Bloom's Reviews: Comprehensive Research Study Guide/Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman [Paperback]

Arthur Miller (Author), See Editorial Dept (Author), Harold Bloom (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1998 | ISBN-10: 0791041182 | ISBN-13: 978-0791041185

The tragedy of a typical American--a salesman who at the age of sixty-three is faced with what he cannot face; defeat and disillusionment.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Chelsea House Publications (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791041182
• ISBN-13: 978-0791041185
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.3 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,004,072 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Success, April 2, 2000

By 

Trine Anette (Bodø, Norway) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Salesman (Paperback)

Death of a salesman is a play written by Arthur Miller (1915- ). The play focuses on how Willy Loman, the main character always thinks and talks about being successful. Being successful is Willy's great dream. Just like the American dream. Willy strives to bring happiness to himself and his family, but does not succeed. He is too prideful to accept the fact that his dream of being a successful salesman never will become true, and he is too prideful to accept where he fits in society. People like Willy are very common in today's society. They are caught up in the American dream; everybody wants to be successful, but only a few make it to the top. But is this really the most important values in life? Willy looks at himself as a failure, just because he didn't make it to the top in business life, well, that is how business is; not everybody can make it to the top. That doesn't necessarily mean that your whole life is over. That is what happened to Willy; when he felt like a failure because of his broken dream, he let it out on his wife, and his two sons, Biff and Happy. Then he killed himself. This shows that Willy's only values in life were to become wee-liked and successful and if he didn't, it wasn't worth living. I think the book was a bit difficult to read, because the play shifts between present and past, which makes it a bit confusing. All over, I liked the book, not because the story was so good, but because after finishing it, it made me think about how much people think about their career, and how often the career becomes a first priority, no matter what. Is it the career that makes a man successful?

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Death of the American Dream, May 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Death of a Salesman (Paperback)

The play, "Death of a Salesman", by Arthur Miller, is a classic representation of the strife that the so-called pursuit of the American Dream can bring. The main character of the play is Willy Loman, who is found trapped by his old fashioned beliefs of how the business world should operate. It is found in the play that often times a smile and good appearance is not enough to get the job done. Willy was never successful in fufilling his ultimate dream of becoming a successful salesman. While he tried to attain his dream, he began to realize that his family life was unraveling. He was a victim of the "Heratio Alger" mentality, which stated that success would come to those who pursued their goals diligently. As high school students, we found the issues brought up in the play to be extremely relevant to everyday life. People like Willy are very common in today's society, in which people try so hard and still have troubles taking care of their family and fufilling their responsibilities. For a man that places so much importance on being successful it is hard for Willy to deal with the consequences he is faced with when his dreams fail to come true. The American Dream for some people is not easy to attain. This play is a good example of the everyday struggle that people face when trying to live up to something that they are not. Whether Willy liked it or not, he could not achieve the level of success and recognition he would've wanted for himself and his family. The true tragedy of the play is the gradual decline of which the Loman family is faced with. Some people have touble surviving in today's society becuase they just don't have what it takes to stay in the game. This play makes you think about the value that our society places on something we know we cannot attain. We felt that this play was informative and offered an in-depth look at the obstacles that people face when trying to attain something that is important for themselves to achieve. We would recommend this play to people who want to pursue a certain goal in life. It shows the struggle of a man with a good heart, who in the end has nothing but his life insurance to show for it. We must ask ourselves then, what it is that makes a man successful. Perhaps after reading this play the reader will begin to realize that there is more to life than the American Dream.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Alive As A Saleswoman..., August 1, 2005

By 

Gracy Ike (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Death of a Salesman (Audio Cassette)

I am an outside sales rep so I have a lot of drive time...I put that time to good use by listening to Death of a Salesman on tape.

It is an amazing story that is still relevant today. The moral is a nice reminder that the worth of oneself is not measured merely in wealth and career accomplishments.