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Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller

3.51 · Rating details · 169,042 ratings · 4,395 reviews

In the spring of 1948 Arthur Miller retreated to a log cabin in Connecticut with the first two lines of a new play already fixed in his mind. He emerged six weeks later with the final script of Death of a Salesman - a painful examination of American life and consumerism. Opening on Broadway the following year, Miller's extraordinary masterpiece changed the course of modern ...more

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Paperback, 112 pages

Published October 1st 1984 by Barrons Educational Series, Inc. (first published 1949)

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May 17, 2018 Annet rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, dark, age-ing, tough, family-ties, literature-pure

A Classic with a big C. I can see why.
It's not a happy story. A story about a troubled family. About getting older and getting cast aside after years of hard work, never having quite made it. About big expectations, never met. Infidelity. About the estranged relationship between father and son. A father, what's he doing? Panicking because he is loosing his job.... loosing his grip on things... on his boys.... hallucinating even?Present and past events or even imagined flow in and out of the ...more

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Jan 27, 2013 Melki rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man.

There's something to be said for waiting until later in life to read certain books. The struggles of Willy Loman would have meant little to my younger, more impatient self.
Now, the huge amount of time Loman spends dreaming of his halcyon days strikes a chord with me.

Memory has a way of making everything seem bigger, brighter and better than it actually was.
People have a tendency to dwell on the past when the present turns out to be not as ...more

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Jun 18, 2007 RachelAnne rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Hate! Hate! Oh, the hate! Arthur Miller does a beautiful job of conveying the emptiness and meaninglessness of his protagonist's life. It left me wanting to jump off a very tall building if only I could overcome the crushing ennui and the conviction that even ending ones life was too meaningless and futile to contemplate. Maybe that means Miller accomplished what he set out to do, but I don't have to like it.

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Mar 23, 2017 Steven Godin rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: plays-theatre, america

The action below takes place in the GR cafeteria.....

GR: Do you mind, is this seat taken?
STEVEN: No, please do!
GR: How are you today?
STEVEN: Fine
GR: Could you spare a few moments?
STEVEN: Sure
GR: So, what did you think of Death of a Salesman?
STEVEN: Great!, the venue may have been small, but that just made the whole experience more intimate. I parked myself in a seat somewhere near the back and in the middle, so had a good panoramic view of the stage, the performances from all the cast were ...more

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Feb 16, 2016 Brian rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"Attention must be paid."

The only time I saw "Death of a Salesman" professionally performed I was almost 19 and I wept for most of the second act. I have not read or seen it since, but recently returned to it. 16 years after my first encounter with this piece I still am moved by it, but for very different reasons. I guess that is what makes it a classic.
The protagonist of the play, the iconic Willy Loman, is a frustrating, loser of a man who frankly has been a cruel fool his entire life. He is "Attention must be paid."

The only time I saw "Death of a Salesman" professionally performed I was almost 19 and I wept for most of the second act. I have not read or seen it since, but recently returned to it. 16 years after my first encounter with this piece I still am moved by it, but for very different reasons. I guess that is what makes it a classic.
The protagonist of the play, the iconic Willy Loman, is a frustrating, loser of a man who frankly has been a cruel fool his entire life. He is jealous of people who succeed, even when their success is because of their own merits, he is an adulterer, and he is a dad who wants to be his son's buddy, not his father. In short, he is everything I dislike. I don't feel sympathy for Willy Loman, and when he died I breathed a sigh of relief for his family who has been relieved of the burden of dealing with him. With the exception of his ever faithful wife, Linda, Willy's sons have already relieved themselves of him (to varying degrees). So the "hero" of the play is not noble, and does not meet Aristotle's definition of a tragic hero. So what is the tragedy? Why is the play so important? I think there are two primary reasons.
The first is the relationship between Willy and his sons, especially Biff. Biff and his father love each other very much; they just don't love each other very well. I think there are a lot of fathers and sons who can relate to that dynamic. It made me cringe more than a few times with its poignancy, and accuracy. And watching Biff's frustration with trying to communicate honestly with his father (the fault belonging to them both) was the reason for my weeping all those years ago.
The other reason the play is tragic is because although Willy is a nobody (and I think it is his own doing) he was loved by some people who cared deeply about him. Despite a wonderful wife, some loyal friends that he does not deserve, etc. Willy is always looking for greener grass and never content with what is in front of him. To have some truly good things, primarily family love and friendship, and to spit in its face for decades is the tragedy. Willy was a somebody to them, but it was not enough for him. The tragedy of this piece stems from Willy's ignorance, and also is extended for those who loved him.
There is a lot that can be said about this play, and I don't pretend to be the final word. These are just some thoughts. Read it for yourself; let some of the lovely prose sweep over you. Pay attention to some of Linda's speeches as even out of context they are wonderful. I don't think you will walk away from "Death of a Salesman" unhappy that you read it. ...more

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Dec 20, 2008 Manny rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: donalds-are-trumps

ME: Good evening and welcome to part 3 of "Newt Gingrich meets Arthur Miller". As you may know, Mr Gingrich has recently been encouraging Americans to read Miller's works. Our third episode is devoted to Death of a Salesman, which--

LAWYER: Hold it right there.

ME: I'm sorry? Is there a problem?

LAWYER: Oh, go on and pretend you don't know what this is about. The "salesman" you're referring to is my client, President Donald Trump. "Death" is too obvious to be worth commenting on. Like so many ...more

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Mar 27, 2019 Fergus rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When I was a young kid, I always insisted like a spoiled brat on having one foot wedged securely in the closing door of Paradise.

As the bright light of paradisal dawn left my world on its ceaseless journey west, I refused to think Paradise was over for me - at least until the fat lady started to sing...

And way back in 1960, I sat next to my Mom on a gleaming - though already antiquated - little post-war twin-prop ‘aeroplane’ to Toronto.

The smiling and immaculately pageboy’d stewardess handed ...more

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Feb 26, 2017 Susan Budd rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: english-literature-usa, drama

Recently Goodreads added a Rereading Feature so members can keep track of all the times they’ve read a book. I wonder how many times I’ve read Death of a Salesman.

The first time I read it was in high school and I didn’t really like it. In later years I developed an appreciation for the play and assigned it to my college literature classes. I even got a VHS tape of the 1985 film with Dustin Hoffman and John Malkovich and watched it with my students.

Now I find myself again teaching a literature ...more

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Apr 04, 2007 Nicci rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

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 the most tragic and ...more

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Mar 28, 2016 Brian Yahn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Dreams have a dark side, and Death of a Salesman makes that painfully obvious.

Willy Loman, like all of us, just wants to be successful. And although at the start of the play he's amounted to nothing but failure, it's not from bad intention, it's not from lack of trying, it's from his ignorance. Willy thinks that success is measured in wealth, and the key to that is being well-liked. But he tries to cheat his way to wealth (instead of work hard and learn from his mistakes), so he ends up with no ...more

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May 07, 2017 James rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 1-fiction

Book Review
Arthur Miller is a fantastic writer. 4 of 5 stars to one his most known works, Death of a Salesman, written in 1949. Most Americans read this in middle school as a required book for their English courses. I am not positive when I read this, but I re-read it as part of my English degree in college. I enjoyed it more the second-time around, but it is still a very rough book to read. Not in terms of bad writing, but in terms of topics and emotions.

It focuses on the Loman family. The Book Review
Arthur Miller is a fantastic writer. 4 of 5 stars to one his most known works, Death of a Salesman, written in 1949. Most Americans read this in middle school as a required book for their English courses. I am not positive when I read this, but I re-read it as part of my English degree in college. I enjoyed it more the second-time around, but it is still a very rough book to read. Not in terms of bad writing, but in terms of topics and emotions.

It focuses on the Loman family. The patriarch has been a salesman for over 30 years, most of his adult life. But eventually, it ends, and he's forced to face the reality of a 60+ year old man in the mid 20th century between the two world wars, where everything was not so cozy in America. The play touches on themes of mental illness, depression, parenting, suicide, life's purpose, the role of a father and husband, etc. I'm not fond of the main character, nor will most readers be. He's quite tragic and unable to really do the right thing for everyone else. But it's not entirely his fault; this was a bit of an issue in society at the time.

Miller's talent is top notch. He clearly can capture the mental state of his characters, who each struggle with things we all struggle with. They take it to a newer and higher level, but it's still something we can all relate to in our lives, whether it's a teacher, father, uncle, grandfather, or another person in our lives, we have seen this happen. And it's not pretty. The various passages and speeches by each of the characters are quite strong, pushing you as a reader to think about what society has done to us. But then again... we all have choices and should know better. The book makes you think... a lot... and for that, it does an excellent job at being one we should all read, or at least watch the play acted out.

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.

[polldaddy poll=9729544] ...more

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Aug 26, 2012 David Schaafsma rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: plays, best-books-ever

“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 must finally be paid to such a person.”

I have seen, read and taught Death of a Salesman many times, and loved re-reading it again as part of my tour this year through what I “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 must finally be paid to such a person.”

I have seen, read and taught Death of a Salesman many times, and loved re-reading it again as part of my tour this year through what I think are his best plays, including The Crucible, All my Sons, A View From the Bridge. (In college I tried out for the part of Biff, but was runner-up, curse you Bruce Mulder! I worked on the lighting for the production, which I loved). I tend to think of this play as one of the greatest plays in American theater, and a kind of dramatic pair with The Great Gatsby as a treatise on The American Dream/capitalism, featuring sad, misguided people (Jay Gatz/ Willy Loman) who use money/appearance/material goods as a means to their ideas of success, both of them involved in infidelity as a central flaw/part of their downfall.

Death is a dream play, very lyrical, moving from past and present, as Willy’s fraying sense of reality in the last 24 hours of his life leads to what the title of the play reveals will happen. So it’s not about plot, it’s a sociological/psychological study, which features father-sons and a strong woman, Linda, who tries to keep the family together.

Hap is the guy most like Willy, and they are never not deluded in their pursuit of the material dream:

“Happy: All right, boy. I'm gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have—to come out number-one man.”

Both Hap and Willy are (mis)guided by the image of the materially successful Ben, Willy’s older brother who left Brooklyn for Africa and Alaska:

“When I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich.”

Biff and Willy can point to one moment when he was in high school where everything began to unravel, but whereas Willy never sees what he is, Biff comes to a realization:

“I stopped in the middle of that building and I saw—the sky. I saw the things that I love in this world. The work and the food and time to sit and smoke. Why am I trying to become what I don't want to be? What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know who I am!

“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been.”

Such great language, terrific characters, great dialogue. I was saddened once again by this story of lost American values. Reminded me a bit, too, of a graphic novel by Seth, also about a salesman, Clyde Fans, though the (lost) American salesman is a staple of American literature and worth reading more deeply into: Glengarry Glen Ross (Mamet), John Updike’s Rabbit books, so much. ...more

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Aug 05, 2016 D.B. Woodling rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Recommends it for: Audiences that appreciate exceptional writing and the human conditiion

Arthur Miller, one of the greatest playwrights to date, captures the frailty that is the human condition in his Pulitzer Prize-winning-drama, Death of a Salesman. The main character, Willy Loman, epitomizes the average hardworking male, manically struggling to fulfill unattainable dreams.

Loman now reaching the age of retirement and coming to terms with his physical limitations, Miller’s superior use of dialogue easily conveys Willy's gut-wrenching urgency to pass the baton to his disinterested ...more

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Aug 11, 2010 Michael rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: ap-english, classics, drama

I really hate giving this book (well, play) one star. I hate giving any "classic" one star, for that matter. It must have gone down in history for a reason, and is beloved by many. In most classics like this, even if I don't like the story, characters, etc., I usually can find that "spark" that has made it so popular for so many years. But I can honestly say that I found no redeeming qualities in Death of a Salesman. None whatsoever. Sigh.

Maybe I would have been more comfortable actually seeing ...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Jonathan Terrington rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature, favourites, plays, gritty-reads

"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 must finally be paid to such a person."

Attention, attention must finally be paid... So sounds out Arthur Miller's cry to observe that every individual, every human being must "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 must finally be paid to such a person."

Attention, attention must finally be paid... So sounds out Arthur Miller's cry to observe that every individual, every human being must have attention paid to them. It is a tragic irony that it seems impossible for the limited human love and kindness to engage with all people, for there is always something that turns us away. In the case of this drama, the slowly grinding wheels of a tiredness created through the every pressing need to possess more and more.

Death of a Salesman is often called the dark drama of the American Dream. In many ways this is true, as Miller recreates a world where human wants are turned on their head into 'human needs'. As part of my research for travelling to the States myself, I've been reading up on the concept of the American Dream in novels and theoretical articles. It seems that as I've read an interesting proposition has sprung up: can any author when writing about America escape the whirlpool of literature that is the American Dream? I doubt that any author can, for in writing a play about multiple failures - the failures of family, success, love and ultimately the many failures of relationships - Miller wrote a play that has come to be known as a play about the failure of the American Dream in its many formats. Yet, this failure is one which seems to me to be connected to all humans everywhere, in how our drives towards false dreams will only end in failure.

Ultimately I believe Miller's story is one which is about success and visionary dreams as much as it is about failure. As Biff says at the end of Willy Loman, "He never knew who he was." Miller seems to have created a work which analyses and observes that chasing after false dreams never brings satisfaction. It is a theme as old as time, seen in such writings as those of Solomon in Ecclesiastes when he states that 'Everything is meaningless.' And certainly everything is meaningless when you base your identity solely in your set dream. For if your dream fails it becomes a failure of yourself as an individual. The ultimate warning of Miller's play is to seek satisfaction in yourself as an individual and not to chase after what you are not: not to be complacent but to be satisfied. ...more

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Jul 27, 2019 Calista rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: famous, groundbreaking, genre-play-theatre, award-pulitzer-prize, classic, wordsmith, genre-drama-tragedy, 1930s-1940s, award-various, bage-mature

I have heard the many references movies and people make to this play, but I didn't know the story. This is a complex piece of writing about aging and dreams not being achieved. I want to see this to see how it all works on the stage. There is so much going on. Time is blended and played with here by Willy. Everything that is going on in his head along with the present all swirl about so that he and us are just a little confused as to what is now, what is past, and what is happening. I mean we ...more

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Jan 06, 2019 Rebecca McNutt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classic

The Death of a Salesman seems to be a very polarizing play. People either really love it or really hate it. I personally enjoyed it; I've always liked Arthur Miller's works and this one has a lot of good points about life and the changes a man observes over time while chasing his own dreams. In high school I didn't get it. Willy was definitely not an admirable or even remotely likable protagonist for a story. Going back and reading it now though, it's more clear that the book isn't necessarily ...more

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Jan 25, 2019 Carol rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: plays, classics, 100, drama, read-2019

I surely must have read this classic in high school, but for the life of me do not remember it. Didn't even remember what poor Willy sold until I picked up this wonderful little Penguin copy of the screenplay. I know I've said it before, but I love Penguin books. They have the coolest book covers!

Anyway, now I've read it and won't likely forget it....and, yes....poor Willy Loman. He is a lost soul and aging 63 year old salesman who has spent his sorry life traveling from state to state selling

...more

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Jul 02, 2018 Inkspill rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-driven-by-relationships, fiction-voicing-big-ideas

This is a tragic tale beautifully told by Arthur Miller.

Previous times I’ve read this, Linda Loman seemed to me to be a passive character who is fiercely loyal to her husband, Willy Loman. This time round I saw her as a woman who was doing all she could to help her husband be happy. Linda Loman is practical, patient and generous to her husband’s obsessive search for that miracle that will give him the happiness he believes he deserves. She is also ready to sacrifice her relationships with her ...more

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Jan 23, 2015 Sara Alaee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, play

“Death of a salesman” is an amazing classic in its true sense. It’s gripping, moving, touching and painful. In a world where everybody’s judged by his/her material accomplishments and investments, this profound piece of literature may be an alarming notion that what matters is not necessarily what one seeks or desires. Life’s merely a matter of living for the sake of others: A man is useful as long as he contributes to the society and useless once he stops. In such society there is no motivation “Death of a salesman” is an amazing classic in its true sense. It’s gripping, moving, touching and painful. In a world where everybody’s judged by his/her material accomplishments and investments, this profound piece of literature may be an alarming notion that what matters is not necessarily what one seeks or desires. Life’s merely a matter of living for the sake of others: A man is useful as long as he contributes to the society and useless once he stops. In such society there is no motivation for emotional or spiritual achievements; no place for “being liked by the measure of personality” alone. To Willy Loman – the main character and the hero of this play – this is what brings agony and desolation the most. His emotional crisis begins when he realizes that he’s unable to accommodate his dreams to the real world. He’s aged, weak and no more useful to the sales company. “He cannot grasp the true personal, emotional, spiritual understanding of himself as a literal “loman” or “low man.” Willy is too driven by his own “willy”-ness or perverse “willfulness” to recognize the slanted reality that his desperate mind has forged.” (Note the choice of name for the main character: “Willy” and the family name: “Loman”. His two sons were also named: “happy” & “Biff”. Happy is a blind ambitious and optimist while Biff is strict and realist). Through the imaginary advice of his deceased brother, “Ben”, Willy’s finally able to understand the reality and his suicide at the end of the story represents a partial discovery that he’s unable to live up to his materialistic dream. He believes that this sacrifice will leave a valuable inheritance to his family – mostly Biff his oldest son – to fulfill his fantasy.

Let’s wrap it up quickly! It’s way beyond me to write a proper review for this play. It’s really wonderful! The messages, themes and emotions resonate almost clearly today as they did a century ago. (If it isn’t the classic’s meaning? “A classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.” That’s what Italo Calvino said.)
[I could not resist copying this beautiful closing paragraph from the book down here (a requiem for Willy by his friend, Charley, at his funeral)]:
“Nobody dast blame this man. You don’t understand: Willy was a salesman. And for a salesman, there is no rock bottom to the life. He don’t put a bolt to a nut, he don’t tell you the law or give you medicine. He’s man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a Shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back — that’s an earthquake. And then you get yourself a couple of spots on your hat, and you’re finished. Nobody dast blame this man. A salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory.”

This is one of the most amazing plays I’ve ever read! Strongly recommended to all. Don’t miss the opportunity to read/watch it.

پی نوشت: خاطرات پراکنده – 25 دی 1393 – سالن اصلی تئاتر شهر – نمایش مرگ فروشنده
"!مرگ یه فروشنده مرگ باشکوهیه"

...more

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Feb 11, 2017 Jackie rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

A very haunting story.... of broken dreams. A the power these dreams and hopes can have...

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Oct 01, 2015 ☆ ĄňŊǡƂėƮĦ ☆ ŞŧŎŋė rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: school

4/5

This book was better than I thought it would be. I was expecting a boring and easy read but what I got was very different. There was action even though you wouldn't really think that those scenes were that exciting. The characters were also really interesting.

I felt bad for Willy at his determination to keep pursuing his dream of being a salesman despite his lack of success. I also was sad about how he truly didn't see his mistakes or reality. He had so many flashbacks and they interfered ...more

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Nov 25, 2016 Camie rated it liked it · review of another edition

A book many apparently studied and hated in High-school, and no doubt I would have as well. I have no idea why that age group would be interested in the Story of Willie Loman our 60 year old "salesman" here, as he's looking back over his life. Has he been successful, or has he not, is he a tragic dreamer, a hero, or like most of us somewhere in between ? If you're not old enough to have asked these questions of yourself, this book most likely is not for you, that said it's been around since 1949 ...more

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Apr 24, 2008 Bettie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Recommends it for: BBC Radio Listeners

Shelves: play-dramatisation, radio-3, re-visit-2015, us-new-york, published-1949, north-americas, classic, autumn-2015, those-autumn-years, pulitzer

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gpwk4

Description: David Suchet, Zoë Wanamaker and director Howard Davies, who all won awards for the sell-out production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons in the West End in 2010, reunite to create a new production for Radio 3 of Miller's 1949 classic about the American dream and his second big Broadway success. The original won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award and Critics' Circle Award for Best Play. This new radio production is part of the ...more

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Jan 15, 2019 Chaunceton Bird rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Finally, I found the book/play I've been looking for. A book/play that tells it like it is. That cuts the fluff and hopeful fairy tale endings and demonstrates how capacious ambition and hard work, more often than not, leaves one like everybody else. The truth is, we're all basically alike. "A dime a dozen," in the words of Biff Loman. And being a sociable, determined person won't put one above the rest, it will put one among them. This is an excellent book/play. Arthur Miller is positively ...more

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Jan 31, 2019 Sidharth Vardhan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: plays, usa, pulitzer

"I simply asked him if he was making any money. Is that a criticism?"

I don't know if Miller intended it as such but it might as well be a criticism of capitalism.

Just look at what Willy has to say to his boss upon being fired:

"You can't eat the orange and throw the peel away — a man is not a piece of fruit."

but this criticism is more existional:

"After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive."

"Work a lifetime to pay off a

...more

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Nov 19, 2009 Kimberly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Oh the tragedy! This is so good to read though, I feel as though this book has to be read with someone because you must have someone to debrief with about the happenings throughout the plot. Good 'ol Willy.

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Apr 02, 2018 Iulian rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: in-english, men-authors, modern-classics, theatre, my-bookshelf

Willy Loman is one of those modern existential characters trapped in the everyday absurd world. His story is about what happens when a sense of righteousness to do good for your family and yourself gets a "collision" with the cruel and mostly indifferent world. The recurrent theme of good-old "American Dream" met here reminded me of another great story, told in prose - "Of mice and men"...I found "Death of a Salesman" to be a revelation and introspection of different desires and motivations and ...more

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Dec 19, 2016 Joudy rated it liked it · review of another edition

“Inside of His Head.
Miller saw the play as (setting forth what happens when a man does not have a proper grip on the forces of life, The play was basically looking from the edge of the grave at life)

A play about dangerous illusions, obsolescence,the fear of dying a failure, it bored me but at least these novel was not thousand of pages.

* Willy Loman never made a lot of money.His name was never in the paper. He is not the finest character that ever lived. But he is a human being, and a terrible ...more

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Feb 05, 2017 Jigar Brahmbhatt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Such a brilliant, devastating work. I haven't read enough drama, but I see how fittingly Arthur Miller has invented set-pieces (that include flash backs and dreams) so that we understand what make the characters tick. Everything depends on what they speak. There is no possibility of an omnipresent voice like in the novels and yet how beautifully Miller brings out the inner life of the salesman and his son Biff! We see the subjugating power of illusions and how utterly difficult it becomes for ...more

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About Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller

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Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American literature and cinema for over 61 years, writing a wide variety of plays, including celebrated plays such as The Crucible, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman, which are still studied and performed worldwide. Miller was often in the public eye, most famously for refusing to ...more