Before you transition from this landmark play to the next text, you should give Death of a Salesman a little more consideration before you write your first paper for this class.
There are three options for this first blog assignment. The essays can be found on our course web site.
It would be beneficial to you to read each question, then it's accompanying essay. This will help you to decide which topic you would like to approach.
1. Read Zoglin's "American Tragedy" and discuss Zoglin's thesis. I have included these starting points to help you formulate your response.
- Identify Zoglin's thesis, and trace his attempt to support it
- Elia Kazan's response to Miller
- Modernism - the wikipedia article for modernism can be found here
- Ibsen - the wikipedia article for Ibsen can be found here
2. Read Miller's "The 'Salesman' Has a Birthday" and discuss Miller's thesis. I have included these starting points to help you formulate your response.
- Note the date of the essay
- "And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity"
- Miller coming to terms with what he had written
- The realization of the script, from idea to production
- Miller's thoughts on the play's theme
3. Read Ferris' "A Conversation With Arthur Miller" and discuss Miller's response to Ferris' questions. I have included these starting points to help you formulate your response.
- Note the date of the interview
- The role of the artist in society
- How "one person's story can transcend itself"
- The effect of Death of a Salesman on drama
- The dramatic works mentioned in the essay / the nature of drama
- Saul Burry
- The theme of Fathers and Sons
- "There is an old rule of psychology that if something doesn't meet resistance, it is probably not true." How does this response link with "the public role of the artist"
29 comments:
Arthur Miller’s thesis in his 1950 New York Times article The ‘Salesman’ Has a Birthday portrayed his hope for civilization- hope that people will one day move past the fear that is keeping us restrained. This is the same fear that keeps us striving for the unattainable; keeps us in a cycle of materialism. It is a fear of each other. It is a fear of the person next to you owning something larger or prettier, a fear of that person being more well liked, a fear that that person is better than you. It is a fear of facing what you haven’t worked for and what others have. Celebrating the first anniversary of Death of a Salesman, Miller had only began to fully understand how the play had escaped his hands and transformed into something incomprehensible. Miller tells the reader of his realization of what he had created and when it came to him, quite randomly. Upon reading to his wife and friends what he thought was comical, his wife began to weep. He realized how deeply moved they had been but felt madness within himself. This madness had come from a story that spilled out, a story that silenced his first listeners to his last, the story of Willy Loman becoming not a story character- but a human figure all on his own.
In Miller’s article he says, "And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity." Miller is speaking about a deep-rooted persistence among humans to move forward as one, which he has observed in his viewers over the first year of Death of a Salesman productions. Billboards and flashy television advertisements, brand names and a twisted portrayal of a good role model often blind society to believe we are to follow such examples and become creatures of the media. Miller, however, sees perseverance in his audiences that sparks hope in him- hope that people can find a way to surpass that fear of one another, passed aggression and anger to reach true humanity. He sees a classic yearning among people to come together and transcend lives like that of Willy Loman’s.
Miller came to terms with what he had written in Death of a Salesman when he saw the reaction of his wife and friends and later, when he saw it coming to life on stage for the first time with actors like children- turning themselves into his characters. With talented actors and a strong director with a unique style, Miller’s play went from a script to a production.
Miller’s article discusses what even he himself learned from the production. He learned that an audience has a limitless imagination- that they are willing to go with you wherever you decide to take them. He learned that people long for the kind of connection and adventure Death of a Salesman gave them. Miller also makes a point in stating that Willy’s death was not a disaster, but the only justification he had for the life he wasted. Biff’s self-realization and realization of his father’s life was not meant to salvage what years Willy Loman had left. It was a lesson to contribute to society rather than train yourself to receive.
This article presents Arthur Miller’s feelings towards Death of a Salesman one year after its first production-exactly how long it took to understand it for himself. Miller comes to understand that people do not want to look in the mirror to see failure; people do not wish to live their lives in vain. People want to listen.
Question 3.
While reading this conversation with Arthur Miller and Ferris I found that Miller never directly answered the questions asked. Miller gave a glimpse of his own opinion but left a lot of interpreting up to the reader. He did a good job illustrating how Ferris was asking questions that were black and white, however the answers according to Miller were very much gray. This is how I believe Miller writes his plays as well. Miller briefly will touch on a moral or idea, and then allow the reader to formulate the true meaning for themselves.
This conversation with Miller and Ferris was recorded in 2001, nearly 52 years after Miller wrote Death of A Salesman. It is because of the vast time difference that Miller has the chance to look back on his work and see the true lasting qualities of his masterpiece. Miller can also view the effects of his play on society as a whole. In Death of A Salesman Miller really discusses issues that are universal and prominent in societies. Nevertheless these issues are of course never talked about in public. Miller challenges the audience to evaluate Willy’s situation and find aspects of Willy’s character in us all.
These are assumptions I had made after reading Death of A Salesman and the article. Miller was asked the question, how a person’s story can transcend itself, to which Miller replied in classic Miller fashion. He used twenty first century plays as a reference point in which to base his argument, which basically said it is possible for a story to transcend itself, but this is not happening right now. Miller explains that in order for a personal story to transcend itself, or rise above and surpass itself the story has to add moral dimension. Touching and encompassing morals do this, then the writer has unknowingly touch society, in turn making the personal story transcend itself the writer has given the story deeper meaning. Another example Miller uses to further explain his point of view was Mobey - Dick. This was a story that was taken into deeper moral context therefore rising above all else in excellence. For a story to surpass expectations the story needs to have the ability to speak to us all the story needs more than just a personal quest, the plot needs dimension and angles. Willy Lowman and all of the characters were the aspects of moral and this is where Miller transcends his story. When a play or story transcends itself through moral dimension this work of art effects drama itself.
Death of A Salesman had a major role in effecting drama. Greek drama was the same story over and over with different characters and problems. However Miller in this play takes a distinctively different approach. Miller challenges the basic principles of drama. He begins the play imediately with action and he has no transitions, which is very unconventional. How Miller challenges these aspects of drama was unheard of by those before him. He does this by blending time. He states in the interview, “… there is the use of the past in the present.” he also goes on to say, “ It is a concurrence of past with the present.” Miller attacks a fundamental aspect of drama by the amalgamation of time in such a way. By doing this Miller further allows the audience to grow and learn with the characters.
I believe that Miller’s philosophy is not a big secret; the principles that Miller follows are very basic, to simply not follow principles. In his writings he gives the audience the tools to evaluate their own lives. I believe that through Willy and the Lowman family, Miller was trying to reach out to the hearts of all people stuck in a cycle. Willy was chasing the American dream, and I think that Miller truly developed Willy as a person whom everyone can relate to. Willy is a character who is so dynamic that every person can see some part of himself or herself in Willy.
Personally the aspect of Willy that I learned the most from was his dreaming personality. I think of myself as a dreamer as well, yet while examining Willy I discovered that dreams are just that dreams, until and unless I become more proactive in achieving them. What I learned from Willy was that it is ok to dream as long as you are conscious of reality. Willy dreamed of being a success, this success did not lye in sales but in something involving working with his hands. If Willy had been able to face reality he would have intern achieved his original dream, success. Arthur Miller, through Willy Lowman, has taught me that if you are proactive and do not lose sight of reality then dreams do become what you make of them.
At the end of Death of A Salesman some people might feel that the book teaches that dreams are false and unachievable, conversely I felt the book taught a lesson that dreams are achievable if you work towards them. I believe Death of A Salesman is a story that transcends itself because of the deep moral messages. No matter how much I dislike Willy as a character, the moral lessons taught to me through Willy are endless.
Question #1
In the article “American Tragedy” by Richard Zoglin, he tries to prove that Willy Loman is a classic example of a tragic hero. He backs up this points by giving the readers an actual text from the play, followed by an explanation of his own. His main argument is that there is no specific definition of a “Tragic Hero”. You can be a tragic hero, I can be one as well. There is no distinct reason why a person becomes a tragic hero. The problems and struggles builds up gradually, and adds up. When it becomes too big to the point where we cannot break it down, this is when the hero meets his/her end. We all have flaws within us, sometimes we just don’t realize that its there. We just see these flaws through our protagonist Willy Loman, the commoner.
Zoglin explains, as humans, we all strive for perfection, yet we are aware that we can never be a perfect being. By being imperfect, this means that we all have flaws. Sometimes many of us get angry or disappointed at ourselves that we cannot be better, or the fact that we do not realize the fact that maybe we were born with weak spots. And these are the spots that its hard to be fixed. By observing Willy, we can all see the reflection of ourselves. I believe the reason why some of us are angry at Willy is not because he is a stupid, old, lame man, but because he reminds of us. He reminds us of our own flaws, and faults. The truth is that many of us does not like to be faced with our imperfections. This is why we are constantly frustrated with Willy through out the play. Yes, some may think, ‘well, Willy’s stupid, and I would never do what he did’, but it is likely that we would do the same. If we were in Willy’s position, it is possible that we would act and think the same way as him.
Zoglin furthermore supports this thesis by reminding the readers that the play has been around for more then 50 years, and is still being studied widely. This shows that people who lived 50 years ago deals with similar problems 50 years later - which is now a days. People living in this century, can also relate to similar struggles Willy is going through, and therefore can connect with the character easily.
One particular example, that stood out was when Zoglin mentioned Ben, Willy’s older brother. Yes, many of us (or in my personal case), have the perfect sibling that we all look up to, and wants to be like. This is how Willy feels about Ben. He looks up to Ben because Ben has everything Willy does not have. Ben is independent, successful and mostly importantly, knows what exactly he is doing. On the other side, Willy is lost, and has no idea what he wants in life. So he turns to what looks good, and expects the impossible. This is why when the reality hits him, he quickly turns away. By repeating this, it comes to the point where he cannot face the reality because it hurts him so bad. The most stubborn part of Willy is that he is not willing to face the reality, and therefore creates more illusions, which hurts him more in reality. Every time he wants more and more of impossible. At some point of life, many people realize that there are certain things in life that they cannot achieve, and lets it go. This is what Willy has hard time doing.
This is why Willy starts to judge people since in his mind, he believes that he is the greatest being and cannot be judged by others. It is true that there are many people amongst us who think that way. Once again, this proves Zonglin’s thesis of Willy being a tragic hero, and how everybody and anybody can relate to him. He is almost like a little child whining all the time and believes that s/he is the best, and gets angry if somebody tells him/her that they are not. His close-minded personality is the main reason why he falls to a tragic death.
The reason why numerous readers, and directors such as Elia Kazen finds the play so heartbreaking is because Willy is - us. It portrays our own lives and scuffle with own selves. He is nobody special or particular. He is the typical you and me.
Question 2.
Miller hints on his thesis in the first paragraph stating, "The play cut itself off from me in a way that is incomprehensible." This leads to Miller’s main point, humanity and the ignorance of a character who values a tangible dream over an intangible legacy.
Reminiscing one year after the first production of his play Miller recalls the fear he had presenting his work for the first couple times. This play represented the form Miller had been searching for his whole writing career. It had been a madness which passed through him in a succession of twists and turns surprising him again each morning. To this date Miller still admits writing the play had been almost surreal.
Pre-opening night, under a single bulb where they rehearsed the play for a few friends, Miller saw for the first time how others saw it. "We are trying to save ourselves separately and that is immoral, that is the corrosive among us." Miller feels this is un-humane; self-sufficiency is a one way street and Willy Loman takes his car on a crash course to the end.
Miller’s idea really came together when he started production with Elia Kazan. Kazan gave the characters a center point and the actors for their own reason would reach it. They develop a personality for the characters in which they "Seem to have arrived there by themselves." This emphasizes the depth the characters have and their ability to relate to the common man.
Conclusively, Miller presents us with an option of fear or humility, "And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon but there non the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity." The way to achieve this is not through a dream but through a great man. A great mans life justifies itself, a great man will live on through his actions, and ironically this man is the American dream.
Question 1
Richard Zoglin’s American Tragedy tries to point out how Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman has been so successful over all these years. Zoglin wants to know why this depressing play still moves us no matter how it is recreated throughout the years. Zoglin sees the primary reason for the success of Millers play as his main character Willy Lowman. Zoglin feels that Willy Lowman’s flexibility has lead to the continuing success of Death of a Salesman. Lowman’s constant chase of the American dream and his “skewed recipe for success” sends audiences on an emotional roller coaster that can win anyone over. This constant emotional tugging that miller provides you with keeps you reading on and on until the ending, which, as director Elia Kazan explains, “My God, it’s so sad”, which most audience feel at the end of the play and that is just how miller wants you to feel. With a character that can change, depending upon the appeal of the audience and the multitude of emotions experienced during the play it is no wonder why Miller’s play has been able to continue its greatness on to this very day.
Zoglin believes Willy is the main reason for the success of Death of a Salesman but he also sees that the post modernist style in which Miller wrote the play contributed to its success. Zoglin saw Miller’s work as “experimental work, with fluid leaps in time”, which was a different style in which Miller approached writing his play. With this new style breaking away from the old it gained much attention from the audiences. New rebellious ways always seem appealing to the public eye and gain much attention and interest. The fact that Death of a Salesman was created in such a way that it can be altered to appeal to any audience during any period of time and thought lends itself to continuous success throughout the years. Some plays today contain what Zoglin explains as, “time traveling devices, mixing past and present, fantasy and reality” which gives a new twist to the play, which adds to its continuing success attracting new audiences.
Zoglin sees that the continuing success of Arthur Miller’s Play Death of a Salesman can be contributed to Willy’s Character and Arthur Millers post modernist writing style. No matter what audience Death of a Salesman encounters, it will always be able to transfer itself to success because of the fine writing styles it was based upon by Arthur Miller.
Discussion Three
In the article A Conversation with Arthur Miller Ferris is able to capture Miller’s thoughts on play writing and people who gave him advice on technique. Miller’s response to the simple questions were simple clear cut answers, this is not how I found his plays are written. Even though the interview took place fifty years after the play was written Death of a Salesman concept is even more evident in society today Miller discusses this in the interview. “people give a lot of their lives to a company or even the government, and when they are no longer needed, when they are used up, they're tossed aside.” Today in society we choose not to deal with the elderly, we put them in homes and as long as we visit them once month we feel we have done the right thing by avoiding the problem. Biff and Happy are faced with this situation in the play and like everyone else they struggle with this point in life but do not have any money to throw at the situation. This leads Ferris into asking Miller about father son relationships that is evident in many of Millers plays. Miller uses this theme in his plays because it was a big part of his own life because his father lost his job during the depression. I do not agree with Miller when he says security is an illusion because without taking great economic risks the economy is not at risk, the opportunity for success is not as high but an economic collapse is not as likely either.
Ferris also talks to Miller about the role the artist has in society, Miller says that as an artist it is important to a good citizen because people look up to you for leadership. I agree with Miller when you live your life in the limelight he chooses to be a model citizen for others, not commit selfish crimes to attract attention. They will not serve the consequences for the crimes because of all their wealth. I would consider this kind of behaviors as immature action for one in this position.
Ferris asks Miller if “one person's story can transcend itself” Miller feels that a writer’s orientation affects this, without a moral dimension this can not be achieved. This is what separates good plays from inferior ones, Miller has this talent and is able to write plays that bring up issues that people can relate that makes his plays successful. The effect that his play Death of a Salesman had on drama was significant because Miller wrote in a certain style that was not done before combining the past and the present, this can be mistaken for flash backs. His plays are all action and no transitions are made I feel that this adds to the excitement of Miller’s plays.
Saul Burry was a script doctor that Miller respected he gave Miller advice on how to write his plays and what kind of reaction you want from the audience. Burry also said to Miller to have a good play you need a respectful audience.
Miller says that if something is not able to cause controversy then it is probably not true, so as an artist it is his responsibility to cause controversy. Miller does this in his plays by raising issues that have not been talked about before, The Crucible exemplifies this, on the first night it was disliked but after time exposing the issue made Miller a great success. Arthur Miller is a great playwright that that produces great works that will live on and on, Death of a Salesman is no exception to this.
Question 1
Richard Zoglin's paper “American Tragedy” focuses on the consistent emotions evoked in the audience by each performance of Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman. Zoglin poses his thesis as a question, inquiring as to how a play with the same plot can invoke the unchanging emotions of the captive audience. Zoglin supports his thesis with the arguments of character, style, and emotion.
Zoglin indicates that Willy's character is the first major contributor to the success of invoking these emotions. Willy is described as an “all-American victim of his own skewed recipe for success” (Zoglin). This portrays how Willy Loman's character is similar to the average American, who has high dreams for their own lives and allows the audience to empathize with Willy. As well as being related to the typical citizen, Willy Loman's easily imagined character is “a charismatic man who might have been liked in his prime” (Zoglin), but now appears to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. This depressing life, coupled with the portrayal of a typical American, is sufficient in inducing the audience's emotions.
The next fact stated by Zoglin is Miller's ability to control the audience's attention in powerful scenes, particularly when Willy is caged between the past and present, reliving his past experiences while engaging in a conversation in the present. It is this style that captures the audience's attention, keeping them transfixed in the scenario at hand. This style effectively related to modernism, the breaking away from tradition. The audience remains interested in Miller's use of modernism because it defies the standard that most former plays were written in.
Zoglin's final argument uses the contrast between Willy and Bernard's lives. Zoglin uses the example of Bernard not telling Willy about his Supreme Court case to exemplify his point of the emotional influence in Death of a Salesman. Zoglin claims that this scene portrays Willy's “self-delusion and failure” (Zoglin) by showing Bernard's great achievements. With this contrast the audience feels a sense of pity for Willy because of the degree of Willy's failure to fulfill any of his dreams. Zoglin also uses the audience's sadness as one of his points. Willy's funeral is near the opposite of the “death of a salesman”; there is next to no one attending his funeral. Elia Kazan, a director, exemplifies this depression when he said “my God, it's so sad”. The emotions of pity and sadness are the consistent emotions experienced by the audience, which justify the emotional results portrayed through the audience.
Willy's character, Miller's use of style, and the audience's emotional response are Zoglin's arguments in his paper “American Tragedy”. He claims that these trigger the audience's consistent emotions. Death of a Salesman is able to “pack so much heartbreaking family drama” (Zoglin) that it becomes an interesting and emotional piece every time it is viewed.
Question 2.
Fifty-seven years ago Arthur Miller published an essay in the New York Times, titled “The ‘Salesman’ Has a Birthday”. In the fifties having your literature piece published in the New York Time was an achievement, which not many had a capability of doing. Having your work put to press in the New York Times would have been considered a major accomplishment at that time, but Arthur Miller had already achieved this feat. My understanding of getting your work published in the 1950’s; especially in the New York Times newspaper meant you had to have a high literary status, which Arthur Miller does have from writing “Death of a Salesman”.
The thesis that comes about this 1950 essay makes sense to me in the last paragraph where Miller states that all is left to feel for the anniversary is hope. My understanding of hope is that society will/needs to overcome that unknown factor that is holding us back. This unknown factor has the potential to be a fear in our lives, the fear of not knowing the world outside our comfort zone but wanting a taste of that world. A fear like Willy Loman has; scared of society rejecting you and someone else being better liked then you. After one year has past, Arthur Miller Still does not understand the feelings that he is experiencing from his own drama he wrote and mentions that the play cut itself off from him in a way that is incomprehensible. After seeing the performance of “Death of a Salesman”, Miller realises what he thought was hilarious was actually in fact not at all and was all just a dream he made in his head that was filled with high emotion.
At the end of Millers article he states “And as old insistence –sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less –that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity”. The meaning from this statement is that there are feelings brought out by Millers writings, which he realises from the reaction he received from his family. Therefore Arthur Miller understands that every audience member in every production that will ever been seen will all have a different emotional connection to the play, whether it be to the characters, words or stage directory every person will interpret this play in there own way, shape and form. Miller does not realise this until the one year celebration of “Death of a Salesman”.
A CONVERSATION WITH ARTHUR MILLER
52 years after the production of a revolutionary masterpiece, Death of a Salesman, 2001 Jefferson lecturer awardee, Arthur Miller, conversed with N.E.H chairman William R. Ferris about morality and the public role of the artist. In the first two questions posed to Miller, he spoke about social class and the politics involved. Individuals, who commit their whole lives to companies and even the government, are disposed of like yesterday’s news once favour is no longer found in their services. Some even collapse from prominent positions in society and without refusal, tossed away. If people would look closely, and pay attention to the time line, Miller was speaking about an issue that was less common in his time, and how it has become more evident in today’s society.
In addition, art in a sense takes the sometimes-distorted pictures presented by society and culture and reconstruct them in order to make sense of what is being presented, as the brain would interpret distorted images conveyed through the eye and project them in a comprehensible state. Literary artists such as Miller examine society and present it as it is in order for individuals to comprehend. Moreover, Arts and artists through their work allow individuals to look beyond themselves and find meaning. For instance, in Death of a Salesman, it shows you the perils of pursuing the “American Dream” – a tragic end. Not only tragedy in its common context, but rather the death of the soul and mind. This is depicted through the protagonist Willie Loman, who died a death of the soul when he was used up and spat out without pay and commission.
However, in order for one person’s story to transcend itself, the writer must be able to construct his or her work in a way that look beyond the personal story or a moral dimension. In other words, it must have deep hidden message that has meaning that can be transcended. For instance, Death of a Salesman does not merely speak about a delusional salesman who has failed to find success in the business world, but rather the perilous fate of an individual who pursues the American Dream – money, house, cars, and a wife.
Furthermore, according to Miller, there are no core issues that a playwright should deal with. He writes about an issue that deeply moves him and is cognizant enough to write about it. More simply put, he creates one. For instance, when Arthur Miller did this play, he was speaking about something that was intense in his life. In other words, relates to him and what he experienced. In anger, he sat down and typed out the play within months and launched the production the same year.
Additionally, western civilization rests upon two pillars: Greek mythology and Judeo Christian mythology. According to Miller, this has not changed over centuries. What has occurred, however, is that contemporary works have been disguised by what is seemed to be new stories. Moreover, Death of a Salesman has had an effect on drama: it has no transitions, little or no waste, and action commences from the start. Also, it gets to the point. Even though it is told like a dream, with symbols that have meaning, it must not be confused as flashbacks. It uses the past to explain the present. For example, when reality hits Willy, he goes off into a dream. This dream dives into the past, which explains the reality or the present.. This is what makes Death of a Salesman a little different. In other words, what Miller has done is changed the way stories are told.
In Harper’s magazine, Miller wrote an article about a script doctor called Saul Burry, who advised a writer about his play. He regarded Saul Burry as a very insightful person who had a fantastic way of summarizing ideas with regards to playwriting and theater. What Saul Burry was saying is that the audience must appreciate and give credit where credit is due to fantastic pieces and find meaning in it so as to lean from it.
Also, in Death of a Salesman, like other plays by Miller, there is the theme of father and son. During the great depression, a lot of jobs were lost. This had an adverse effect on family life, in that many men were psychologically, and emotionally affected. This has led to a break down in the relationship between father and son. It is this experience that inspired Millers work. However, he insisted that the theme of father and son was evident in plays such as Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, so it is nothing new. In Salesman, what Miller was trying to say is that a son needs his father in his life. If there is no father figure around, then he is exposed to indoctrination. This is what happened to Willie. As a result, his ability to father has been impaired. He teaches them nothing but lies, deceit and dishonesty. How can an individual become a father when there was none for him? The theme of father and son appeals to us so that we can understand the importance of it. It is wide scale issue that we all experience.
Lastly, the public role of the artists is to evoke a feeling in us that is hidden deep inside, but are too passive to act on it. It counteracts the rule of psychology, which states that if some thing does not meet resistance it is probably not true. Regardless of nationality, language and culture we all face social and political problems. The works of artists are not confined to one culture or country. It applies to all.
Question One – American Tragedy
In the article “American Tragedy”, Richard Zoglin emphasizes on “why this depressing sometimes over written, painfully familiar play” (death of a salesmen) is still a huge sensation 50 years later. Zoglin answers this question in the next line by using Willy’s quotes “He’s liked but not – well liked”. This play was well liked by the many generations that encounter the play many years after it was written and performed. Zoglin explains Willy as being the “all –American victim”, Willy spends his whole life pursuing a dream of success and wealth. Zoglin uses this to explain that this play is still a sensation because everyone sees a bit of himself or herself in Willy Loman, and so all of the audience is able to connect with the play. It is a reminder to the audience of what becomes of us when we are blinded of life and only focus on a dream and spend our lives pursuing a dream that may not even exist. Zoglin also believes that this play is still very successful because it was the origin of a new way of literature. In this play Arthur Miller introduces a new concept of time travel, where the audience is able to view Willy’s interior life”, this concept allows the audience to see Willy’s thoughts and memories, it is also able to fill in many of the questions as to why characters act in the certain ways they do. This play is very influential to more recent plays because Miller was one of the first to incorporate time travel in a play, by mixing the past and present. “ … It reminds us of how influential the play has been stylistically”. Zoglin shows that death of a salesmen was more then a play it was the beginning of a new way of literature, and it was a play that was has a large scale of emotions, and that every member of the audience is able to connect with the play and leave with a different interpretation.
Zoglin also supports his theory with giving credit to Arthur miller for his brilliance in writing this play, as mentioned above Miller began the concept of time travel. Allowing the audience to understand characters much better and at a higher level. Zoglin also supports his point with “yet its easy to forget that death of a salesmen was also an experimental work.” Although this was one of Millers first plays written and it was just the beginning of many amazing works from him, this play has been a great sensation and has changed the way much literature is written. Zoglin also supports this when he says, “Miller captured the essence of Willy’s self-delusion and failure in a brief exchange with emotion, wit and character insight, call that poetry”. Miller’s ability to allow the audience to experience what Willy is experiencing. Miller is able to put his audience in Willy’s shoes. This all adds on to why this play is still a sensation and after 50 years it still applies to all of us.
Many of the readers find the play so sad, and heart breaking. Elia Kazen have the same reaction that is “ it’s so sad” this is because everyone is able to a bit of them selves in Willy Loman. Now, if we look around at our society, everyone is busy running around chasing a dream, or a goal, to be more successful, to get that car, to have a certain lifestyle. After reading the play everyone in the audience is able to see what can happen to them and that their lives could end up like Willy Loman.
Zoglin concludes his article with “After 50 years it still makes the sales” this further supports his thesis by proving that Miller did something right because the play is still a huge success, even 50 years later.
In Arthur Miller’s essay The “Salesman” Has a Birthday, written one year after the Broadway release of Death of a Salesman, it has Miller reflecting on his play, and how he hopes it may affect the audience, which is a metaphor for humanity, that watches the play, which can be seen in the essay’s thesis, “And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity". His first impression of how moving his play could be was when he read it to his wife, as well as two friends. Miller’s description of this first reading was something of a disaster to him, which forever disconnected him from Death of a Salesman. It started with a simple reading, a brief showing of the work that had gone into creating Death of a Salesman. What shocked Miller was of the fact that a hilarious scene that he wrote, did not translate into what he thought to his audience. Instead of laughter from his three person crowd, he received sorrow from his wife. Miller thought the absurdness of the play would strike a cord with his audience, make them laugh at the things Willie Loman does, but in reality, all it does is make them cry, as the audience can relate to what is happening. Miller continues the story of the evolution of Death of a Salesman by describing the first rehearsal. Miller mentions that this is as close as he as ever came to see his art from the audience’s point of view. What happened next shocked him. He realized how divided each of us really is. Miller is amazed that we are able to function in life, the adulteration of anyone who gets in our way of reaching the top, and how inhumane the human species really is. Miller continues with the theme of the absurdist, as he describes how positive the atmosphere was, for such a serious play. The odd thing at hand, however, is the amazement of Miller towards humanity. For example, in The “Salesman” Has a Birthday, it is noted how humans strive to reach the top, and how we all will crush each other getting there, how we are even willing to leave out old, aging father behind at a restaurant to have sex with two woman. One thing Miller does worry about with his play is the reason for the play. He does not mind that the audience’s imagination may wonder from time to time but, as Miller notes, that as along as the plays logic remains sacred. Miller goes as deep into saying about how the audience is just waiting to be taken places, but only lack the direction needed. That we can reach the pinnacle of humanity, if we have a guiding force to give us that starting push. The defining paragraph in Miller’s essay, however, is that in which he makes the acknowledgment that humanity is flawed, a tragic flaw, and how one day, our species as a whole will one day look back on ourselves, and be amazed in the competition to reach the pentacle of our so-called existence. Miller continues on, even in the 1950’s, that even now, we are awaking to our full potential, that we are not looking at each other comparing about who has the bigger T.V, or who bought the spectacular thing at the mall. We are finally recognizing another human being for what positives they have done in this world. We should be striving for the point in which blame will not be pointed at each other, but at ourselves, to atone for our mistakes. If we can reach that point, that is where history will start, the dawning of a new age of humanity. Miller uses the example of Willie Loman for clarify his point. Through out the play, Willie strives to meet his own bar that he has placed in his life. The absurdness of it is that Willie thought it was his own goal, but in reality, it was set there by big corporations and the media. Willie gave his life, for his family to reach this goal, after realizing it is impossible for he himself to reach it. The problem lies in that he does not realize that with him giving his life away, he is setting the stage for someone to make the same mistakes. The thesis of The “Salesman” Has a Birthday is one of hope, of desire, for humanity to reach out and better themselves. Miller implants this in Death of a Salesman, as Willie Loman is trying to achieve the desire to be at the top, to be respected. Hope that one day humanity will reach the point that we will be able to see past the material goods that we have at the moment, past the prejudice, past the violence, so we can judge each other on who we are, not what. With out that as part of out core being, all we never become aware of how absurd life can really be.
Arthur Miller’s “The ‘Salesman’ Has a Birthday” exemplifies the dream that our society believes as the reason of existence and how humanity can save itself from it. This dream is the American Dream. It is to elevate our life from everyone else’s and see ourselves at the top as we step on each other. We want security. To ensure ourselves a better life than anyone else, and we tend to compete with each other on our way. We strive to live this dream so much that we allow ourselves to be consumed and manipulated by it, and it is only after we are engulfed when we realize that there is hope- beyond bellicosity and beyond competition, that we need to overcome our rigidly absurd beliefs on why we struggle to survive. “An old insistence- sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less- that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity.” Miller wrote Death of a Salesman hoping that through his play, there would be recognition of ourselves, that we would see a reflection of who we are, and who we want to be. That like Willy, we dream to survive and survive to dream. That like Biff, reality is our only way out.
Miller writes the essay a year after Death of a Salesman was published and comes to realization that the play has morphed into something that is peculiarly inconceivable, surpassing Miller’s writing and touching people as it continues to give life to itself. “The play cut itself off from me in a way that is incomprehensible.” A year after it was introduced to theatre, the play escapes from the boundaries of Miller’s thoughts to evolve and embrace civilization.
In the process of his ideas turning into a production, Miller recognizes the beauty of what he has done, his play having the power to create the actors and the ability of the actors to hone his play. He tells us how the director, Elia Kazan has created a center point, in which all different types of actor meets in the end to create a common goal and move the audience as one. Death of a Salesman ends up opening passage to boundless imagination for the audience. “There is no limit to the expansion of the audience's imagination so long as the play's internal logic is kept inviolate.” Miller’s play has created a door of connection to the audience’s mind, letting them think of so much more possibilities from one play, allowing them to go beyond the limits of their comprehension.
Question 1:
In Zoglin’s “American Tragedy” the thesis that is being brought to us is that Death of a Salesman can have a different stage set and different character playing Willy Loman thus still moves the audience in a speechless manner and brings sorrow along with it, because it doesn’t take away from the significance of Willy Loman being a tragic hero. The examples that Zoglin has that backs up his thesis are for one in 1951 a movie made by Lee J. Cobb as Arthur Mill calls Willy in it a “psycho” with the interpretation that was set out. Yet it was both a “tragic grandeur and a Rotarian recognizability that are unforgettable”. No matter what Willy Loman is being set forth as he is still an astonishing character that is able captivate the audiences every emotion; and that is what Arthur Miller wanted when he wrote this outstanding play. As Zoglin says, “There have been black Willy Lomans and Chinese Willy Lomans; big bearish Willy’s”, because of this there has never been an effect on the character itself Willy Loman with him having a different cultural background. It also doesn’t matter whether Will Loman is a psycho, madman, and if he’s arrogant or ruthless his character is still able to set forth an every day tragic hero.
The response that was given by Elia Kazan after reading the play was, “My God, it’s so sad”, the reason for her to say this is because after reading the play and understanding Willy Loman’s character the sense of emotion that would come with it is distressing. After reading the play Death of a Salesman you get a sense of heart break and the cause of this is because you wouldn’t want to wish a life that he manifested on anyone, a life filled with lies and distortion. Willy’s oldest son Biff didn’t even have any respect for him but then who could blame him, Willy cheated on Linda and for what to be let in first for a couple of minutes in an office? Willy Lomans life is a life that everyone tries to steer away from but depending on our choices we are more than able to fall into a life of disception and delusion. If we don’t follow what our talents give us and if we care about being well liked then we will all end up having a piece of Willy in us. Zoglin’s thesis relates to Elia Kazan’s response to the play because the character of Willy Loman that Arthur Miller portrays gets the same reaction from different audiences no matter what Willy Loman looks like or no matter what the Stage is set at. The character itself never changes and the reaction of the audiences never changes.
During the time Death of a salesman was written society was living in a modernism time but Arthur Miller conducts this play in a post- modernism time. This is what made it so successful because he delivered something different and put a new plate on the table. He was able to show people through the play that you can stop “Holding back” and it’s ok not to have “traditional forms”. It showed people a different perspective on life and this is what made it so thriving, it had a different delivery than what they were use to. This also relates to Zoglin’s thesis because no matter what era this play is brought into it is still very successful, because It goes against the tide; meaning it goes against what everyone is use to. It shows that even a distorted old man that fails in life can be a tragic hero.
This play has been a heart breaking tragedy that captivates the audience’s attention no matter how the stage is set, no matter whose playing Willy Loman and no matter what era it is brought into because it doesn’t change the character that Arthur Miller creates. It is a play that continues teaching others about the life of a tragic hero named Willy Loman.
Question 1: American Tragedy
Within Richard Zoglin’s “American Tragedy” it is apparent that he is attempting to substantiate the fact that the so called “Tragic Hero” is not what we believe it to be. Zoglin’s belief is that Willy Loman in every shape and form that he has been displayed as over the years is a “Tragic Hero” even though he does not bear the characteristics we have been trained to look for. Zoglin’s thesis states a question to how such a play has captured its audience so intensely. He begins to answer this question through his arguments of Arthur Millers use of Willy Loman, modernistic style and emotional impact.
Zoglin argues that Willy Loman is the main reason why Death of a Salesman is such a captivating success. Willy Loman is portrayed as the, “all-American victim of his own skewed recipe for success,” which puts him on a very close and personal level with the audience. Willy Loman connects with the viewer and not only can he easily be related to the average American’s own life but he’s also an easily conceivable character. Willy’s character of a “charismatic man who, it’s easy to imagine, might actually have been liked, even well liked, in his prime” is proof that he was like every other typical American and because of this the audience easily emits a sense of compassion for him. Furthermore, the fact that Willy Loman has been cast so many different times by so many different actors who are Black, Chinese, big or small and still have such a great impact shows that no matter what shape or form anyone can be a tragic hero.
Moreover, the fact that Willy Loman is such a relatable character shows how far away from definition he really is. This is due to the fact that Death of a Salesman completely disregards traditional style. Miller uses Henrik Ibsen’s foundation of Modern drama as a stepping stone when creating his play. Consistent with Ibsen’s use of modernism Miller puts forth within Death of a Salesman the reality of life in a straightforward manner, and at the same time through Willy Loman he questions life and morality. His scenarios are also very different then the average drama in the sense that Miller constantly mixed past and present and illusion with reality. Such a powerful untraditional form of drama that relates to the audience is what captivates the viewer to begin with.
Consequently, during the process of drawing in the viewer with such an untraditional form evokes strong emotions from them. Miller’s use of language and ability to “pack so much heartbreaking family drama” into Death of a Salesman fascinates and draws in the viewer. It only makes sense that if the characters are relatable to the viewer than there will be more of an emotional attachment and a feeling of understanding for the character. Willy Loman is portrayed as someone full of “self-delusion and failure” thus easily charging the viewer full of emotion and pity for him. Willy’s lack of ability to fulfill his American Dream creates a great amount of sadness in the viewer that Miller takes advantage of to keep them watching. One such case that exemplifies this is director Elia Kazan who proclaimed, “My God, it’s so sad” in response to reading the play because the emotions they experienced within the plays ongoing dialogue evoked emotions within them.
Thus, Miller's use of Willy Loman, modernistic style and emotional impact all combined to make Death of a Salesman in its every form over the past 50 years the enthralling success that it has become.
Question One: American Tragedy
Zoglin’s “American Tragedy” pinpoints the success of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesmen. From the beginning, when It first opened in 1949 Death of a Salesmen got plenty of attention. Due to Millers diverse writing and ability to create a character based around failure as Willy Loman, Death of a Salesmen attracted both positive and negative criticism. As Zoglin states “Death of a Salesmen made perhaps a firmer dent in our consciousness than any other drama written for the American stage.” As much of a success as Death of a Salesmen is Zoglin sees it as depressing and a “heart-breaking family drama.” Ideas from Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” relate to Death of a Salesmen. Director Elia Kazan says “My God, its so sad”. No matter how depressing or sad some may view the play, no one can take away from its 50 years of success.
Zoglin believes the very reason of Millers success with Death of a Salesmen comes from Willy Loman. Even though Loman was a failure in life, he was a success for Millers play. Willy was the “all-American man”, his role very flexible and can be played by many. Traditionally Willy is a big man. Zoglin sees Loman as a “Charismatic man who, its easy to imagine, might actually have been liked, even well liked, in his prime.” Zoglin also believes that with the plays fluid leaps in time and Willy drifting into memories of his sons as teenagers and of his idolized brother Ben it makes it a success.
“Henrik Ibsen was a major Norwegian playwright who was largely responsible for the rise of the modern realistic drama, often referred to as the "father of modern drama."” In Henrik Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People” the doctor expects to be acclaimed for saving the town from a nightmare of infecting visitors with disease, instead he is declared an “enemy of the people” by locals. This is just like Willy in a sense that Willy believed he had been a great salesmen, and everybody loved him and when his funeral came people would come from all across the nation to honor him. When in fact no body showed up to honor him, just like the doctor wasn’t acclaimed for saving the town from a nightmare.
Willy Loman makes Death of a Salesmen a success. A failure makes a play a success. “My God, its so sad” says director Elia Kazan. Miller replied “Its supposed to be sad”. Even though Death of a Salesmen is sad and Willy Loman is a failure the play is a success. If Death of a Salesmen was so sad and not any good Kazan, the director would not have made a movie. Zoglin believes that all of the success that has come and still comes has to do with Willy Loman and Millers ability to write diversely. Ultimately Willy Loman Fails for Death of a Salesmen to succeed. “At 50, Willy Loman is still our Favorite Failure.”
Question 3- A Conversation with Arthur Miller
When taking a look at the interview that Arthur Miller had with William R. Ferris it is very apparent what kind of man Arthur Miller was. In terms of how Miller answered questions about topics throughout the conversation it seems he did one of two things, gave Ferris a very clear and concise answer which were extremely blunt or left a vast amount of interpretation to be had. The interview included Miller discussing how writing has changed since the time of the ancient Greeks, the relationships between fathers and sons and the success attributed to this relationship in drama and one of Miller’s critics whose criticism Miller respected the most, Saul Burry.
Throughout the interview Miller touches upon various subjects that include the evolution of tragedy which of course began with the writings of the ancient Greeks. Miller describes that all stories, even those that are written today, are the same in essence as those the Greeks wrote and I agree with this. He explains the stories are the exact same but writers invent new stories that disguise what they were built upon, ancient Greek drama. In terms of drama this is very true, all the tragedies that have been written through the ages, regardless of if these are plays or books they are all based upon what the Greeks started. Sure as times change so do ideas and mankind’s way of life but the fact of the matter is that none of this matters at all. Tragedies all come from the same source and different things are added to the same story which was created thousands of years ago. What is created now is the same as what was written before but is just the writer’s interpretation. The point is the essence of tragedies have not changed at all, the only aspect of tragedies that have changed are those writing them and the tools or ideas used while creating them.
The next topic that Miller discussed with Ferris which was quite interesting was the theme of fathers and sons. Miller begins by saying that Hamlet and Oedipus Rex are the two greatest plays ever written and that the theme of fathers and sons was central to both of those stories. It is quite ironic how Miller whose Death of a Salesman is considered one of the best plays ever written also has a central theme of the relationships between fathers and sons. Miller continuing to be very humble and blunt says that what he has done in terms of his writing is nothing new and he did not invent it. He also believes that it will be done again and again. There is an element of truth to this mainly because more then likely another writer like Shakespeare and Miller will come along and write yet another brilliant work that will seem to be different and innovative but in reality, is just something based upon what the ancient Greeks began. Some may say that Miller is the best playwright we have seen but without the theme of fathers and sons that has been used first with Greeks then with Shakespeare and more recently with Miller his success may not have come about as it has.
Finally Miller also discusses with Ferris his relationship with a character by the name of Saul Burry. Miller explains to Ferris that Burry was his best critic and wished that he could remember more of what Burry told Miller. Miller also interpreted and expanded upon a quote by Burry that advised the audience to be quiet and pay attention during a play. He also discussed what Burry expected from the audience. Much of what Miller explains about Burry is that the man knew a lot about playwriting and theatre. Even though Miller was brilliant he still took much of Burry’s criticisms into consideration and valued what Burry said. When a man as intellectual and smart as Miller seriously takes your advice into consideration, especially when came to his own work and ideas it shows that this man Burry could be considered legendary. In terms of his knowledge about theatre and playwriting, if someone like Miller listened to this “script doctor” it speaks volumes as to how much this man knew and how much he helped both Miller and other playwrights alike.
Even though this interview was done many years after Miller wrote Death of a Salesman and all of his other plays he is still able to discuss the play like he had just finished it yesterday. Miller’s responses though skewed at some points allow people to appreciate just what type of man Miller was and how both his responses and works will no doubt stand the test of time.
Discussion 3 - A Conversation With Arthur Miller
The conversation between Arthur Miller and NEH Chairman William R. Ferris talks about role of artists in society and also the fundamentals that must be evident in a literary form to allow the common citizen to reflect upon their life while watching the play; in order to leave the audience with more than they arrived with. The two gentlemen discuss the importance of art in society and why it is a necessity for life.
The role of the artist in society is to have the audience watch and understand their play in a way that allows the audience to piece together the characters lives. This in turn forces the audiences to take an in depth approach to analyzing the protagonist (Willy Loman). The audience, through literary form, is capable of hindsight and reflecting on if and how the main characters’ tribulations relates to him/her; allowing the audience to alter their own life before the inevitable downfall of the character is imposed upon him or herself.
In order for a person’s story to transcend itself there must be moral dilemmas evident in the story. A story is nothing more than a personal story told by one who created it if the story does not encompass a moral problem. The story must be intense enough for the audience to appreciate its meaning. Whatever the author is writing about he/she must know the topic from many different dimensions such as; factually, psychologically and emotionally. This allows the author to convey the topic and message to the reader or audience in a way that is more receptive and allows them to understand it more than if the author tried to write a story based on a minute understanding of the subject. The story can only transcend itself if it touches the lives of those who were willing to be taken away by the story and go where it leads them; leaving the member touched by the moral lesson being conveyed throughout the literary form.
Death of a Salesman broke down the barrier of a very structured and repeated serious of events occurring in a tragedy. Arthur Miller created Willy not as a prominent king rather as a common man. The formulated character of Willy Loman was created as a common man to connect the audience with the story in a way that never happened before Death of a Salesman. The focus of this was to reveal to the audience that tragedy doesn’t just transpire in the life of a king or noble figure; rather tragedy can happen to the common man and everyone is equal in a way that was unconceivable until Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller also included what most mistake as a flashback as a concurrence of a past and the present. According to the Oxford Dictionary, concurrence means to agree. Therefore, in saying that, Arthur Miller created an agreement between the past and the present in order for a smooth transition between times. Instead of cutting the play into sections he rolled the play and time together to not allow choppy segments would not disrupt the flow of the play.
Arthur Miller mentioned Hamlet and Oedipus Rex as the two greatest plays ever. Miller backs up his arguments with other plays such a Moby-Dick. He does this because he understands the story and lessons to be learned in the play. The nature of drama is to allow one to think and reflect and implement changes through the hardships the protagonist must go through. Drama forces people to understand the concepts placed upon them rather than just overlook them and move on without analyzing it.
Saul Burry is a critic who states that in order to enjoy and get the fullest experience from the source is to arrive on time and not have any distractions. Burry explains how in a theatre, people go to hear their own heart beat from anticipation of the unknown; not to have a door to close slowly. I agree with Burry completely on this topic. As an example, if you were to watch a horror movie created twenty to thirty years ago the audience would have left the movie or play genuinely scared. They would have been completely oblivious to the small parts that occurred throughout the movie or play and would have been reacting to the overall plot. People have always been terrified of the unknown and the actions of the antagonist; not just reacting to the book that fell and made a loud noise. This is because by having a strong connection with the plot and characters the audience reacts more because they feel a need to find out more about what they don’t know. But if the audience is supposed to feel frightened at the movie just because of a loud sound then as soon as they leave the theatre they will forget about it because it wasn’t instilled in them. It did not create a sense of discomfort or awkwardness towards the piece.
The theme of Fathers and Sons is a recurring theme throughout historic literature. This theme is evident in Hamlet and Oedipus Rex. Miller had to keep a reoccurring event in his play in order for the audience to come out with more than they went in with. Since Miller broke the barrier of tragic heroes being only kings or someone of noble birth he had to have something remain the same so that the audience didn’t feel overwhelmed by this new suggestion. By keeping something standardized Miller allows a smooth transition from old tragedy plays to Death of a Salesman. If Miller changed all of the structure for one play then he would risk the audience focusing more on the structure and how it changed rather than the important moral lesson and dilemma that Willy Loman must face.
The quote “…if something doesn’t meet resistance, it is probably not true” referred to resistance in one’s heart and mind. If the play incorporates something that doesn’t make you think or feel any emotion then mostly likely the story has no relevance to real life. This quote is linked back to the public role of artists because it is the artists’ job to create the resistance in what we watch. We, as a society, need resistance to keep reinforcing the moral dilemmas in our lives remind us that they are not uncommon and everyone is most likely going through the same or similar events. This is important because if there was no resistance in our lives as a common man then what would be the point of life. Society grows from hardships that force change in an individual’s life. Resistance is a necessity for life; without it we would be stagnate and wouldn’t realize what we have in life is something worth living for. We should never give life up for anything; no material possession is worth a life and it should be cherished for all it is worth and not to be taken advantage of.
In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman the moral lesson is that life is full of moral dilemmas and should be taken seriously. If you are trying to obtain something you have no grasp on then you should take a second and reflect on what is important in your life and realize either you should keep going for it or decide if you can live without it. Dreams are not unobtainable; however, they are what you make them. With that said Willy should have realized that he is trying too hard to obtain his goal of the American Dream that he doesn’t fully understand and in turn he ruins his family. This is interchangeable with everyone; the more you try to obtain something out of your grasp the more you push other important things out of the way because of a skewed focus of what is important.
American Tragedy
In “American Tragedy” Zoglin begins by enlightening us on the massive success the play Death of a Salesman went through when it opened in 1949 and discusses its success all throughout time. Zoglin attempts to prove to us that the character of Willy Loman is why the play is regarded as such a landmark piece, even today.
The character of Willy Loman is very resilient through any version of the play, the actions of Willy are what characterize him so we can pick him out no matter who plays Willy. “There have been black Willy Lomans and Chinese Willy Lomans; big bearish Willys…” there have been so many interpretations of Willy yet the message is still exuberated through each one of the different actors.
Zoglin points out to us that even though it was a “depressing, sometimes overwritten, painfully familiar play” we will still relate to it as much as the last decade of readers did. We connect to Willy Loman because Willy Loman’s life is your life as much as it is mine. Zoglin runs us through specific moments within the play which depict that anyone is in fact Willy. Willy’s far fetched “American Dream” is something that everyone chases, but Willy is just a case of chasing it to the extreme.
The roles that other characters played in Willy’s life are much like the people we come in contact with every day. Ever since the second generation of modernism, people in general have been obsessed with making money, living a lonely life filled with money and the latest and most expensive piece of technology and attempting to break the social barrier in which we have been categorized by the size of our bank account. Death of a Salesman “still makes the sale” even today, 58 years later, because we still see Willy Loman’s around attempting to catch the “American Dream.”
Elia Kazan’s response “Oh my God, its so sad.” to Miller’s play came as evidence that Miller did in fact paint the picture of tragedy due to chasing the “American Dream.” The director experienced pity from their view of the play an example of experiencing pathos through tragedy in literature. “It’s supposed to be sad” was the response that Miller gave Kazan, it illustrates that chasing the “American Dream”, chasing any dream doesn’t result in happiness. Miller allowed us to dissect the life of someone chasing the “American Dream” to witness the heartbreak, the erosion of family and finally the assistance of their own demise.
We’ve been taught all our lives to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. The irony of this is that we still see Willy Loman today, around us, in our lives or in ourselves.
In Ferris’ “A Conversation With Arthur Miller” there is a yearning for emotional and political change in modern society. There is a pit in society devouring lives after, as Miller says, “they are used up”, leaving these lives morally destroyed. There is no law that states that humans should believe themselves as assets or burdens. They are not to be objectified. There is no justification to the disposability of human lives as corporations hunger for oil but it has become even more prevalent, as Miller mentions the present time of the interview. It is clear that Miller is aware of issues that he discussed in the past being rekindled and becoming “ever more common now than [they were] then”. To clarify, the troubles that face society as a whole in the past have worsened and this should be a moral dilemma concerning all people.
Opposing this continued diminuendo in society Miller’s transvaluating tone underlies every shred of advice or thought that he offers. Miller exhibits optimism by acknowledging every aspect of a suggestion. There is no focus on the severely proper or moral way to go about any circumstance. There is however, an ongoing opinion on how artists should lead others in society. There is a compilation of ways in which an artist ought to meet the needs of humanity and that greatly varies with the current time period.
At present, various artists are pressured to viciously compete for ratings. Now these ratings consist of numbers representing the riches of man. That is, an artist must strive for the monetary worth of their work rather than the artistic inspiration, in order to survive. There is no lasting emotion evident developing from these works but rather “the spirit … always vulgar, … a show stop” which people are so fascinated with. It is possibly because it escapes reality. Or perhaps, it is due to the power of the artist. They are well aware that “there is an enormous audience” that will show up. Presently, artists take the extra effort to manipulate interests and gain an even grander audience to be involved. As a reward to this newly mesmerized crowd, the artists return nothing. I believe this is a truly immoral occurrence of society. These artists pull and drag for people to admire their work, inevitably misleading them to a place of absolute chaos. The human race is desensitized to this treatment. We can now be bought. The attempts for “one person’s story [to] transcend itself” are feeble and sparse. Although Miller points that this is the responsibility of an artist to society. “They don’t risk anything anymore” and this suffocates the prime of drama, to disclose “what’s valuable”.
Miller touches upon the true nature of drama when he refers to drama’s root lying in Greek mythological soil. The original stories recur in all new stories. Stories of this day are “made up of the old story” but when successful, are innovated in such a way that creates something completely fresh and compelling. Ferris’ interview mentions the works of Moby Dick, Oedipus Rex, and Hamlet as well as the greatest of the twentieth century. From the conversation it is apparent why these stories continue as legends even today. Throughout history these are the stories with simple roots but made a tremendous impact on the audience. They highlight the way drama affects our lives. Drama is the only thing that can relieve emotional distress. Miller comments that artistic work “is what the author is intense about in his life” meaning that they write explanations of the senses. There are no answers to the questioning of what it means to be human or who we are. Instead, we can learn the moral thing to do. There is no escape from human sentiments but we should take advantage of them and listen. Sentiments are similar to Miller’s writings. They can be abrupt, inexplicable, and randomly bold. When it comes time to interpret, it is extremely difficult. Drama reveals that the answers are to control yourself within your being.
Of these renowned works mentioned in Ferris’ interview, Miller’s Death of a Salesman reigns just as triumphantly. This play re-enacts the typical story of a man struggling to find himself but is consumed by a deadly dream. As well, the theme of fathers and sons is another proof of how the old story can still induce personal emotions. The significance of Miller’s Death of a Salesman is the fact that it is timeless. As an artist, it is crucial to consider the current time’s affairs and intertwine that into their work, to make it relatable. Miller’s Death of a Salesman has proven to remain a powerfully personal work since the year it was released and into the present. Miller more than transcended the personal story during the play’s time; he created a legacy that lives on. One element of Miller’s writing in this play is there is “very little or no waste” exemplifying that every aspect of the play had a role in developing the theme intended for the audience’s benefit. Complimenting this element, “there are no transitions” in the play allowing the audience to fill the blanks with their own life account. The message is narrow enough to avoid misunderstanding, but it is broad enough to relate to different lives. Furthermore Miller’s Death of a Salesman is told unconventionally with the past and present existing and acting together throughout the play. I believe this symbolizes the derivation of the human soul. It is only with these two forces that we are human. The past must be accepted to develop the present. This concurrence additionally evokes the audience’s personal attachment to Death of a Salesman.
When Ferris veers the interview towards Saul Burry, it is evident that there is a parallel between Burry and Miller. Again, they both possess the mood of transvaluation. Burry feels how critical it is for “the audience to cooperate and to appreciate what was in front of him” and this emphasizes the need to acknowledge all points of view. Only fine attitudes can result from evaluating drama with this approach.
As a society we “look to others for some leadership” and this imposes a massive dependence on external figures for instance, an assortment of artists be it literary or commercial. In order for these artists to sincerely touch the lives of the human race, they need to expose their voice. Whether the story deviates from the standard techniques or bewilders your conscience, it is the pureness of feeling that is most worshiped in drama and should be in society. When hushed to a whisper, this voice is outrun by exaggerated plots and hinders the soul from breathing. It is difficult to follow this route, as there are so many opportunities for opposition. That is, the personal sentiment expressed in the work could erupt a severely private sentiment of another. This feeling of penetrating privacy calls for defensive behaviour. It seems as though there is a foreign thought that can connect to who you are. This causes people to feel vulnerability. Equally important, this vulnerability can reach out for the artist’s compassion. Drama and art itself are mediums in which the secrets of life are shared. When I previously stated that it is cruel and immoral for artists to tempt the audience of a fruitful work and result in offering them nothing, I was referring to the act of sharing. Artist’s personal advances can either help to validate a belief hid deep within someone or it can provide the missing piece to a lost soul. A true artist reaches out and comforts the audience with the same old story perfected into a peculiar mould. Their intentions ought to better mankind. The infinite ambition is to make life acceptable and tolerable. Otherwise, art would be self righteous.
Discussion 1- American Tragedy
Richard Zoglin’s “American Tragedy” discusses the underlying reasons behind the Death of a Salesman’s success. According to Aristotle, plot, character, thought, diction, music, and spectacle coincide to make up a tragic play. All of which are evident in Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Zoglin forms his thesis into a question, likely to evoke the reader, and aid in attaining the bigger essence of the play, beyond the confines of conventionalism.
In writing the play, Miller decides to step away from the predominant structure and order of scripts, thus paving a way for modernistic literature. “Death of a Salesman was also an experimental work, with its fluid leaps in time as Willy drifts into memories”, this fluidity assists the progression of the characters and enables the audience to slowly relate to the plot. The pace of time in the play mirrors the pace of human existence. There is no systematic way of living through life, it is as fluid as it is shown in Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Our past, present, and potential future is the identification of who we are. Certain occurrences, mistakes, achievements, and dreams linger in us in thoughts of what might have been, what is now, and what could be. The truth in the style of the play alone impacts its limitless success.
Albeit its arrangement, the actuality of the story also impose a connection between the audience and Willy Loman. His perception of life, as skewed as it might be, reflects a certain yearning in ours as well. Humans crave acceptance. In today’s society, the makings of modernism, acceptance and praise come in the form of material wealth and financial stability. American tragedy is still commonly seen in this generation, it is the false belief that happiness is gained through money. This reality transcends itself in the story of Willy Loman, “that all-American victim of his own skewed recipe for success”, the audience’s ability to relate or see something of himself/herself in the character accounts for the diverse acceptance of the play
Willy Loman is shown in a variety of characters, White, Black, Chinese, big, or small, as an exemplification that the tragedy of the “American Dream” can be present in anyone. Death of a Salesman imposes us to recognize who we truly are, and what is most important to us, in a unconventional yet effective way.
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman is still critically acclaimed even fifty years after its original Broadway debut. Hence a question arises that ponders why the play has such a lasting power. Richard Zoglin would argue that Miller brakes free of convention, creates timeless literature that will always relate to an individual’s humanity, so that in the end it alters our consciousness.
Death of a Salesman is a landmark play in literature because of its style which contradicted the Victorian status quo and hence enters modernism. Miller defies time by juxtaposing the past and present in the play “with its leaps in time as Willy drifts into memories of his sons as teenagers and of his idolized brother Ben” (Zoglin), Willy’s state of mind is in constant transition between past memories and the reality of the present. By fracturing time Miller rejects the traditional chronological structure of the Victorian era and moves towards modernism. The efficiency of this technique in the play can be vouched for in the development of its plot. Like Ibsen, Miller makes use of incidental music to flux between scenes so that the play does not lose coherence. He is also economical in the tone he sets to each character as they talk to each other, when “Linda: [without hesitation]” says that Willy has made two hundred gross, it is first revealed to the audience that she knows more then it would seem. It is clear that “Miller’s dialogue was unmatched for its plainspoken eloquence and economy”(Zoglin) this is most powerfully seen in the encounter that Willy has with Bernard. During that scene “Miller captured the essence of Willy’s self- delusion and failure in a brief exchange charged with emotion, wit and character insight”(Zoglin) in that brief encounter the reader learns about Willy’s condition in which he is trapped. Willy is like most people in that dreaming is what keeps him alive, he needs to keep believing that the American dream is a possibility so that he can elude his failure. This concept of, self-imposed ignorance is a modernist idea which stems from Sigmund Freud. Linda and Willy are examples of this because of their inability to face their problems. Many plays after Death of a Salesman have forged a similar structure, it’s no wonder why “it reminds us of how influential the play has been stylistically” it uprooted the weed of convention in order to make room to sow the seeds of free and creative thinking, which is exactly what modernism wishes to captivate.
Willy Loman is a timeless figure and icon, through his character Miller is able to reach out and pull the reader into the story, so that, it becomes our story. Willy Loman encompasses the average man, “There have been black Willy Lomans and Chinese Willy Lomans; big, bearish Willys…and feisty, bantamweight Willys”(Zoglin), anyone that has ever been caught in a system which they must submit to, is inevitably, a Willy Loman. In his case he was a victim of the American dream, which was fallaciously advertised in post war America. Willy like most people is a “victim of his own skewed recipe for success,” that often misguides people into shortcuts. That is why the play is so “painfully familiar” (Zoglin) because we realize it could, if it hasn’t already, occur to us. The feeling of pathos is evoked in us when we witness Willy die at the grips of a flawed ideology he had no way out of. Nietzsche’s will to power philosophy that Willy was a apart of is still being promoted, despite that “You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away- a man is not a piece of fruit!”, the reality is, like Miller was implying, that life is an ash tray and we are all potential cigarettes.
The nature of this tragedy is however is not meant to discourage rather to shatter ignorance and alter consciousness. Before Ibsen tragedy, drama was expected to end in a morally satisfying way but, Miller took a different course. He utilizes tragedy as an effective way to get the audience to question their preconceptions. Just like Elia Kazan most people think “My God, it’s so sad”, but it needs to be sad in order to invoke pathos and open minds to the idea that we are living in Willy Lomans society. The element of sadness is characteristic of Ibsenian tragedy, and is utterly the consequence of revealing a truth. The capitalist economy is unforgiving and “The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell” (75) sentimental gestures are meaningless. This is the “indictment of American capitalism—into one beaten-down figure with a sample case” (Zoglin) through Willy we learn more about ourselves and decide what our role will be in a world that is constantly and apathetically leaping forward towards the top of the Chomsky’s pyramid by climbing on the backs of other people.
Miller’s unique structure in Death of a Salesman has paved the way for new forms of literature, and his use of tragedy as it related to the common man has become a powerful form in which to point out the flaws of society, which cause people like Willy Loman to lose sight of what is real in the world; and that is doing what makes us happy despite the amount of money a person makes. The moral of the story is that one should never blindly follow ideologies, and always question what society is feeding you. And that is a message that can’t be ignored and will always be around, because commercialism will continue to tempt the human race.
Question 2
Arthur Miller wrote the essay The ‘Salesman’ Has a Birthday on February 5, 1950, the first anniversary of the release of his play, “Death of a Salesman”. Millers thesis was “And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity". My understanding of Miller’s thesis is that we are striving so arduous to be better than everyone else, that we get caught up in life materialism. We can’t come together collectively because we trying so hard to be different from each other. We don’t understand what we are doing because we are living it. It seems that sometimes we need to let go or get out of situations and look at them from the outside to truly understand them. He has hope that one day we will break free of this fear of being equal and prosper as the human race.
Miller reminisces on the play he had written a year prior and realizes that with time he understood his play better on February 5, 1950 than when he was writing it. Looking back at his first reading of “Death of a Salesman” to an audience of three consisting of his wife and two friends, he realizes his insecurities about his play, almost to the point of not wanting to own up to being the author of it. Miller achieved the form of writing he had strived for with this play. It took the reader on an emotional rollercoaster, even when the audience was aware of the ending from the beginning. He goes as far as to admit the play’s flaw’s, particularly concerning the weight of Biff’s self realization in comparison to the weight of Willy Loman’s destruction.
During the early production of the stage play, Miller comes to terms that he, including his co-workers seemed to be detached from the world. We are so focused on our own lives, our own material ambitions that we don’t even acknowledge something as simple as touch. “We are trying to save ourselves separately and that is immoral, that is the corrosive among us." It seems that Miller is trying to get across that being self involved leads us down a path of destruction, much like Willy Loman’s aspiration to become the best salesman drove him down the path to suicide.
To relate the directing to the script, Elia Kazan creates a center point and helps the actors draw their character’s to it similarly how Miller creates a moral or idea and guides the audience towards it.
In the same way of looking back at his play, Miller predicts how people in the future will look at the society of his day. Miller predicts that futures generations will look back at the past’s pursuit of the “American Dream”, and their determination to be better than one another. Life is treated as a competition, and only the rich end up on top. They will look back and see it for what it truly is, a dream incapable of achieving.
The over all theme that Miller is trying to convey is that humans on a whole are striving for this ‘American Dream”, this sense of superiority over one another. Instead of being empowering to one self, it’s more destructive than anything. We let this ‘American Dream” consume us, and when we don’t achieve it, it spits us out and leaves us in the gutter. All we are left with is the lie that was our life. We need to be able to look back at ourselves and see our existence for what it truly is and accept the person we are. Instead of spending our lives trying to accumulate material possessions, we should spend more time accepting who we are and making the best of the situation we have.
In the end, Miller constructs a world of a material landscape, a world where mankind cannot escape its phony exterior. “The American Dream’ encompasses and enforces the false pretence that we have about a truly fulfilling life. We fall into this mindset that money can buy everything. Miller restates his thesis with a final thought. He grasps hope in his hands for a civilization that prospers as a whole, as one human race, and of one that leave’s its selfish tendencies behind.
Question 1.
In Richard Zoglin’s article, “American Tragedy”, explain how it is that a play written in a time that is completely unrelated to the current times can still bring out the same feelings that were felt when the play first premiered over 50 years ago. Zoglin quickly shows this through quotes in the play and follow-up explanation of how the people reacted. The very first quote, “attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person”, is very significant because, Willy Loman is a representative and shows parallels to all the dreamers of the world. The quote was written just after World War 2 where there was a time of prosperity and a lot of people dared to dream big. However there was very few that actually succeeded, many people became caught up in the rat-race of life and had their dreams phased out. This is exactly how Willy Loman’s character is portrayed, and that is why so many people could relate to him then. Zoglin’s argument however, says that Willy’s character bridges the gap between then and now and is still able to instill feelings of empathy, anger, confusion, sadness, and joy. Elia Kazan’s response to Miller is the exact response that Miller was trying to draw from the audience or reader (whichever the case may be), where overwhelming feelings of emotion are being drawn from people who will relate to Willy.
Zoglin uses his last argument to solidify his argument wherein the quote from the play reads, “A salesman’s got to dream boy, it comes with the territory”. This quote is a slap in the face of Willy and, by association, a slap in the face of every dreamer who dared to have a dream. Willy’s life was entirely a dream and no matter what he did he could never have it materialize into something tangible; When Charley says that to Willy, it is, in essence, the straw that broke the camels back. Willy’s life never materialized so when told that he must continue to be a dreamer it is the end of the line. THAT is Zoglin’s argument on how Willy is an archetype for the common dreamer, who just so happens to be every person on earth, and THAT is why we will always be able to relate to Willy Loman, the dreamer.
Question 2
The thesis written by Arthur Miller, entitled “The Salesman Has a Birthday” was written a year after his play: Death of a Salesman. On this anniversary, Miller sees hope that we, as people will listen and understand the significance of his play and finally come to realize that we are slaves to an unattainable idea.
In his Thesis, Miller tells the reader that he did not come to terms with what he wrote until he read it to his wife and two friends and saw their expression. Before this, Miller thought of what he wrote as hilarious whereas his friends were left in awe and his wife, left weeping. It was then and there when Miller realized his writing was, in his own words: “Incomprehensible”.
While Miller came to terms with what he wrote, he still did not feel the surprise and anguish that his wife and 2 friends felt. When he said in his thesis: “I think that was the first and only time I saw it as others see it,” he then came to realize how lonely one idea has made us. This idea is, as we know called “The American Dream”. While understanding his realization, Miller then says that the American Dream is “corrosive among us”. Miller refers to how the American Dream is an unattainable idea that will eat away at us and tear us apart piece by piece.
When the time came for production with Elia Kazan, Miller comments on how Kazan has the actors portray the characters in the play with perfection. Miller describes Kazan as a director who is able to “create a centre point and then go to each actor and create a desire to move toward it.” Kazan’s skills created depth within each character and, according to Miller the characters “seem to have arrived there by themselves.”
When Miller closes by saying: “and an old insistence- sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less- that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity”- Miller is again referring to how we are slaves to the “ American Dream: an idea that cannot or will not ever be attainable. He is saying that one day we as people will realize that this idea has resulted in nothing but fear and pointless hostility. Willy Loman, the Main character of the play was a slave to the American Dream and as a result has lived in the fear of having someone better than him and also ended up being a hostile old man, tormented by the mistakes of his past all of which ultimately resulted in his tragic death. Miller hopes for us to understand that fear and hostility: the only things that come out of the American Dream, is what separates us from out humanity.
Question 3- A conversation with Arthur Miller
A conversation which had occurred in 2001, reveals Arthur Miller as an abundantly mysterious man. Upon discussing morality and the public role of the artist, the interviewer, NEH Chairman William A. Ferris would ask Arthur Miller a series of straightforward questions while Miller would respond with vague responses to a number of them and leaving them open to interpretation. Thus within the conversation, Millers responses display the importance of art and why it is drastically crucial to understanding life itself.
According to Miller, the playwright, as an artist is to deal with whatever he feels intensely about and knows a lot about is the core issue for him. That is, the role of the artist is highly acknowledged due to the fact that their role is to bestow their perspective on something they are highly acquainted with. They are to take this knowledge and incorporate it in a story that will mentally involve the audience factually, psychologically and emotionally. To clarify, through the artist embedding what they are more knowledgeable of, by involving himself emotionally in his writings and writing what he is most intense about is the role of the artist. This role must be executed in order for the audience to fully embrace the play in which the artist has conceived and for the audience to absorb the lesson the tragic hero or protagonist exemplifies.
Furthermore, Ferris’ and Miller’s conversation illustrates the great significance of art within society. Arts such as Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman, the tragedy of tragic hero, Willy Lomans failure to find himself and is fatally engulfed by his own American Dream, is important for society to understand. Arts such as Death of a Salesman is essential to drama as it made such a great impact. It became monumental due to the fact that Death of a Salesman was ultimately the first to bear an average man as the tragic hero and include the past –present effect. Hence the fact that this implies that the common man is in equal chance to consequently bear the same fate as tragic hero, Willy Loman. With this in mind, almost anybody can relate to Death of a Salesmen-even men not belonging to the American society, even people who have seen the play in Beijing according to the interview have the capability of relating to the same play. In addition, Miller basically says that Greek dramas all relate to today and how they are all of the same stories. Meaning that, Greek Dramas as an art, it is important for society to grasp the concepts and to understand them in order to understand life. That is to understand emotions, desires and the nature of people. Likewise, Saul Burry, a man whom Miller pays great reverence to, even denotes that art is crucial. He advises the audience to “cooperate and to appreciate what was in front of him as best as he could” and “to have their cell phones turned off” . Meaning to have undivided attention towards the play in order to grasp to the beauty and total meaning of it.
Moreover, one person’s story can transcend itself that is to overpass and exceed. According to Arthur Miller, that is to include moral dimension and looking out beyond the personal story. In order for a story to transcend itself, it must be non conventional. In other words, something that indicates that it is genuinely only of the artist’s idea. Also, the story must encompass the audience with a deeper meaning that will empower the audience to transvaluate their lifestyle and allow people to see reality as it is. Ultimately, an art must be transcending for all of mankind to live a life of deeper meaning, to see reality as it is and not as an illusion
Question #2
"The 'Salesman' Has A Birthday"
A year after the publication of his play "Death of a Salesman", Arthur Miller presents to us his essay "The 'Salesman' Has a Birthday". As an audience and a large group of readers, his intentions as a playwright were to enlighten us the true meaning of his play.
In Miller's thesis, written fifty-seven years after "Death of a Salesman" was created, he describes his realization of a play that cut itself off from him in a way that was incomprehensible. After witnessing the impact his play had on his wife and two friends, Miller knew that others had begun to see that the American dream wasn't what people thought it was.
Miller describes his outlook on how he saw his play the same way his six or seven friends saw it at the rehearsal. According to Miller, when Elia Kazan produced the play, the actors chosen were given a center point to play out the roles of each character.
In Miller's opinion he agreed there are no limitations to a play as long as it remains in the boundaries of the audience's imagination. Such a theme should not be tampered with, but through a play it should get straight to the point.
Miller concludes his essay with "And an old insistence - sometimes difficult to summon, but there none the less - that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity, a way into our humanity." He creates the significance of his argument that the American dream is something we strive for but not something we can always achieve. Miller basically compares society to Willy Loman, and that he is in all of us. We chase a dream only to realize that we are doing it just to find out we wasted our time.
In spring 2001, NEH Chairman William R. Ferris decides to discuss the morality and the public role of artists, with Arthur Miller. The discussion brought an important perspective to the public. The perspective is that authors should feel free to write about whatever they want, but comes a point in their lives where their literature must be used as a weapon to notify the public of an important issue. Also, artists should try to focus on examining more of the consequences than the story, because it leaves the audience with the feeling of enlightenment. Agreeing with Saul Burry, I think that artists of all kinds are underestimated by many. In the Egyptian culture, there is a saying that goes “learning from your mistakes is smart, but learning from others’ mistakes is brilliant”. With this in mind, artists should act on their power and influence for good.
Later on in the conversation, Ferris sees/understands that the Death of a Salesman is not that original, as Miller explains that all stories go back originally to the Greek drama. He also explains that what Willy Loman and his son, Biff, share is the same as the other father son relations in Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, and that Death of a Salesman is bound to reoccur as well.
Miller has met with the realization that his play is very true. He knows this because he witnessed his own colleagues leaving in the middle of the play as they ignore him. This shows that Miller is not the only person to be worried about such situations as Willy Loman’s. He goes on to express himself and says “There is an old rule of psychology that if something doesn't meet resistance, it is probably not true." Truly, these colleagues of his were resisting the play, which makes it clear that because Death of a Salesman is being resisted and rejected by people, that it is a very true and a realistic story. Now that the audience takes a look at reality through media, they achieve an elixir and understand of where to be careful in life to not repeat mistakes as Willy Loman.
Finally, an intelligent artist would take control of his power and influence and use it for good. For example, post-modern world is suffering greatly due to global warming, and this is a chance any artist can take and influence the public to be more environmental friendly.
Arthur Miller’s thesis in the article “The salesman has a birthday”, celebrating the one year anniversary of the plays’ debut, is hope for “an old insistence- sometimes difficult to summon but there none the less- that we will find a way beyond fear of each other, beyond bellicosity”. Miller hopes for unity between the masses- that one day all of society will get past the fear that is so ingrained in every person’s life; all of this fear that is based on belief that one person is, in some way, better than another. This fear is so difficult to face because there is also the fear of facing this fear but Miller believes that that strength is there and that overcoming this fear of each other is still possible. Getting past this fear is so vital because it distracts people from humanity and we find this theory in Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman, when we see the main character, Willy Loman, who is so removed from the ‘normal’ existence, who is so afraid of everyone and everything. This fear leads to Willy’s downfall when he kills himself for money and the hope that he will become a legend, others ‘will remember’. In the New York Times Article ‘The salesman has a birthday’ Miller expresses that there is still hope for the “Willy” in society and that it doesn’t have to lead to our downfall. Willy is society; I am Willy Loman. The reason most of us waited so long to post these blogs is the fear of what another will think or say about us and in that case, you are Willy too. Willy Loman has surpassed the limitations of being a character in a play, he has become a model of real people, not to be confused with ‘role model’- Willy is a real human. When we read the play Death of a salesman we see ourselves in the characters, we witness this fear. One of the reasons for the play’s popularity may be that the audience see this character, Willy, as a human instead of a character and therefore they feel for him, which always makes for a good play. But when Arthur Miller takes a look back on his creation he knows that the audience has witnessed his portrayal of a human but that they don’t understand that Willy is the human portrayal and until we understand that concept we cannot overcome our fear. As I said before, a unity between the masses is what people need to overcome this fear instead of the ‘self- sufficiency’ we rely on, we cannot be afraid of each other anymore, “We are trying to save ourselves separately, and that is immoral, that is the corrosive among us”.
Your Notable Quotes for "Considering Miller"
Feedback, both positive and negative, is important. I will copy and paste lines from your weekly writings so that you can see what I truly enjoyed about your work.
They are not in any particular order of brilliance ... in case you're wondering, they are in chronological order as per their post date.
Please do not assume that there is a direct correlation between the length of quotes and the grade.
Here are the quotes that I've pulled from your writing this week:
Robyn E said...
* Arthur Miller’s thesis in his 1950 New York Times article The ‘Salesman’ Has a Birthday portrayed his hope for civilization- hope that people will one day move past the fear that is keeping us restrained.
* This is the same fear that keeps us striving for the unattainable; keeps us in a cycle of materialism. It is a fear of each other. It is a fear of the person next to you owning something larger or prettier, a fear of that person being more well liked, a fear that that person is better than you. It is a fear of facing what you haven’t worked for and what others have.
* This madness had come from a story that spilled out, a story that silenced his first listeners to his last, the story of Willy Loman becoming not a story character- but a human figure all on his own.
* Billboards and flashy television advertisements, brand names and a twisted portrayal of a good role model often blind society to believe we are to follow such examples and become creatures of the media. Miller, however, sees perseverance in his audiences that sparks hope in him- hope that people can find a way to surpass that fear of one another, passed aggression and anger to reach true humanity.
* He learned that an audience has a limitless imagination- that they are willing to go with you wherever you decide to take them.
* It was a lesson to contribute to society rather than train yourself to receive.
Jackie L said...
* In Death of A Salesman Miller really discusses issues that are universal and prominent in societies. Nevertheless these issues are of course never talked about in public.
* Miller challenges the audience to evaluate Willy’s situation and find aspects of Willy’s character in us all.
* Miller explains that in order for a personal story to transcend itself, or rise above and surpass itself the story has to add moral dimension.
* Touching and encompassing morals do this, then the writer has unknowingly touch society, in turn making the personal story transcend itself the writer has given the story deeper meaning.
* When a play or story transcends itself through moral dimension this work of art effects drama itself.
* Miller attacks a fundamental aspect of drama by the amalgamation of time in such a way. By doing this Miller further allows the audience to grow and learn with the characters.
* In his writings he gives the audience the tools to evaluate their own lives.
Jenny E said...
* In the article “American Tragedy” by Richard Zoglin, he tries to prove that Willy Loman is a classic example of a tragic hero.
* You can be a tragic hero, I can be one as well.
* There is no distinct reason why a person becomes a tragic hero. The problems and struggles builds up gradually, and adds up.
* We all have flaws within us, sometimes we just don’t realize that its there.
* Zoglin explains, as humans, we all strive for perfection, yet we are aware that we can never be a perfect being.
* I believe the reason why some of us are angry at Willy is not because he is a stupid, old, lame man, but because he reminds of us. He reminds us of our own flaws, and faults.
* The truth is that many of us does not like to be faced with our imperfections.
* People who lived 50 years ago deals with similar problems 50 years later - which is now a days.
* He looks up to Ben because Ben has everything Willy does not have. Ben is independent, successful and mostly importantly, knows what exactly he is doing. On the other side, Willy is lost, and has no idea what he wants in life. So he turns to what looks good, and expects the impossible.
* The most stubborn part of Willy is that he is not willing to face the reality, and therefore creates more illusions, which hurts him more in reality. Every time he wants more and more of impossible.
* This is why Willy starts to judge people since in his mind, he believes that he is the greatest being and cannot be judged by others.
* It portrays our own lives and scuffle with own selves. He is nobody special or particular. He is the typical you and me.
Zack D said...
* "We are trying to save ourselves separately and that is immoral, that is the corrosive among us." Miller feels this is un-humane; self-sufficiency is a one way street and Willy Loman takes his car on a crash course to the end.
Cory K said...
* Zoglin feels that Willy Lowman’s flexibility has lead to the continuing success of Death of a Salesman. Lowman’s constant chase of the American dream and his “skewed recipe for success” sends audiences on an emotional roller coaster that can win anyone over.
Taylor S said...
* Even though the interview took place fifty years after the play was written Death of a Salesman concept is even more evident in society today Miller discusses this in the interview. “people give a lot of their lives to a company or even the government, and when they are no longer needed, when they are used up, they're tossed aside.” Today in society we choose not to deal with the elderly, we put them in homes and as long as we visit them once month we feel we have done the right thing by avoiding the problem.
* Miller says that if something is not able to cause controversy then it is probably not true, so as an artist it is his responsibility to cause controversy.
Adrian V said...
* Zoglin poses his thesis as a question, inquiring as to how a play with the same plot can invoke the unchanging emotions of the captive audience. Zoglin supports his thesis with the arguments of character, style, and emotion.
* The next fact stated by Zoglin is Miller's ability to control the audience's attention in powerful scenes, particularly when Willy is caged between the past and present, reliving his past experiences while engaging in a conversation in the present. It is this style that captures the audience's attention, keeping them transfixed in the scenario at hand. This style effectively related to modernism, the breaking away from tradition.
* The audience remains interested in Miller's use of modernism because it defies the standard that most former plays were written in.
* With this contrast the audience feels a sense of pity for Willy because of the degree of Willy's failure to fulfill any of his dreams.
* The emotions of pity and sadness are the consistent emotions experienced by the audience, which justify the emotional results portrayed through the audience.
Kimberly S said...
* The thesis that comes about this 1950 essay makes sense to me in the last paragraph where Miller states that all is left to feel for the anniversary is hope.
* My understanding of hope is that society will/needs to overcome that unknown factor that is holding us back.
* Therefore Arthur Miller understands that every audience member in every production that will ever been seen will all have a different emotional connection to the play, whether it be to the characters, words or stage directory every person will interpret this play in there own way, shape and form.
Mark C said...
* If people would look closely, and pay attention to the time line, Miller was speaking about an issue that was less common in his time, and how it has become more evident in today’s society.
* In addition, art in a sense takes the sometimes-distorted pictures presented by society and culture and reconstruct them in order to make sense of what is being presented, as the brain would interpret distorted images conveyed through the eye and project them in a comprehensible state.
* Literary artists such as Miller examine society and present it as it is in order for individuals to comprehend.
* Moreover, Arts and artists through their work allow individuals to look beyond themselves and find meaning.
* Not only tragedy in its common context, but rather the death of the soul and mind.
* This is depicted through the protagonist Willie Loman, who died a death of the soul when he was used up and spat out without pay and commission.
* However, in order for one person’s story to transcend itself, the writer must be able to construct his or her work in a way that look beyond the personal story or a moral dimension. In other words, it must have deep hidden message that has meaning that can be transcended.
* For instance, Death of a Salesman does not merely speak about a delusional salesman who has failed to find success in the business world, but rather the perilous fate of an individual who pursues the American Dream – money, house, cars, and a wife.
* He writes about an issue that deeply moves him and is cognizant enough to write about it. More simply put, he creates one. For instance, when Arthur Miller did this play, he was speaking about something that was intense in his life.
* Additionally, western civilization rests upon two pillars: Greek mythology and Judeo Christian mythology. According to Miller, this has not changed over centuries. What has occurred, however, is that contemporary works have been disguised by what is seemed to be new stories.
* Death of a Salesman has had an effect on drama: it has no transitions, little or no waste, and action commences from the start.
* Even though it is told like a dream, with symbols that have meaning, it must not be confused as flashbacks.
* It uses the past to explain the present.
* In other words, what Miller has done is changed the way stories are told.
* During the great depression, a lot of jobs were lost. This had an adverse effect on family life, in that many men were psychologically, and emotionally affected.
* This has led to a break down in the relationship between father and son. It is this experience that inspired Millers work. However, he insisted that the theme of father and son was evident in plays such as Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, so it is nothing new. In Salesman, what Miller was trying to say is that a son needs his father in his life.
* If there is no father figure around, then he is exposed to indoctrination. This is what happened to Willie. As a result, his ability to father has been impaired. He teaches them nothing but lies, deceit and dishonesty. How can an individual become a father when there was none for him? The theme of father and son appeals to us so that we can understand the importance of it. It is wide scale issue that we all experience.
* Lastly, the public role of the artists is to evoke a feeling in us that is hidden deep inside, but are too passive to act on it. It counteracts the rule of psychology, which states that if some thing does not meet resistance it is probably not true. Regardless of nationality, language and culture we all face social and political problems. The works of artists are not confined to one culture or country. It applies to all.
Fady A said...
* Zoglin explains Willy as being the “all –American victim”, Willy spends his whole life pursuing a dream of success and wealth. Zoglin uses this to explain that this play is still a sensation because everyone sees a bit of himself or herself in Willy Loman, and so all of the audience is able to connect with the play.
* It is a reminder to the audience of what becomes of us when we are blinded of life and only focus on a dream and spend our lives pursuing a dream that may not even exist.
* In this play Arthur Miller introduces a new concept of time travel, where the audience is able to view Willy’s interior life”, this concept allows the audience to see Willy’s thoughts and memories, it is also able to fill in many of the questions as to why characters act in the certain ways they do.
* “Miller captured the essence of Willy’s self-delusion and failure in a brief exchange with emotion, wit and character insight, call that poetry”. Miller’s ability to allow the audience to experience what Willy is experiencing.
Alex R said...
* Miller thought the absurdness of the play would strike a cord with his audience, make them laugh at the things Willie Loman does, but in reality, all it does is make them cry, as the audience can relate to what is happening.
* He realized how divided each of us really is.
* Miller is amazed that we are able to function in life, the adulteration of anyone who gets in our way of reaching the top, and how inhumane the human species really is.
* For example, in The “Salesman” Has a Birthday, it is noted how humans strive to reach the top, and how we all will crush each other getting there, how we are even willing to leave out old, aging father behind at a restaurant to have sex with two woman.
* Miller goes as deep into saying about how the audience is just waiting to be taken places, but only lack the direction needed.
* That we can reach the pinnacle of humanity, if we have a guiding force to give us that starting push.
* The defining paragraph in Miller’s essay, however, is that in which he makes the acknowledgment that humanity is flawed, a tragic flaw, and how one day, our species as a whole will one day look back on ourselves, and be amazed in the competition to reach the pentacle of our so-called existence.
* We should be striving for the point in which blame will not be pointed at each other, but at ourselves, to atone for our mistakes.
* If we can reach that point, that is where history will start, the dawning of a new age of humanity.
* Through out the play, Willie strives to meet his own bar that he has placed in his life. The absurdness of it is that Willie thought it was his own goal, but in reality, it was set there by big corporations and the media.
* Hope that one day humanity will reach the point that we will be able to see past the material goods that we have at the moment, past the prejudice, past the violence, so we can judge each other on who we are, not what. With out that as part of out core being, all we never become aware of how absurd life can really be.
Kathryn B said...
* Arthur Miller’s “The ‘Salesman’ Has a Birthday” exemplifies the dream that our society believes as the reason of existence and how humanity can save itself from it.
* We strive to live this dream so much that we allow ourselves to be consumed and manipulated by it, and it is only after we are engulfed when we realize that there is hope- beyond bellicosity and beyond competition, that we need to overcome our rigidly absurd beliefs on why we struggle to survive.
* Miller wrote Death of a Salesman hoping that through his play, there would be recognition of ourselves, that we would see a reflection of who we are, and who we want to be.
* That like Willy, we dream to survive and survive to dream. That like Biff, reality is our only way out.
* Miller writes the essay a year after Death of a Salesman was published and comes to realization that the play has morphed into something that is peculiarly inconceivable, surpassing Miller’s writing and touching people as it continues to give life to itself. “The play cut itself off from me in a way that is incomprehensible.” A year after it was introduced to theatre, the play escapes from the boundaries of Miller’s thoughts to evolve and embrace civilization.
* Miller’s play has created a door of connection to the audience’s mind, letting them think of so much more possibilities from one play, allowing them to go beyond the limits of their comprehension.
Caley M said...
* After reading the play Death of a Salesman you get a sense of heart break and the cause of this is because you wouldn’t want to wish a life that he manifested on anyone, a life filled with lies and distortion.
* If we don’t follow what our talents give us and if we care about being well liked then we will all end up having a piece of Willy in us.
* The character itself never changes and the reaction of the audiences never changes.
Brittany L said...
* Zoglin’s belief is that Willy Loman in every shape and form that he has been displayed as over the years is a “Tragic Hero” even though he does not bear the characteristics we have been trained to look for.
* Consistent with Ibsen’s use of modernism Miller puts forth within Death of a Salesman the reality of life in a straightforward manner, and at the same time through Willy Loman he questions life and morality.
* His scenarios are also very different then the average drama in the sense that Miller constantly mixed past and present and illusion with reality. Such a powerful untraditional form of drama that relates to the audience is what captivates the viewer to begin with.
Andrew S said...
* A failure makes a play a success.
David S said...
* Sure as times change so do ideas and mankind’s way of life but the fact of the matter is that none of this matters at all.
* Tragedies all come from the same source and different things are added to the same story which was created thousands of years ago.
* The point is the essence of tragedies have not changed at all, the only aspect of tragedies that have changed are those writing them and the tools or ideas used while creating them.
* Miller continuing to be very humble and blunt says that what he has done in terms of his writing is nothing new and he did not invent it. He also believes that it will be done again and again. There is an element of truth to this mainly because more then likely another writer like Shakespeare and Miller will come along and write yet another brilliant work that will seem to be different and innovative but in reality, is just something based upon what the ancient Greeks began.
Ryan L said...
* The audience, through literary form, is capable of hindsight and reflecting on if and how the main characters’ tribulations relates to him/her; allowing the audience to alter their own life before the inevitable downfall of the character is imposed upon him or herself.
* The focus of this was to reveal to the audience that tragedy doesn’t just transpire in the life of a king or noble figure; rather tragedy can happen to the common man and everyone is equal in a way that was unconceivable until Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
* Therefore, in saying that, Arthur Miller created an agreement between the past and the present in order for a smooth transition between times.
* This is interchangeable with everyone; the more you try to obtain something out of your grasp the more you push other important things out of the way because of a skewed focus of what is important.
Stephanie N said...
* We connect to Willy Loman because Willy Loman’s life is your life as much as it is mine.
* “It’s supposed to be sad” was the response that Miller gave Kazan, it illustrates that chasing the “American Dream”, chasing any dream doesn’t result in happiness.
* Miller allowed us to dissect the life of someone chasing the “American Dream” to witness the heartbreak, the erosion of family and finally the assistance of their own demise.
* We’ve been taught all our lives to learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others. The irony of this is that we still see Willy Loman today, around us, in our lives or in ourselves.
Linh H said...
* There is no justification to the disposability of human lives as corporations hunger for oil but it has become even more prevalent
* To clarify, the troubles that face society as a whole in the past have worsened and this should be a moral dilemma concerning all people.
* Opposing this continued diminuendo in society Miller’s transvaluating tone underlies every shred of advice or thought that he offers.
* Drama is the only thing that can relieve emotional distress.
* There is no escape from human sentiments but we should take advantage of them and listen.
* Sentiments are similar to Miller’s writings. They can be abrupt, inexplicable, and randomly bold. When it comes time to interpret, it is extremely difficult. Drama reveals that the answers are to control yourself within your being.
* The past must be accepted to develop the present.
* Whether the story deviates from the standard techniques or bewilders your conscience, it is the pureness of feeling that is most worshiped in drama and should be in society. When hushed to a whisper, this voice is outrun by exaggerated plots and hinders the soul from breathing. It is difficult to follow this route, as there are so many opportunities for opposition. That is, the personal sentiment expressed in the work could erupt a severely private sentiment of another. This feeling of penetrating privacy calls for defensive behaviour. It seems as though there is a foreign thought that can connect to who you are. This causes people to feel vulnerability.
* Drama and art itself are mediums in which the secrets of life are shared.
* Their intentions ought to better mankind. The infinite ambition is to make life acceptable
Jenica A said...
* This fluidity assists the progression of the characters and enables the audience to slowly relate to the plot.
* The pace of time in the play mirrors the pace of human existence. There is no systematic way of living through life, it is as fluid as it is shown in Miller’s Death of a Salesman.
* Our past, present, and potential future is the identification of who we are.
* Certain occurrences, mistakes, achievements, and dreams linger in us in thoughts of what might have been, what is now, and what could be. The truth in the style of the play alone impacts its limitless success.
* In today’s society, the makings of modernism, acceptance and praise come in the form of material wealth and financial stability.
* Death of a Salesman imposes us to recognize who we truly are, and what is most important to us, in a unconventional yet effective way.
Paula I said...
* Richard Zoglin would argue that Miller brakes free of convention, creates timeless literature that will always relate to an individual’s humanity, so that in the end it alters our consciousness.
* Death of a Salesman is a landmark play in literature because of its style which contradicted the Victorian status quo and hence enters modernism.
* By fracturing time Miller rejects the traditional chronological structure of the Victorian era and moves towards modernism.
* Like Ibsen, Miller makes use of incidental music to flux between scenes so that the play does not lose coherence.
* Willy is like most people in that dreaming is what keeps him alive, he needs to keep believing that the American dream is a possibility so that he can elude his failure.
* This concept of, self-imposed ignorance is a modernist idea which stems from Sigmund Freud. Linda and Willy are examples of this because of their inability to face their problems.
* Willy Loman encompasses the average man, “There have been black Willy Lomans and Chinese Willy Lomans; big, bearish Willys…and feisty, bantamweight Willys”(Zoglin), anyone that has ever been caught in a system which they must submit to, is inevitably, a Willy Loman.
* In his case he was a victim of the American dream, which was fallaciously advertised in post war America.
* That is why the play is so “painfully familiar” (Zoglin) because we realize it could, if it hasn’t already, occur to us.
* The feeling of pathos is evoked in us when we witness Willy die at the grips of a flawed ideology he had no way out of.
* The nature of this tragedy is however is not meant to discourage rather to shatter ignorance and alter consciousness.
* Just like Elia Kazan most people think “My God, it’s so sad”, but it needs to be sad in order to invoke pathos and open minds to the idea that we are living in Willy Lomans society.
* The element of sadness is characteristic of Ibsenian tragedy, and is utterly the consequence of revealing a truth.
* The capitalist economy is unforgiving and “The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell” (75) sentimental gestures are meaningless. This is the “indictment of American capitalism—into one beaten-down figure with a sample case” (Zoglin) through Willy we learn more about ourselves and decide what our role will be in a world that is constantly and apathetically leaping forward towards the top of the Chomsky’s pyramid by climbing on the backs of other people.
* The moral of the story is that one should never blindly follow ideologies, and always question what society is feeding you.
Samantha C said...
* My understanding of Miller’s thesis is that we are striving so arduous to be better than everyone else, that we get caught up in life materialism. We can’t come together collectively because we trying so hard to be different from each other.
* We don’t understand what we are doing because we are living it. It seems that sometimes we need to let go or get out of situations and look at them from the outside to truly understand them.
* He goes as far as to admit the play’s flaw’s, particularly concerning the weight of Biff’s self realization in comparison to the weight of Willy Loman’s destruction.
* We let this ‘American Dream” consume us, and when we don’t achieve it, it spits us out and leaves us in the gutter. All we are left with is the lie that was our life.
* We need to be able to look back at ourselves and see our existence for what it truly is and accept the person we are.
Chris F said...
* Zoglin’s argument however, says that Willy’s character bridges the gap between then and now and is still able to instill feelings of empathy, anger, confusion, sadness, and joy.
James Y said...
* Miller is again referring to how we are slaves to the “ American Dream: an idea that cannot or will not ever be attainable. He is saying that one day we as people will realize that this idea has resulted in nothing but fear and pointless hostility.
* Miller hopes for us to understand that fear and hostility: the only things that come out of the American Dream, is what separates us from out humanity.
Angela S said...
* Millers responses display the importance of art and why it is drastically crucial to understanding life itself.
Jordan S said...
* In Miller's opinion he agreed there are no limitations to a play as long as it remains in the boundaries of the audience's imagination.
Ghassan F said...
* The perspective is that authors should feel free to write about whatever they want, but comes a point in their lives where their literature must be used as a weapon to notify the public of an important issue.
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