arthur miller’s death of a salesman by ms. schiff english iii cpa
Post on 16-Dec-2015
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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.”
• 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
• 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”
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
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
• 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)
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
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.
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.”
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)
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
Happy Loman
• Tall and powerfully built• Very sexual• Womanizer• Won’t accept defeat• Hard skinned• Pretends to be content• Apologist for Willy• Materialistic
• Competitive• Has affairs• Feels the need to “prove himself” to co-
workers• Lost but in a different way than Biff
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