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Research Essay

Introduction

Any discussion that is founded on the subject of gender crisis presents a series of arguments and questions. Whether men are actually superior to men or vice versa have remained a debatable topic since times immemorial. However, a majority of societies in the world consider men to be the stronger sex when compared to their female counterparts. This has given rise to numerous patriarchal societies where men have been assigned the title of “man of the family”, “the leader”, or “head of the family” (Corruption Of The "American Dream, 2010, p. 124). In such a society, the role of women has been subdued to a great degree and they have been assigned what are deemed to be traditional roles, such as being a good housewife, nurturing the kids etc. This is primarily the reason why tradition has assigned women an acquiescent and subservient role. In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, the theme of gender plays a pivotal role throughout the length of the narrative (Corruption Of The "American Dream, 2010, p. 124). In it, men and women assume many different and contrasting roles while also serving a variety of functions. For instance, the traditional role and duties of the archetypal American woman has been dramatically exemplified through Linda Loman - Arthur assigns her the responsibility of looking after the man of the house as well as the house. It is indeed true that the American society would be a much prosperous and peaceful one if women were simply treated as being equal partners with men (Emami, 2011, p. 355). Arthur Miller's novel explores this theme and tries to fill in the missing gap that has traditionally existed in most American societies. This is why gender importance forms one of the most important themes of The Death of a Salesman.

Discussion

In Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, the theme of gender importance has been explored in great depths. On the one side, Arthur has depicted men as playing the role of the bread winners of the house who are portrayed as leaders (Fisher & Silber, 2003, p. 29). On the other side, women are portrayed as the archetypal housewives who have been assigned traditional roles such as washing dishes, doing the laundry and doing many other domestic chores. The author does not depict either gender as being superior to the other and certainly does not portray either as being perfect. For instance, the women in the novel have not really been portrayed as being clever and dominant like Lady Macbeth or charming and sociable like Rosalind. Instead the novel paints a rather stereotypical picture of women, portraying them as subservient and submissive to men who are depicted as the leaders of a patriarchal household.

In the novel, women have been divided into two distinct categories: Linda and others. Women have themselves been described as visibly two-dimensional characters since they keep themselves aloof of the business sphere of their male counterparts and appear to have virtually no ...