DEATH OF A SALESMAN by Arthur Miller (hier online bestellen)
The story:
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is a tragedy whose theme is the tarnishing of the American Dream.
Americans, have been conditioned to believe that beauty and charisma constitute necessary virtues rather
than mere traits, and that appearances guarantee success. But most of us will go through our lives being
"ordinary" -- and that’s perfectly okay according to most views.
It is not okay, however, for Willy Loman, the aging salesman who is the protagonist of Miller’s play.
Although Willy is the hero of this tragedy, he fails to be 'heroic' in the conventional sense: that is,
he does not save damsels in distress or rescue small children from burning buildings. He isn’t even particularly
admirable, except in his tenacious adherence to his cockeyed ideals. For Willy Loman, morality is not
important; material success is -- personal attractiveness is, and chutzpah equally so.
Through a combination of various literary elements, Arthur Miller is able to powerfully show the
dissolution of a man whose values have been shown to be futile and whose dreams have turned to dust.
Biff asserts that he and his father are "a dime a dozen", but this Willy cannot accept. Through
this depiction of an ordinary American family, Arthur Miller has given voice to all those trapped
in the same cycle as Willy Loman....
Extract from book:
"Don't say he's a great man. Willy 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 into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention
must finally paid to such a person."
About the author:
Arthur Miller was born in New York City on 17th October, 1915. The son of a small businessman, Miller worked
in a warehouse after graduating from high school. When he saved enough money he attended the University of
Michigan.
During the Second World War, Miller moved to New York where he began writing plays. Directed by Elia Kazan,
his play, All My Sons (1947) dealt with war and business corruption. His next play, also directed by Kazan,
Death of a Salesman (1947), and featuring Lee J. Cobb as Willy Loman, won a Pulitzer Prize and became one
of the most famous plays in history.
Miller broke with Elia Kazan over his decision to give names of former members of the American Communist
Party to the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Miller was himself blacklisted by Hollywood
when he refused to testify in front of the HUAC. However, this did not stop his plays being performed on stage.
Miller's next play, Crucible (1953), based on the 1692 Salem witch trials was deeply influenced by the
blacklisting of his left-wing friends and reflected the era of McCarthyism. After the Hollywood Blacklist was
lifted, Miller wrote the screenplay for the movie, The Misfits (1961).
Other plays by Miller include A View from the Bridge (1955), After the Fall (1963), Incident at Vichy (1964),
The Price (1968) and Playing for Time (1981). Miller also wrote an impressive autobiography, Timebends: A Life
(1987).
Buchdaten:
DEATH OF A SALESMAN by Arthur Miller
Sprache: Englisch
Broschiert - 112 Seiten - Longman
Erscheinungsdatum: 2003
ISBN: 0582329108
Preis: € 8,51
Buy second hand, each for € 4 incl. postage by emailing me:
York Notes Death of a Salesman
Crucible incl. Lehrerhandreichungen
More works from the same author:
zurück zur Übersicht
|
