Who Killed Willy Loman? An Investigation into Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, British
Cover of the book Who Killed Willy Loman? An Investigation into Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman' by Anonymous, GRIN Publishing
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Anonymous ISBN: 9783638506472
Publisher: GRIN Publishing Publication: May 30, 2006
Imprint: GRIN Publishing Language: English
Author: Anonymous
ISBN: 9783638506472
Publisher: GRIN Publishing
Publication: May 30, 2006
Imprint: GRIN Publishing
Language: English

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Freiburg (Englisches Seminar), 8 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: When Willy Loman is heard racing off with his car at the end of Arthur Millers play Death of a Salesman, nobody doubts why he is doing so. He wrecks his car and kills himself to leave his family 20,000 dollars insurance money. Willy Loman is a suicide. And yet every viewer of the play will ask himself1who or what killed this man. What are the forces that pushed him towards this somber end? The fact that Arthur Miller pursues genuine moral education in his plays, which he has repeatedly admitted to (for example in 'The Salesman Has a Birthday') justifies this question. For how one answers it decides what kind of message one distils from the play. In this paper, I will not focus on a possible moral message of the play. Instead, I will try to collect hints at who or what might be responsible for Willy Loman's death. As I am not the first to engage in this matter, I will be able to present the viewpoints of different critics, and to compare them. It seems to be a characteristic ofDeath of a Salesmanthat many reasons can be named for its catastrophic ending - its discussion has been very controversial. In consequence, one difficulty of my investigation will be to take into account also the play's subtleties in order to value each critic's standpoint properly. It has repeatedly been criticized that Arthur Miller makes use of fuzzy logic in his play. On the one hand, one can see obvious traits of social criticism inDeath of a Salesman,on the other hand Miller presents two characters - Charley and Bernard - that succeed in a capitalistic world without acting unfair. Miller condemns a social order ruled by wealth while approving of the right way to live in it. This conflict demonstrates that Miller's play is offering explanations of Willy Loman's failure that are based on social criticism as well as explanations that are psychologically motivated. This division marks the two directions criticism has been following through the years. For that reason, I will divide my inquiry into two sections: Cultural Reasons and Psychological Reasons. Whenever necessary, the two domains will be cross-linked in order to form a synthesis. When verifying quotations fromDeath of a Salesman,I will use plain numbers in brackets, such as (2031).

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Seminar paper from the year 2003 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,3, University of Freiburg (Englisches Seminar), 8 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: When Willy Loman is heard racing off with his car at the end of Arthur Millers play Death of a Salesman, nobody doubts why he is doing so. He wrecks his car and kills himself to leave his family 20,000 dollars insurance money. Willy Loman is a suicide. And yet every viewer of the play will ask himself1who or what killed this man. What are the forces that pushed him towards this somber end? The fact that Arthur Miller pursues genuine moral education in his plays, which he has repeatedly admitted to (for example in 'The Salesman Has a Birthday') justifies this question. For how one answers it decides what kind of message one distils from the play. In this paper, I will not focus on a possible moral message of the play. Instead, I will try to collect hints at who or what might be responsible for Willy Loman's death. As I am not the first to engage in this matter, I will be able to present the viewpoints of different critics, and to compare them. It seems to be a characteristic ofDeath of a Salesmanthat many reasons can be named for its catastrophic ending - its discussion has been very controversial. In consequence, one difficulty of my investigation will be to take into account also the play's subtleties in order to value each critic's standpoint properly. It has repeatedly been criticized that Arthur Miller makes use of fuzzy logic in his play. On the one hand, one can see obvious traits of social criticism inDeath of a Salesman,on the other hand Miller presents two characters - Charley and Bernard - that succeed in a capitalistic world without acting unfair. Miller condemns a social order ruled by wealth while approving of the right way to live in it. This conflict demonstrates that Miller's play is offering explanations of Willy Loman's failure that are based on social criticism as well as explanations that are psychologically motivated. This division marks the two directions criticism has been following through the years. For that reason, I will divide my inquiry into two sections: Cultural Reasons and Psychological Reasons. Whenever necessary, the two domains will be cross-linked in order to form a synthesis. When verifying quotations fromDeath of a Salesman,I will use plain numbers in brackets, such as (2031).

More books from GRIN Publishing

Cover of the book How do documentary collections reduce the risk for customers in export/import transactions? by Anonymous
Cover of the book Possible benefits to the Chinese tourism and hospitality industry by Anonymous
Cover of the book Seducing the Reader by Anonymous
Cover of the book How useful is a Study of the popular printed word in helping the historian understand popular culture in general? by Anonymous
Cover of the book The Role of Animals in McCarthy's 'Blood Meridian' and Haggard's 'She' by Anonymous
Cover of the book The Construction of the Plot in `King Lear´ by Anonymous
Cover of the book Always hard for me to get it right - The Different Versions of Peter Shaffer's Amadeus by Anonymous
Cover of the book Does a higher perceived product quality need less advertisement to be sold? by Anonymous
Cover of the book The Baltic States as members of the European Union - An analysis of the public opinion to EU membership in the Baltic Region by Anonymous
Cover of the book Process description of ordering dairy products in a food retail company by Anonymous
Cover of the book Honda's Core Competence by Anonymous
Cover of the book Shakespeare's 'Sonnet 127' and the mysterious 'Dark Lady' - An Analysis by Anonymous
Cover of the book Euro Adoption by Accession Countries - Macroeconomic Aspects of the Economic and Monetary Union by Anonymous
Cover of the book To what extent is realist theory an adequate tool to help us understand international relations in the unipolar post-Cold War world? by Anonymous
Cover of the book Cost drivers and economies of scale in the automobile industry by Anonymous
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy