Web. 17 June 2010.) There are several instances of Willy’s escape into his â€Å"perfectShow MoreRelatedThe Death Of A Salesman1496 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction Today, the play The Death of a Salesman is celebrated in many theatres. The play is regarded as one of the finest dramas of American theater play. It was written in 1949 by an American playwright Arthur Miller. After the play was produced, it was first opened at the Morosco Theatre and starred Lee J Cobb as Willy Loman, Cameron Mitchell as Happy, Mildred Dunnock as Linda, Howard Smith as Charley and Arthur Kennedy as Biff. The play has been revived on Broadway four times and won manyRead MoreThe Death Of A Salesman857 Words   |  4 PagesSome stories have stood the test of time. These stories are relatable are leave readers feared perplexed. 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At first, Willy’s outbursts were confusing, but as I read the outbursts began to unfold the meanings buried in the storylineRead MoreDeath of a Salesman1187 Words   |  5 PagesDeath of a Salesman There are some who would argue that it is precisely the ultra-capitalist mentality of individuals like Willy Loman that has propelled the American Economy to global dominance, but Arthur Miller’s classic work â€Å"Death of a Salesman† begs the question: at what cost? What does it do to a person, this desperate need to â€Å"be number one man?† Each of Willy’s sons draw a different lesson from his life and their assertions about how one should live offer a compelling choice for modern