New York, NY: Penguin Books.Late 1940s Willy Loman's house New York City and Barnaby River Bostonĭeath of a Salesman is a 1949 stage play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. This along with the conflicts of World War II and the Great Depression are the backdrop to the characters emotions that are expressed through the words written by Miller. Miller, like his characters, had been through tough times with his relationships and money. The characters in Death of a Salesman represent the internal struggle going around in the world when it takes place. Happy in the end does not grow or change by the things happening around him like Monroe who dies of a drug overdose. Happy in Miller’s personal life could represent his wife Marilyn Monroe who was known to be living a good life but getting involved with drugs and unsavory people. Happy in many ways represents the people sitting on the sidelines of the time period the countries avoiding getting involved in the global conflict or those following the appeasement philosophy of giving in to what Germany wanted, but in the United States it could be the men and woman living in luxury while the people around them starve. He had been expressing his unhappiness by sleeping with his bosses’ fiancés and by lying about whatever it took for things to go his way. Happy is the Younger brother who dreams of getting recognized and does so in inappropriate ways. Like the United States, Biff does the right thing and confronts his father and actually let’s go the hatred he had been feeling towards his father.īiff had been working up to changing throughout the play, his brother Happy had not been. Many Americans believed in what the Nazis were doing so it was a debate over entering the war, especially after World War I had just ended. Biff’s struggle to figure out what is right and wrong is also reflected in World War II and the decision on if the United States were going to enter the war. Miller went to school in Michigan and Biff went to work in Kansas. What Miller and Biff do have in common is leaving the big city life behind them and moving to the open west. He had been doing odd jobs to help with the bills at home and to pay for his college education. Miller on the other hand was very familiar with hard work. He has been running from the wrongs he thought his father had done and had come to despise him for not teaching him about hard work. His struggle is almost an internal battle over what is right and wrong.
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Willy’s son, Biff, is also having a struggle. This is an impactful moment because historically it has always been the job of the father to provide for the family but when Willy is unable to do so he begins to look for the equivalent to his brother finding the diamond and he finds it, his insurance policy for twenty thousand dollars.
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This is mirrored in the play as well by Willy having to accept money from his neighbor and still pretends to his wife, Linda, that it is his salary. This can be seen is Arthur’s own past when his father was unable to keep his company running and an uncle who was a salesman. 1932 the new deal was put into place, this changed society to depend a little more on the government but for many, it was an attack on ones pride that they could not provide for their own family. The idea too many people today in the United States is a reality, however in the thirties that was not always the case. This dream became his lifeline and the dream was extended to include providing for his family. He refuses to accept what he has and has to dream big and cannot be happy with anything else. He dreams of becoming a wealthy businessman like his brother, Ben. Willy, the father with a guilty conscience, who dreams of making it big in business. Each of the Loman males has a dream that they hope to achieve this is what drives their actions throughout the story. The American Dream is something everyone has and the characters in Death of a Salesman are not exception.
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The American dream was a beacon of hope to thousands of families struggling to make it. The 30’s and 40’s were a severely unstable, the dust bowl, great depression, and World War II, all impacted the United States culture. When looking at Death of a Salesman the time period and the author’s personal history are very important. To conclude this here is a paper written using historical and biographical lenses on analyzing the play. This is my last post over Death of a Salesman.