Customer Reviews

Death of a Salesman (Penguin Plays)

5 star:		(66)
4 star:		(53)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

On ~Salesman's~ first opening night, when the curtain dropped at the end of the performance, something strange occurred, something that had never been seen before in American theatre: the audience, a full house, did not applaud, but sat motionlesss in their seats in silence. As minutes passed, a few people stood up to put on their coats, but sat down again, turning and discussing their lives. This strange behaviour continued on for some hours. Miller sat backstage, his head in his hands, not wanting to confront the possibility that his play had been a flop - this was far from the case, ~Salesman~ was a runnaway hit, and continues to be the emblematic portrayal of personal tragedy combined with cultural crises.

~Salesman~ is about many things. It is a tragedy about the collapse of the notion that personal success is measured by one's financial prosperity. Willy Loman's tragedy is really two-fold: the need of most people to make a 'mark' in their lives either through financial success or merely being loved by one's friends and family. In the end, Loman comes to realize his son Biff loves him; however, ironically, this realization only propounds his material failure which consequently, leads to his final attempt at 'success', ending in his tragic suicide.

This superlative play is a dramatic lesson in the individual tragedy of a man pursuing materialistic success at the expense of the higher values of personal, emotional growth and fulfillment that can only be achieved by truly knowing oneself.

~Salesman~ is a moralistic play. It teaches us that Willy Loman is Everyman. We're all part of a system that pushes the lie that materialism measures the worth of people, but to exclude basic human values, knowledge, community, and love, is to court disaster, and in poor Willy Loman's case, self destruction.

This play is the great American tragedy and a valuable lesson for us all.

Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," while confusing when just read through the text alone, is an awesomely crafted play that takes drama to the next level. Now being interested in plays, I decided it was time to read this one, being that this is considered a classic by many (which I could easily see why). Reading this play makes me want to write plays. Reading something like this makes me believe that I can some up with something great too. I am glad that I finally took the time to read it.

The story is about a broken-hearted salesman, Willy Loman. He is a man no longer living in the real world but is mostly trapped in his own delusional world. He can't let go of the past no matter how hard he tries, and it's eating him up inside. He wants to believe that his family is a shoe-in for greatness, no matter how lonely and sad his wife is, or how much of a player/swinger his youngest son is, or how confused and anti-business his oldest son is. You put all of this together and you get a glimpse of an American tragedy that is so powerful and sad that it makes you think these things happen all the time. From Page 1 you know it's not going to end on a happy note, but you decide to take the path anyways. And a path worth taking it is.

I admit that I was confused at certain points, because through the text alone it is very hard to separate Willy's reality from his imagination. There are places where Willy departs from reality and goes back to the past and it makes it very hard for us to figure out what is going on if we're only reading it. When I saw the movie version after reading this, I was able to appreciate the play more. I understood what confused me and I was able to figure out what was happening. Despite some confusing moments it is still a tremendous play that is very involving from start to finish. You are able to sympathize with the main character, and with the rest of the characters as well. You know a writer has done the job right when you are able to feel or care for every single character (or at least almost all of them, being there will be a few minor characters you're really not supposed to care for that much. This is something that always happens in the world of fiction and is to be expected). Arthur Miller did an amazing job of writing such a realistic and emotionally driven play. The characters were realistic as well as the dialogue.

"Death of a Salesman" is more than just simply a stunning play; it is a beautiful portrait of a family dealing with hardships and troubles. As soon as I began the play I was unable to put it down until it was finished. If you want to read a great play and are interested in great works of drama, this is the one for you.

(Note: If you are confused by the play, see the movie afterwards. It really helps.)

After recently finishing The Crucible and now having read Death of a Salesman, I am in awe of Miller's talents as a playwright. In both works, he draws factual evidence from history to support the reality of his own experiences in creating what can only be called a masterpiece. Miller, through Death of a Salesman, affected the national psyche of his time. He based the play's central father-son relationship on that of he and his uncle and fashioned a summary of idealistic American notions of success and individuality. The use of prose and time-suited characters give his works a sense of realism that ultimately brings them to life for the reader.

Miller employs various devices within the play. The most obvious are perhaps flashback and stream-of-consciousness dialogue, which the reader sees through Willy. These elements can make it difficult to distinguish Willy's reality from his imagination by the text alone, but both add to the reader's understanding of Willy's past and the gradual decline of his mental stability. Miller also employs multiple instances of foreshadowing, including his choice of title for this play. If the reader pays close attention to detail, the play's conclusion can be predicted long before the last few pages are read. One major theme is Willy's interpretation of the American Dream - that a "well-liked" and "personally attractive" businessman will indubitably and deservedly acquire material comforts, as opposed to becoming successful through one's on skill and hard work. This outlook drives his urge to "die well," another of the play's primary themes.

I must say that Death of a Salesman contains one of the best looks at human life. This play illustrates the death of the American Dream. While literally portraying a man fighting to maintain mental stability, it symbolically shows how Americans have turned the pursuit of happiness into the pursuit of money. For me, this novel spoke volumes. It emphasizes the human obsession to "get ahead" in life, only to wind up farther behind - ultimately losing the battle of life. As an adolescent, the strained father-son relationship of Willy and Biff forced me to examine whether or not I live up to the expectations of my own parents and question the traditional cliché. Do parents indeed know best? Overall, the novel is a beautifully realistic portrait of a family not unlike those of today. Death of a Salesman contradicts the erroneous "perfect family" model, solidifying it as a timeless classic.

"Death of a Salesman" is a sad, but wonderful play written by Arthur Miller. This play, together with "The Catcher in the Rye", was my introduction to real reading. Previous to reading this book, I had kept to what I will call "easier" reading.

"Death of a Salesman" was assigned to us by our English teacher, as part of our undergraduate English class. Our teacher, Mrs. Syring, knew this play by heart. She pointed out the subtleties in this play for us (you can't expect too much from a bunch of accounting students..) and she made us understand what kind of outstanding literary attack on the American society and the American dream this play really is.

The protagonist, Willy Loman, is a committed, hard working, aging, middle class man, with a dream to be rich and successful. Making it "big"- just like the American dream. Unfortunately, Loman is neither rich nor very successful. And in the end, Loman commits suicide, (wrongfully) thinking that his family will be just as happy without him, living well off the insurance money.

This play is a classic portrayal of what kind of tragedy the pursuit of the American dream can bring to a man and his family.

The play is written some sixty years ago (written in 1949), but I don't think this play will ever be outdated. Wonderfully written, with an important moral lesson for all of us to remember.

Although I'm an avid reader, I usually don't read plays, but decided to give Death of a Salesman a try because it was supposed to be one of the best pieces of American literature. After reading it, I have to say that it is quite deserving of that title.

To sum up the storyline without giving too much away, it is about a man who is dealing with his own pride in the face of failure, and his relationship with his son (who he deeply loves), who is also a failure. More importantly, Death of a Salesman takes a hard look at the American Dream and asks: Is it worth it?

The thing that this play so great to me was the characters. Willy and Biff Loman are two characters you won't soon forget (Willy especially). As I really enjoyed this play (and as it only took about three hours to read), I'm going to have to scan Amazon for a couple of other plays to read.

This is a powerfully sad play. It really demonstrates the deterioration of a man's dream. It almost made me cry, and I have never cried because of a book. It is an easy read, and I suggest YOU read it because it is very insightful.

Death of a Salesman is one of those rare plays that are equally riveting whether you see it in a theater or read the script in a book. The book tells the story of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, and his wife and two children. The "present day" in the story is about Willy near the end of his career. He is getting too old to travel around and to hustle to sell products. He also appears to be not quite right in the head any more. His oldest son has returned from the West where he has been doing odd jobs but not making much out of his life. Everyone is worried about Willy, including his neighbor and his boss. Unfortunately, Willy's boss is more concerned with the profits of the company.

The story flashes back to earlier times in several scenes. These stories mainly tell the story of more triumphant times for Willy. He is a good salesman and he's adored by his wife and children. One gets the sense that he is ready to hit it big. He rejects his brother's plan for a get rich quick scheme because he is doing so well in sales.

We are never quite sure how much of Willy's past is accurate. Like many good salesmen, Willy is used to promoting his products with little exaggerations. It seems that Willy's talent in sales bleeds over to his personal life, so that he is always doing a little worse than he says he is. It is unclear how much worse in these earlier days. However Willy is doing, it seems that his life has taken a turn for the worse. His oldest son is also doing much worse. He was the star quarterback in high school and is headed for great things with a scholarship to college. But he has lost his way at least as much as Willy.

The play answers some of these questions. Many of them are answered by the fact that life is hard sometimes and we make bad choices. Others seem to be answered by nothing besides fate. Also, as you can see by some of these reviews, the answers are different for different people. It is easy to pull some things out of this play when you are done, but it is almost impossible to figure out everything.

In any event, I strongly recommend you read this book and see the play live or on video. You will love them both.

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman basically revolves around 'the American Dream' which was based on the 'Declaration of Independence':'Men are born with the inalienable rights--life, liberty and most importantly the pursuit of happiness. Willy Loman, the main character of the play, had the pursuit of this faint dream of wealth, power and respect he figured he would achieve in the business world because he believed he was 'well liked'. I don't really blame his pride as his downfall, because afterall, it's not his pride that leads to his suicide. He's more obsessed with making something of himself and his sons, like his brother Ben...which is a good example of someone who has achieved the 'American Dream'. 'I walked into the jungle and came out rich'is expressed by Ben a number of times throughout the play, although in truth, Ben has emptiness inspite of his success and wealth. `Death of a Salesman' contains much that is critical of modern American society. But, this was not Arthur Miller's sole purpose in writing it.
Willy's misjudgement of his failure in life is demonstrated in `Death of a Salesman'. He feels as though he has failed because he has nothing to show for his years of work, in either his or his son's names. To kind of make up for it, Willy kills himself believing that he has done something right by helping Biff become someone with the insurance money that they get from his death. Sometimes 'a man is worth more dead than alive'. But what he has truly failed in is his family life, and his married life. That is the corruption of the true `American Dream'.

Probably the most important drama of American literature along with the "Glass Menagerie" by Tennessee Williams. This is an American treasure.

First of all this is a tragedy in the sense of the Greek tragedy. And since the Greek times no writter had ever managed to write a tragedy of that caliber (Shakespeare excluded). The only difference is that it takes place in America in the middle of the 20th century and the characters involved are working class Americans.

Arthur Miller takes the American society, rips it apart in pieces and then observes it under the microscope. Then he writes his notes on a book and from that he creates characters. Tragic characters that walk, beyond their apprehension, to their destruction in this case, to salvation in other cases. Characters so deep, deeper than life, so real, as real as life. They rip apart each others hearts through the entire lenght of the drama.

Needless to say that the play has been translated in literally all languages. For example in Greece it almost has never been a year that this play has not been performed by some theatrical group.

A masterpiece, an achievement of the mankind.

Having read both The Crucible and The Death of a Salesman, I would have to say that The Crucible is Miller's better work, simply because I enjoyed the storyline a lot more, but maybe that's just my personal bias.

Now, don't get me wrong, this play is by no means bad, but it may not be for everyone. The story follows the Loman family, a typical American middle-class family struggling to stay afloat. Willy Loman, a failed salesman, has his own version of the American Dream: to be a successful and respected salesman. What he refuses to accept is the fact that his career is a faliure, and instead dwells in his own memories and fantasies, stubbornly declaring himself as a successful salesman. Willy's mental and psychological disorders puts a strain on the Loman family, especially for the sons, Biff and Happy, who, following their fathers' philosophy, ended up as failures themselves.

The story in itself is sad and moving, but at times uninspiring. It doesn't hit the right note and doesn't move me as a story of such contect probably should. Miller's writing style in this story is straighforward and comprehendable, if even at times plain and bland. However, what I do like about the play is the fact that Miller employs engaging imagery, and really puts everything into historical context. The Loman family isn't special or significant in any way, but could be any American family in real life.