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drama analysis project on The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Analysis of `The Death of a Salesman ' by Arthur Miller

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Date : 7th September 2008

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Analysis of `The Death of a Salesman ' by Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman is considered as a superb play written by Arthur Miller . The play accommodates Willy Lowman as its protagonist . Willy 's self-deception and pride lead to his eventual downfall . Willy kept false ideas and wishes for his life and he wished to achieve an end like many great men . Many critics have pointed

out that the play , `The Death of a Salesman ' depicts towards the failure of American Dream but this is not a truth as the promises made by American society can only be fulfilled by continuous struggle and by setting aims that are fit for an individual . The path adopted by any other person is not necessarily suitable for every other person (Lawrence 1983

Willy informs his wife and his children of his false success and fame but in reality , he has never obtained that fame and success about which he talks . His sons consider him an ideal and try to follow him but later on , they realize that their father is not a person that should be considered an ideal . The name that is given to Willy Lowman depicts that he is a person who keeps wishes but he is a low man , who is not able to fulfil his wishes (Bigsby 1984 . His pride and self-deception are the things that drag him towards a suicidal end . When he is not able to fulfil his wishes and when he sees that his sons are not able to fulfil his dreams as well , he takes refuge in death (Parker 1983

As Susan C .W . Abbolson in Understanding Death of a Salesman , points out the fact that Willy Loman , the protagonist of the play , does not fit in to the modern world of machinery . The values he espouses , where deals are made with a smile and a handshake , are clearly those of bygone age He is not considered a fit for the society

The idea of American Dream ' or Success myth ' is important here It 's a dream that any American can achieve material success and a comfortable life through hard work and devotion to business (Bigsby 1984 . Willy fails to achieve this success because he never understands what is really needed to succeed in business world of this new society Not everyone can keep up with the time . His belief that Personality wins the day ' stands in contrast with Charley 's notion that All you have is what you can sell . Willy has convinced himself that to succeed in the business world one is to be Well liked . He passes this false belief to his sons as well

Be liked and you will never want (26

Through the course of the play , it is clear that being liked has little to do with success . Like , Charley and Bernard get ahead through hard work . Charley...

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