Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Miller
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| #3C: How is Miller developing his criticism of the American Dream? | 17 | 05/03/2008 01:15PM |
| #3B: revisit the Willy/Linda relationship. Who do you sympathize with more, Willy or Linda? | 40 | 05/01/2008 10:59PM |
| #3A: Is Biff desperating trying to gain Willy's approval or is he trying to save his father's life? | 29 | 04/30/2008 06:38AM |
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"There are some Pulitzer Prize winning novels or plays that are difficult to understand how they garnered such attention and acclaim. Not so, with this drama by Arthur Miller. There are great depths of meaning composed within this drama. While often interpreted as speaking to the myth and oftentimes futility of the American dream, I think the drama speaks to so much more. [return][return]The ghetto of one's own mind and thinking can become a very dark place. In the main character of Willy L...more
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recommends it for:
those who think popularity is everything
Popularity isn't everything.
Primarily, that is the message I get from this play. Others would say different, but this is only one message I receive; several others are imparted too, such as ‘No matter how much you delude yourself into thinking others do not realise you are, there will always be someone who does’.
Willy Loman is, some would say, a tragic character, complete with flaws. But he doesn’t have noble birth, or fall in love quickly. The only flaw...more
Primarily, that is the message I get from this play. Others would say different, but this is only one message I receive; several others are imparted too, such as ‘No matter how much you delude yourself into thinking others do not realise you are, there will always be someone who does’.
Willy Loman is, some would say, a tragic character, complete with flaws. But he doesn’t have noble birth, or fall in love quickly. The only flaw...more
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Read in March, 2007
In this book, Arthur Miller's masterpiece, one finds the reason that Miller was blacklisted during the Red Scare. His undisguised longing for a break from the class system and his disdain for the so-called "American Dream" are nothing short of remarkable.
Within Willy Lowman resides the typical American Dream with no reality. Overtaken by industrialism and materialism, this character represents the absolute failure of society's promise of economic prosperity. His life ends in t...more
Within Willy Lowman resides the typical American Dream with no reality. Overtaken by industrialism and materialism, this character represents the absolute failure of society's promise of economic prosperity. His life ends in t...more
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I think I would've enjoyed seeing this play performed in person, rather than reading the script. This is supposed to be one of the best American plays ever written, and I'm sure that seeing it onstage is a very different experience.
As it is, though, I only read the script, and was disappointed. I know I was supposed to sympathize with the characters, but to do that I first had to like them, which didn't really happen. Willy was thick-headed, his sons were morons, and Linda was so utter...more
As it is, though, I only read the script, and was disappointed. I know I was supposed to sympathize with the characters, but to do that I first had to like them, which didn't really happen. Willy was thick-headed, his sons were morons, and Linda was so utter...more
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Read in April, 2008
Miller adds his two-cents to the elusive concept of the American Dream. Following the troubles and quandaries that arise in a working-class family and that of a mid-level salesman, circumstances and events play out towards a very realistic and tragic end. Without a doubt Miller is bringing into questions the social principles of American society. However, he does it in a way that allows you to decide your own conclusion. Which is a nice departure from previous installations of American theater t...more
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Read in January, 1972
I don't remember when I first read this; it is such an icon of American literature, adapted for film several times. Probably I saw the Lee J. Cobb TV one before I ever read the play itself.
I have very mixed emotions about it, because for me it represents my own father, not only his intellectualism, but his abandoned dreams. He related to this play as a former college drama teacher and actor--one who was invited to join a respected troupe and turned down the offer because of family obligati...more
I have very mixed emotions about it, because for me it represents my own father, not only his intellectualism, but his abandoned dreams. He related to this play as a former college drama teacher and actor--one who was invited to join a respected troupe and turned down the offer because of family obligati...more
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Read in January, 1999
There really aren't words for how much I love this play. It would definitely be among my "Top 10" pieces of literature of all time. Maybe even in the top 3. It has become one of the paradigms through which I view the world. Though I liked it a lot the first time I read it, it was in teaching it to my students over the course of several years that I really came to love it. Each time I read it, I found something new and wonderful to consider. I know several people who think it's de...more
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In high school I really liked Arthur Miller's stuff, and thought he was a master of dramatic tension and despair... you just can't beat despair if you're trying to reach a high schooler's emotional core. I haven't read it since... but it gets five stars just for the anecdote of its inception: I read somewhere that he began writing Death of a Salesman in one sleepless (drunken? probably, I can't recall) day and night, that he could not stop writing once he started, and that, after words and tear...more
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"The man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want."
"I don't say he's a great man. Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention...more
"I don't say he's a great man. Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention...more
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Read in June, 2008
This old man (Willy) is adorable. I enjoyed this play/book because it was so tragic. Throughout the book I felt bad for Willy and his family. I disliked how he made love to another women on the side. I thought it was cute when he went to the garden and it wsa very late, he was talking to himself/his brother about his dreams of becoming rich. When he died i had mix feelings, i felt bad because the family suffered a death. Yet, his realease from the family is a big relief on them because they dont...more
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Read in October, 2001
recommends it for:
America sucks.
You know, I just don't like it. My general dislike of this play runs along the same lines of my dislike for Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. It's not that this play is written poorly or that the characters aren't good, because generally this piece has all the makings of great writing (which is why I felt it deserved at least two stars)...I just don't like the content or the perspective of this play, hence I didn't enjoy reading it. Nor did I enjoy watching the Hoffman/Malkovich TV version. It's j...more
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I saw the (fairly) recent production with Brian Dennehy and I really loved his interpretation, I'm forgetting who played Linda, but she was amazing - the final scene took on a power I never even thought possible. I am less fond of the Dustin Hoffman, John Malkovich, Kate Reid production, which seemed stunt casted, rather than cast for plausibility. Frederick March's Willy was a bit off the mark, but the Lee Cobb version is pretty terrific, he really captures the diminishing mind and the frustr...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
High School students and above
A big theme in this book is American dreams. Its about a guy and two sons and how they set high standards for their future but many things interfere with them.
Arthur Miller does a good job on making it a good family drama and tragedy story.
Willy the father in the story is getting old and starting to do bad in business. He argues with Biff,his son, all the time.
Willy's sons are starting to notice their dad is getting older and realize they need to start working on their futures in b...more
Arthur Miller does a good job on making it a good family drama and tragedy story.
Willy the father in the story is getting old and starting to do bad in business. He argues with Biff,his son, all the time.
Willy's sons are starting to notice their dad is getting older and realize they need to start working on their futures in b...more
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Read in January, 2007
I probably would have given this three stars -- but the literary ability to create a window into each character's soul is amazing. It contains so much tragedy in such a short book--I think it has a lot to say in today's world if everyone would actually read it and then just thought about it for a long time. Especially teens, but it's not like a majority of them can process much in their brains anyway. It has themes of popularity, materialism, family relationships, etc. It's just a sad book, ...more
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This monumental drama by Arthur Miller is a timeless classic. The story of the failing Willy Loman has stood the test of time. The sad struggles of the family, and all their inner conflicts, play out throuhout the book. Willy mentions, at the start of the play, that he is "tired to the death". I believe that is a summing up of his fatigue with life in general, and his hopes for success. I enjoyed reading this drama. It was kind of depressing at times, but I think it is a realisti...more
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perhaps it's the way i read this book (with plenty of acting out moments), but i found this play to be beautiful in and FOR all its profound and bare honesty. If you like to study people, then this is a perfect bound piece of a subtle psychoanalysis of a man struggling...suffering...and trying to survive in a time of depression. The flashbacks intermingling with the present are so raw, yet so eloquent. You can literally hear, feel, and see what is dialogued as the story progresses. What els...more
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Life sucks, then you die, and death sucks, too. There's the play in a nutshell. Wh, then, do I give it four stars? The answer is simple: the journey is well-written. I can't help but feel for a guy who's been screwed from moment one, and just can never rise above who he is. I know too many people just like Willy Loman- friends, students- who never succeed and never figure out WHY their lives happen that way. For me this play's a lesson in awareness; I think everyone knows a Willy Loman. T...more
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I think this was a good book. It portrays to us that the American Dream isn't as good as people say it is. Those who really achieve the American Dream do something amazing. But as for those who are low paid men then they will never achieve it. As for Willy a low paid salesman, he has a family to support. Willy has many problems to deal with, he is not just poor but he also argues with his son a lot, who through out the book we find out why. As the book progresses we find Willy more and more trou...more
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Read in July, 2007
Though I somehow dodged this book all my years as an elementary and highschool pupil, I have heard many folks talk about how they read it in their distant childhood years. I say, WHAT! This was incredible to read. I don't believe I've fully mined the layers of meaning out of this play, but I know I wouldn't have enjoyed it nearly as much as a child as I do now. Such sweet, contemplative despair and a profound sense of regret wraps you up as you finish this. And it's so short! Only one after...more
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I think this is quite possibly the most tragic play I have ever read, largely due to the parallels I see between my own life and those of Willy Lowman (or however you spell his last name). I think it elegantly expresses the oldest hardship of the middle class: consequentiality or a lack there of. I think that is a fear most middle-class people find hard to address and that's why there so few plays about it, but this one really just chopped up my insides and spat them out all over the pages. I li...more
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