Arthur Miller, one of the most successful American dramatists, had
distinction of being the most outspoken American writers of the last four
decades He belongs to the expressionistic school of drama and has insisted that
courage, truth, trust, responsibility, and faith must be the central values of
men. As a socialistic dramatist, Miller says,
“The
greatest dramatist seems
to have been speaking for
some
fate-making power
behind the social force itself.”
‘Death
of Salesman’, Arthur Miller’s third play, had 742 performances in Broadway
theatre in New York. It has invited much
heat, criticism, and controversy as well as praise and laurels. It stands for a
modern typical tragedy which is an exceptional good example of so called
“middle-class tragedy. Let’s critically appreciate the play in a depth.
In
the all work of English literature, title is always very apt and
suggestive. It always taken from central idea, theme or a hero. Here the title
‘Death of a Saleman’ itself indicates the tragic end of Willy. The sub-title
also suggests that the drama is about Willy’s illusions; side-by-side it also
shows the structure of the play.
A
tragic hero is supposed to arouse pathetic feelings of admiration. Willy
Loman is not hero of that caliber. But Inspite of that, he is able to arouse
our pity. So he would become in future as immortal a tragic character as Orestes, Hamlet, or Macbeth. He is not
merely an individual, but an identification of the common man. As a tragic
hero, he represents the common man. Willy is who first sells commodities and
then sells himself as a commodity. To quote Gerald Weales,
“Willy is a corpse who happily
refuses to stay
dead, has come
back to elicit sympathy evoke
pity, provoke anger, stir up
controversy, ask for judicial
appraisal.”
‘Death
of Salesman’ deals with the common theme of the individual versus society.
Like Ibsen, Shaw and Galsworthy
Miller also deals with social problem of modern men. The play is not so much
concerned with the life of an individual-Willy Loman but with the life of a
section of society, which the representative of Willy is. Esther Jackson
rightly remarks
“Death of
Salesman represents
‘perhaps most nearly nature
myth about human suffering
in an industrial age.”
Another important theme of the play is
depiction of hollowness of American Dream. It presents ‘loss of conscience’. It
highlights the terrifying consequence of man’s littleness of his failure to be
himself or to belong to the human society. The play also deals with the
evils of Capitalism. There is a various interpretation of the play.
The
structure of the play seems somewhat complex. The play begins in the present as
Willy is shown in conflict. We don’t yet know its reason but we just have to
understand it through the flashbacks and daydreaming of Willy. The setting
changes from Willy’s house to Charley’s office, Howard’s office and the hotels
of Boston. The drama takes place in two acts without particular scene division.
The writer also presents his central character in the midst of a crisis that he
resolves through suicide.
We
find the psychological aspects in the play. Most of action of the play takes
place inside Willy’s mind and the technique adopted is similar to that of the
stream of consciousness which presents both past and present of a character’s
life together and simultaneous. Magnificent transitions of action are achieved
through a psychological conflict. That is why many critics have interpreted the
play in Freudian term and attribute it another abstruse psychological theories.
Daniel E. Schneider remarks, “The play is an analysis of the ‘Oedipal’
father –son relationship.”
The technique of ‘Death of a
Salesman’ is a blend of a realism and expressionism. The play was published
in 1949; it is the time following the Second World War. The drama reflects may
other characteristic of the modern American Society. e.g. industrialization,
competition, science and technology etc. The scholars like Darwin, Marx and
Freud also influence American society of modern times. Willy is very angry with
American culture when he says,
“There
was respect and comradeship
and
gratitude in it. Today, it’s
all cut
and dried, but there is no
change
for bringing friendship
to bear
or personality.”
The
use of different dramatic technique shows that ‘Death of Salesman’ is a
modern play. e.g. In the very first scene
when Willy enters home in a very tired condition, he says to Linda,
“I am tired to Death”.
As
soon as he utters the last word ‘death’, music suddenly increases which shows
the end of his life. The entry and departure of each character is shown with
the use of light and sound.
In
the end, when Willy commits suicide, it is not shown through any dialogue but
only the sound of crashing the car is heard and in the very next scene his
family is gathered for funeral which shows the end of his life. There are many
dramatic techniques are used in the play. Symbolism, Imagery, tragic-comic
element.
Symbolism
is a remarkable dramatic technique used by Miller. He used many symbols in the
drama that have many meaning. e.g. Seeds;
In the last scene will wants to plant seeds in the backyard. But actually it is
the symbol of his life, he says, “Nothing is planted.”
The
stocking; which Linda mends
also have significant. The stocking Willy brought for Lind, he gives to Miss
Francis and when Biff knows it he is shocked shouts, “you have her mama’s stocking’. Willy’s car is the symbol of American modernity. It is the symbol of the
hectic and racy competition in which Willy is too deeply involved.
Imagery
is another aspect, which attracts readers the play. Miller used one very
important imagery and that is through Willy’s dialogue, “Woods are burning”
Here ‘woods’ is not about the jungle
but it is used for the business world, which is full of competition and Willy
thinks that this world for him is burning. It means that now he is unable to
enter the business world.
The play contains some of the Tragi-comic
elements that Ibsen used so effectively in his social play. For instance
Willy tells Linda that he is “very well liked” in Hartford, adding immediately “You know, the trouble is, Linda, people
don’t seem to take to me”
We
find the same element when Willy says the Chevrolet is the greatest car ever
built, and then immediately goes to says that they ought to prohibit the
manufacture of that car
‘Death
of Salesman’ is a great work of art, a major play which can never be
dated. Miller presents the relationship between a man’s identity and the image
that society demands of him. It deals with Willy Loman’s loss of identity. It
illustrate failures and strength of ‘the hero of American Society.’-the
salesman. Miller was trying in “Salesman” to set forth what happens when a man does
not have a grip on the forces of life. Finally to conclude in the words of William
Hawkins.
‘Death of Salesman’ is a play
written alone the lines of the
finest classical tragedy. It is
the revelation of a man’s down-
fall, in destruction whose roots
are entirely in his own
soul.
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