Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

Introduction

In 1949, the United States experienced the remarkable booming in its economy and in its population also. Due to the trend of movement, a lot of people with their American dream succeeded. Still, many people ended their dream in failure and bitterness because they did not catch up what was happening in society. Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller's best-known play, written in the social background of the post-World War II. In his play, Miller creates the Lomans as a minimized society of America, in which the main character, Willy Loman, is a traveling salesman who becomes out-of-date with his employer and his time. In drama, Willy Loman could be reminded as a tragic character, but in reality, people could consider him a family head who messes up himself because of his inability of distinguishing between the reality and the hallucination.

Discussion

Right at the beginning of Act I, Miller utilizes the stage directions, such as Willy Loman, the Salesman, enters, carrying two large sample cases (1564). By contrasting Willy between his title and action, Miller's stage direction reveals Wally's inappropriateness. If salesman is more likely known as a young person who is skillful in speech, Willy, the salesman in the play, is depicted past sixty years of age, and carrying two large sample cases (1564). However, the direction not only indicates Wally's inappropriateness, it also presents the contradiction in his relations. Scattered over the play, Wally's wife, Linda, often sticks to the kitchen, darning and mending stockings (1578-1579) while the woman in Wally's affair always comes up along with the image of expensive stockings. In both of her appearances, the detail of stockings is mentioned as a primary trade between her and Willy. In act I, if she says, And thanks for the stockings. I love a lot of stockings (1579), in act II, she angrily asks, Whereas my stockings? You promised me stockings, Willy! (1623). If his words to Linda, for instance, Stop interrupting, Will you stop! and Will you let me talk? (1593) characterize him as a bossive husband, he's also perceived to be a dishonored man outside. He's not as rich as other successful salesman, but he still has an affair. Although the reason, as stated, is that he feels lonely (1578), the real reason behind his loneliness is that he wants to be extolled.

The past could be a motive for success in the future, but it could be also a threat. To Willy in Death of a Salesman, most of his life is dominated by the past in which he said he used to average a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commission (1602). If 1928 was his big year financially, in 1949, when Willy was put on stage, he was facing the shortage seriously. His financial situation is the play's climax, and it is the main reason for his death.

The past usually contains the events that can't be reversed. If people let their past control them, they ...