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 Political philosophy of John Locke by Anonymous
Cover of the book Microsoft is a Monopoly, which operates against the Public Interest?! by Anonymous
Cover of the book The Eastern enlargement of the currency union: Challenges for the ECB's monetary policy by Anonymous
Cover of the book Theories on the origin of the english progressive by Anonymous
Cover of the book The Metamorphosis of Alex in Stanley Kubrick's 'Clockwork Orange' from a Viewpoint of Abnormal Psychology by Anonymous
Cover of the book Who can bring peace? The role of external actors in the Israeli-Palestinian peace-process by Anonymous
Cover of the book Divided Inheritance by Anonymous
Cover of the book An Analysis of the Usage and Effect of Presupposition and Entailment in Isaac Marion's Novel 'Warm Bodies' by Anonymous
Cover of the book Los Angeles in Film - Lakeview Terrace by Anonymous
Cover of the book Indian perceptions - From 15th century to Benjamin Franklin´s 'Remarks Concerning the Savages of North America' by Anonymous
Cover of the book Parent-Child-Relationships in Canadian Literature (King, Thomas: Green Grass, Running Water; Laurence, Margaret: A Bird in the House) by Anonymous
Cover of the book Emily Dickinson's Death Poetry by Anonymous
Cover of the book Document Analysis of 'A History of Medieval Islam' by J.J. Saunders by Anonymous
Cover of the book 'Is it cos they is black?' British society and its colonial immigrants in the TV series 'The Kumars at No. 42' and 'Ali G' by Anonymous
Cover of the book Difficulties in expressing voters` true preferences 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