Death of a Salesman Essay

In 1949 whilst America saw the culmination of anti-communist feelings, aid of the unkn profess and the general hysteria which stemmed from the Cold War against Russia dramatist Arthur miller published what was seen to be a personal objurgation of the American behavior of life, his turn, Death of A Salesman. Death of A Salesman tells the story of Willy Loman, a lowly salesman slowly being estranged from society and increasingly light-emitting diode into confusion by his attempts to escape his own failure brought about by the ample American Dream he has served so loyally.It was for this play miller was brought in front of HUAC (house un-American activities committee) and charged with undermining American Values. miller defended himself by claiming he simply aspired to show the truth as he saw it. It is because miller insisted on adhering to realism, that he chose a normal, Loman, or literally, low man, to be his tragical Hero. In doing so, Miller broke one rule- that of Arist otelian tragedy, which demands a direful hero, of high birth and simultaneously abided by other, the rule of a current national Tragedy which requires an ordinary persons story to be told.Whilst Milton would take a crap deplored this introducing of trivial and vulgar persons into tragedy, Miller dismissed all criticism of his choice of hero, demanding his accusers to recognise it matters non whether the hero falls from a striking height or a small one, or as Linda puts it, hes not the finest character who ever lived. But hes a human being and a terrible occasion is happening to him the importance then, lies in the way and reason for which the character falls.Willy does, however, stick with with twain the moulds of an Aristotelian tragedy and Modern domestic Tragedy in that he suffers from a Hamartia which results in his fall from grace and eventual(prenominal) expiration. Most critics and audiences identify Willys Hamartia as his Hubris, his over rarified sense of self- worth and pride, which means he refuses help even as he becomes increasingly lost. However, a few critics complain that Willy cannot be a tragic hero, as he does not have one fatal tarnish but many which combine to bring Willy down.This idea, as expressed by Thomas Adler, Ruby Cohn and others rests on the existence of other factors in Willys life, Willy is not only proud, but stupid, cursed with the equipment casualty dreams, lacking in vision and most of all weak. It is this weakness which prohibits him from escaping the Jungle of the American Dream, sum he dies within it a result of it and as a give to it, hoping that his finish go out reveal the diamonds he seeks.Willys actual dying in Death of A Salesman is not shown on stage, but rather, it is symbolised by the sound of a carmoving away at broad speed then the crashing down of music which in turn morphs into a defunct march, not explicitly showing the morbid act, but implying it intemperately enough for the audience to be in no doubt of its buy the farmrence. It is characteristic of a Modern Domestic Tragedy death not to occur in front of the audience. The music in this death scene is poignant, decent and very implicit to the plot, without it the audience would not know of Willys death. practice of medicine runs throughout the play as a catalyst through which Miller makes the subtler, unspoken presences or emotions known. Take for example the flutes product line which serves as both a distress theme tune to Willys failings and a musical embodiment of his estranged Fathers ghost, who do more in a week than a man worry Willy could in a life prison term . The flute embodies both these roles in coronach. First, Willys failings are made clearer than ever as Linda starts to truly mourn her husband and elicit an impossible last goodbye from him.Second, flute in like manner shows Willys haves presence because we know it is from his father that Willy got the wrong dreams which drove him to the gr ave Linda sits by. It is perhaps important to consider the role of ghosts or past figures which appear throughout the play. Ghosts and figures from the past litter tragedy throughout the centuries. Indeed, the oldest surviving complete tragedy, Aeschyluss Persians (472 BC) features the ghost of the dead King Darius returning from the past to cast judgement over his son Xerxes, whom he deems to be failing in his role and pursuing the wrong dreams.This is not distant the mocking presence of Willys own father and his brother Ben, both dead person who continue to taunt Willy with dreams he cannot achieve. Willys suicide is at once self-congratulating, misguided and selfless. He wants to escape the feeling he is ephemeral by truly leaving something behind, something one can feel with the contribute. This something is his diamond of the $20,000 insurance money, which give make him a hero for carrier bag to worship and helping Biff to start up a crinkle of his own.Requiem holds no answers as to whether the premium was paid and through this and the melancholy despair that runs through the closing scene, Miller shows how pointless Willys death truly was. No matter how much money he leaves behind, it willing never compensate for the loss the family has to endure. Linda cannot even understand his motives and Happy encapsulates the sensory system when he declares thither was no necessity for it. A sad sour of irony is Biff making it clear he is moving away. Thus, he would never have used the money anyway.This shows the true uselessness of Willys death and also his fathers lack of understanding of his own son, who from the start is happiest in the open playing around with horses. However a sadder twist is Happys utter unwillingness to learn from his fathers mistakes, and despite declaring Willy Loman did not die in vain he goes on to prove the opposite, promising to win it for him Willy. The Requiem shows Willys final delusion shattered. There is a simple answe r to Lindas piteous, wherefore did nobody come? The answer is that Willy was not, contrary to what he claims metre and time again, known, because he has not falsifyd with the times, and the old values he clings to do not make a man known or a success at all. Evidence of Willys failure to change with time can be traced cover version to, as Richard T. Brucher puts it, Willys unexpected, marvellingly innocent hesitation How can they whip cheese? Such a simple debate exemplifies his static approach to modern life he wants everything to return to the great days and is unwilling to change anything, least of all his expectations and aspirations.Irony is another key feature of a Modern Domestic Tragedy and Lindas last lines, her mantra of reassurance, Were Free Were disengage is more hard laden with irony than any other line of the play. The lines are relevant in so many different ways, not only the direct meaning of the family being free from debt. They also despondently relay M illers message that if you live following the American Dream and have consumerism as your only moral compass and religion, then the only way to free yourself is to die.A much more cynical view of Lindas words, as proposed by D. L. Hoeveler, suggests they epitomise the familys darker subconscious thoughts, that now Willy is gone, they no longer have to continue on the paths they were forced down. They are free of the burden Willy placed on them. However, the earlier events show that despite no longer being pushed down the path of the American Dream, Happy will continue to pursue it, so this interpretation too is heavily ironic.As for Linda, being free from the burden of Willy is certainly not what she would wish for, after all she more than loves him and even his little cruelties do not change this. She needs to look after Willy so that she has a purpose and an aim. The play ends as it began, bringing the action back to the beginning and lending a continuous rhythm to the play, with Lindas anxious disconcerted calling to the deceased Willy, mimicking her trepidation in the opening scene when Willy enters.It is the flute which opens and closes the play. Everything reverting back to the way the play started shows how insignificant Willys death really is. capitalism does not crumble, life goes on. It is here that I believe Modern Domestic Tragedies are flawed, where Shakespearian ones are not. When Macbeth dies, the audience is certain that his Kingdom will mourn his loss, however warped he was, he was still their King. There will be a massive funeral, of the sorts Willy dreams of, and a Kingdom-wide expression of incarnate grief.It is this grief that I believe provides the catharsis of emotion for the audience, they know his death will continue to be felt after they leave the athletic field and this assurance brings closure. This closure however, does not exist in Modern Domestic Tragedies. Willys death will go unnoticed by most, and this does not bring signif icant catharsis to the audience. There is no final result of raw emotion. To support my view I can only purpose the words of Shakespeare himself, The poor beetle on which we tread In incorporated sufferance feels a pang as great As when a Giant dies.