Death of a Salesman Essay -- essays research papers fc

Death of a salesmanThe Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller is a controversial play of a typical American family and their desire to rifle the American hallucination Rather than a tragedy or failure as the play is often described. Death of a Salesman dramatizes a failure of that dream (Cohn 51). The story is told through the delusional eyes and mind of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman of 34 years, whose fantasy world of lies eventually causes him to suffer an emotional breakdown. Willys wife, Linda, loves and supports Willy contempt all his problems, and continually believes in his success and that of their no good lazy sons, Biff and Happy. The play takes place in 1942, in Willy and Lindas sign of the zodiac, a decrepit shack on the outskirts of a slum. Willy has spent his whole life teaching and believing that you can achieve success by your appearance and by qualification yourself as amiable as possible. Eventually Willy begins to fabricate stories at himself to be able to live with himself because he cant meet his own expectations. He falls deeper into his lies, making himself and his family suffer for it. (Thesis). In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller proves he is Americas social critic when he criticizes Willys relationship concerning his family, his lack of success in achieving his goals and his dreams along with his inner turmoil and personal collapse which result in suicide.In the onset of the play, Willy told Linda that you work a lifetime to pay of a house. You finally own it, and there is nobody to live in it (Cohn 56). This quote shows how Willy strives his whole life to make a home for his family and by the time he sees the realization of that one dream, his family has drifted apart and he is alone with his haunting thoughts and his ghosts. Willy has such high expectations for himself and his sons, and when they all failed to accomplish their dreams, they were unable to claim each other for what they truly were. Willy raised Bif f with the idea that success depends on whether or non a person can sell himself and not how smart a person is. Biffs tragic flaw is his acceptance of Willys values and not creating any of his own. When Biff realizes his father is a fake, he becomes a lost individual and he does not speak to his father for 14 years. In Willys family it is always Biff who receives recognition, however, Happy strives for tending too... ...sm CLC.2 . Detroit indium University press. 1971. 68-96.BibliographyBloom, Harold. Major Literary Characters Willy Loman. New York Chelsea House, 1991.Bloom, Harold. Modern Critical Interpretations Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman. New York Chelsea House, 1988.Cohn, Ruby. The Articulate Victims of Arthur Miller. contemporaneous Literary Criticism CLC.2 . Detroit Indiana University press. 1971. 68-96.Driver, Tom F. Saturday Review. Contemporary Literary Criticism. CLC.2.Detroit James Brown Associates. 1970.Magill, N Frank. Arthur Miller. Vol.4 of Magills Survey of American Literature.New York Salem Press. Inc, 1991.Murray, Edward. Arthur Miller. Contemporary Literary Criticism. Vol.6.Detroit Gak Research, 1987.Perkins, George, Barbara Perkins and Phillip Leiniger. Arthur Miller. ReadersEncyclopedia of American Literature. 1991.Simon, John. Arthur Miller. Contemporary Literacy Criticism. Vol.2. DetroitNYM Corp. 1972.