Death of a Salesman
by Arthur Millerpublished
March 18th 1994
(first published 1949)
by Heinemann Educational Publishers
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binding
Hardcover, 117 pages
isbn
0435233076
(isbn13: 9780435233075)
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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...more
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Read in July, 2008
recommended to Qi Yin by:
My sisterrecommends it for: Everyone
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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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“Death of a Salesman” tells the a story of Love, pride, betrayal and friendship. The struggle of William Loman (Willy), an old salesman in the unforgiving world of modern business, and his relation with his loved ones, his wife Linda and his precious sons, Biff and Harold (happy).
The novel is written in an interesting and unique way, as if all the events happened on a theatrical stage with all of the lighting effects, character themes and background . The author wrote the story in great ...more
The novel is written in an interesting and unique way, as if all the events happened on a theatrical stage with all of the lighting effects, character themes and background . The author wrote the story in great ...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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مرگ فروشنده مشهورترین و به اعتبار بسیاری از منتقدان شاهکار نمایش نامه نویسی آرتور میللر است که بارها در خود آمریکا و کشورهای دیگر به روی صحنه آمده و از آن (دست کم تا آنجا که من به یاد دارم) سه فیلم سینمایی مشهور هم ساخته شده که بهترین انها همان آخرینشان است که "داستین هوفمن"...more
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Read in July, 2008
Arthur Miller. That guy belongs in the ranks of my favorite playwrights and play-lyricists with Shakespeare, Sondheim, Stoppard, and Sophocles. Thus far I have only read The Crucible and Death of a Salesman, but I need to read more. Smiller (as he will henceforth be called for alliteration's sake) has an uncanny ability to make the social, political, and economic movements in U.S. history personal. In Death of a Salesman, like The Crucible, he confronts inconsiste...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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My grandfather had Willy Loman's job in the 50s. Although I don't think he ever bought into the mystique of the traveling salesman like Willy did - he was just a guy with a fast mouth, a lead foot, and four kids.
To me, Death of a Salesman is about the pervasive power of a harmful myth - the way it can twist a person's dreams and aspirations, discourage real friendships, and squelch anyone who has a new vision for themselves - while claiming to represent empowerment and individuality. ...more
To me, Death of a Salesman is about the pervasive power of a harmful myth - the way it can twist a person's dreams and aspirations, discourage real friendships, and squelch anyone who has a new vision for themselves - while claiming to represent empowerment and individuality. ...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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Read in March, 2008
What can be said about this book that hasn't already been said? (Probably a whole lot, but let's not get into it here.)
I admit that it is a bit sick that I enjoy a book so morbid and depressing as "Death of a Salesman." Where Gatsby gives us a glossy view of the American Dream, Willie Loman gives us the gritty truth that for most people life is about working and making money and then dying.
This play is very powerful and very well written. With only two acts, all the flashbac...more
I admit that it is a bit sick that I enjoy a book so morbid and depressing as "Death of a Salesman." Where Gatsby gives us a glossy view of the American Dream, Willie Loman gives us the gritty truth that for most people life is about working and making money and then dying.
This play is very powerful and very well written. With only two acts, all the flashbac...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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my liking this at all has much to do with the time in my life during which i read it. high school, i was in drama and a very good friend of mine was playing willy loman. i know it's only high school and i know i had the miniaturest of non-sexual crushes on the guy, everyone had some kind of crush on him, but he was phenomenal. later i learned that he wasn't playing a part, which in looking back, is kind of sad.
this work illuminates a concept i dislike immensely, which is why rather than rer...more
this work illuminates a concept i dislike immensely, which is why rather than rer...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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