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Arthur Miller ’ s Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller ’ s Death of a Salesman. By Ms. Schiff English III CPA. The American Dream. Freedom includes a promise of prosperity and success

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Arthur Miller ’ s Death of a Salesman

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  1. Arthur Miller’sDeath of a Salesman By Ms. Schiff English III CPA

  2. The American Dream • Freedom includes a promise of prosperity and success • James Truslow Adams said, “…life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement.” • “all men are created equal” and they give the rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

  3. In 1776 the American Dream meant the ability of having low-cost land for farm ownership • Today it indicates the ability through participation in the society and the economy for everyone to achieve prosperity: • This includes : • One’s child growing up and receiving a good education and career without artificial barriers • Making individual choices without prior restrictions that limited people according to their class, caste status, religion, race or ethnicity • Traditionally home ownership was a way to assess accomplishing the American Dream

  4. Success, fame and wealth through hard work was the traditional American Dream • Industrialization of the 19th and 20th centuries have changed that dream (previous bullet); replacing it with the philosophy of “get rich quick” • Quest for money: big house and nice car now show a persons Americans success • Americans have gone from traditional hard work to quick “easy” money • “rags to riches”

  5. Arthur Miller • Was born in 1915 and raised in New York City • He was a college student during the Great Depression of the 1930s (influenced his writings because he lived through the Depression) • Concerned with social and economic injustices of capitalism • Wrote about social and political pressures and their effects on human values and morality

  6. Death of a Salesman • Tragedy: “a form of drama exciting the emotions of pity and fear;” a character passes through a series of misfortunes leading to a final, devastating catastrophe • Tragic Flaw: character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist in a tragedy • Theme: fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work

  7. Conflict: struggle between two opposing forces. • External: character vs. opposing forces • Man vs. Man (another physical person) • Man vs. Society (a group of people that feel the same about a topic/situation) • Man vs. Nature (elements of nature including but not limited to weather) • Internal: character vs. self (inside the character’s mind) • Man vs. Self (inner fight with ones morals; good vs. evil; right vs. wrong)

  8. Setting of Death of a Salesman • 1940s • Brooklyn, New York • Willy’s flashbacks take place in both Boston and New York • Play takes place in a 24 hour time period

  9. Character Development • As we read the play we will write down character traits and how they evolve. • When listing traits be sure to include page numbers so you can reference the information quickly during an essay, homework assignment or in-class discussion/do now assignment.

  10. Willy Loman • 60 years old (12) • Salesman (12) • Exhausted (12) • “New England Man” (14) • Wandering mind (14) • Contradicts himself (16) example: “Biff is a lazy bum!”“There’s one thing about Biff-he’s not lazy.”

  11. Rude (12-14) • Mercurial (12)

  12. Linda Loman • Jovial (12) • Willy’s wife (12) • Nurturing personality (12) • Admires Willy (12) • Concerned about Willy’s state of mind (12) • Makes excuses for Willy (12-14)

  13. Biff Loman • 34 years old • Wants to be a farmer • “lost”/ “finding himself” • Well built/ personal attractiveness • Dreams are strong but unacceptable • Womanizer • Doesn’t need materialistic things

  14. Happy Loman • Tall and powerfully built • Very sexual • Womanizer • Won’t accept defeat • Hard skinned • Pretends to be content • Apologist for Willy • Materialistic

  15. Competitive • Has affairs • Feels the need to “prove himself” to co-workers • Lost but in a different way than Biff

  16. Character Conflicts • Biff: Man vs. Society (struggle to do what he is passionate about or what society deems the “proper” career) • Man vs. Self (inner conflict trying to determine if he should do what makes him happy, or do what would make his father and society happy)

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