1、,Death of a Salesman 推销员之死 - by Arthur Miller,戏剧第二组 丁楠,Arthur Miller (October 17, 1915 February 10, 2005) was an American playwright and essayist. A prominent figure in American theatre and cinema for almost 100 years, writing a wide variety of dramas, including celebrated plays such as The Crucible
2、, A View from the Bridge, All My Sons, and Death of a Salesman, which are studied and performed worldwide. Arthur Miller was born in New York. His father was a ladies-wear manufacturer and shopkeeper who was ruined in the depression. The sudden change in fortune had a strong influence on Miller. Mil
3、lers plays often depict how families are destroyed by false values. Poverty will have a lasting effect Insecurity of modern existence,I. Introduction to Arthur Miller,Arthur Miller 阿瑟米勒 & Marilyn Monroe 玛丽莲梦露,His Major Works,Death of the Salesman 推销员之死 All My Sons 全是我儿子制造商凯勒在二战期间向美国空军出售残次部件，导致21名飞行员
4、机毁人亡，后他又将罪责推给合伙人。当他得知遇难的飞行员中有自己的儿子时，受到良心谴责，终于愧疚自杀。 The Crucible kru:sibl炼狱 以1692年塞姆勒镇发生的驱巫冤案为素材，表现黑暗宗教势力与普通人良心的斗争。戏剧公演时正值美国麦卡锡主义猖獗时期，该剧影射和抨击了非美活动调查委员会审讯共产党人的事件。米勒因政治思想进步而遭该委员会传讯，但毫不畏惧，并借古讽今创作了该剧。,II. Death of A Salesman,II. Death of A Salesman,DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1949) brought Miller international
5、fame, and become one of the major achievements of modern American theatre. It relates the tragic story of a salesman named Willy Loman, whose past and present are mingled in expressionistic scenes. Loman is not the great success that he claims to be to his family and friends. The postwar economic bo
6、om has shaken up his life. He is eventually fired and he begins to hallucinate about significant events from his past. Linda, his wife, believes in the American Dream, but she also keeps her feet on the ground. Deciding that he is worth more dead than alive, Willy kills himself in his car, hoping th
7、at the insurance money will support his family and his son Biff could get a new start in his life. Critics have disagreed whether his suicide is an act of cowardice or a last sacrifice on the altar of the American Dream.,The Family Members in Death of A Salesman,Willy Loman,A sixty year old salesman
8、 living in Brooklyn, Willy Loman is a gregarious, mercurial man with powerful aspirations to success. However, after thirty-five years working as a traveling salesman throughout New England, Willy Loman feels defeated by his lack of success and difficult family life. Although he has a dutiful wife,
9、his relationship with his oldest son, Biff, is strained by Biffs continual failures. As a salesman, Willy Loman focuses on personal details over actual measures of success, believing that it is personality and not high returns that garner success in the business world.,Biff Loman,The thirty-four yea
10、r old son of Willy Loman, Biff was a star high school athlete with a scholarship to UVA, but he did not attend college after failing a high school math course and refusing to attend summer school. He did this primarily out of spite after finding out that his father was having an affair with a woman
11、in Boston. Since then, Biff has been a continual failure, stealing and even spending time in jail. Despite his failures and anger toward his father, Biff still has great concern for what his father thinks of him, and the conflict between the two characters drives the narrative of the play.,Linda Lom
12、an,The dutiful, obedient wife to Willy and mother of Biff and Happy, Linda Loman is the one person who supports Willy Loman, despite his often reprehensible treatment of her. She is a woman who has aged greatly because of her difficult life with her husband, whose hallucinations and erratic behavior
13、 she contends with alone. She is the moral center of the play, occasionally stern and not afraid to confront her sons about their poor treatment of their father.,Happy Loman The younger of the two Loman sons, Happy Loman is seemingly content and successful, with a steady career and none of the obvio
14、us marks of failure that his older brother displays. Happy, however, is not content with his more stable life, because he has never risked failure or striven for any real measure of success. Happy is a compulsive womanizer who treats women purely as sex objects and has little respect for the many wo
15、men whom he seduces.,Ben Willys older brother, Ben left home at seventeen to find their father in Alaska, but ended up in Africa, where he found diamond mines and came out of the jungle at twenty-one an incredibly rich man. Although Ben died several weeks before the time at which the play is set, he
16、 often appears in Willys hallucinations, carrying a valise and umbrella. Ben represents the fantastic success for which Willy has always hoped but can never seem to achieve.,Howard Wagner,The thirty-six year old son of Frank Wagner, Willy Lomans former boss, Howard now occupies the same position as
17、his late father. Although Willy was the one who named Howard, Howard is forced to fire Willy for his erratic behavior. Howard is preoccupied with technology; when Willy meets with his new boss, he spends most of the meeting demonstrating his new wire recorder.,Bernard,Bernard is the only son of Char
18、ley, Lowmans next door neighbour. He is intelligent and industrious but lacks the gregarious personality of either of the Loman sons. It is this absence of spirit that makes Willy believe that Bernard will never be a true success in the business world, but Bernard proves himself to be far more succe
19、ssful than Willy imagined. As a grown-up, he is a lawyer preparing to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court.,Death of a Salesman & the American Dream,Death of a Salesman is considered by many to be the quintessential modern literary work on the American dream, a term created by James Truslow Ad
20、ams in his 1931 book, The Epic of America. This is somewhat ironic, given that it is such a dark and frustrated play. The idea of the American dream is as old as America itself: the country has often been seen as an empty frontier to be explored and conquered. Unlike the Old World, the New World had
21、 no social hierarchies, so a man could be whatever he wanted, rather than merely having the option of doing what his father did.,Miller had an uncertain relationship with the idea of the American dream. On one hand, Bernards success is a demonstration of the idea in its purist and most optimistic fo
22、rm. Through his own hard work and academic success, Bernard has become a well-respected lawyer. It is ironic, however, that the character most obviously connected to the American dream, who boasts that he entered the jungle at age seventeen and came out at twenty-one a rich man, actually created thi
23、s success in Africa, rather than America.,There is the possibility that Ben created his own success through brute force rather than ingenuity. The other doubt cast on the American dream in Death of a Salesman is that the Loman men, despite their charm and good intentions, have not managed to succeed
24、 at all. Miller demonstrates that the American dream leaves those who need a bit more community support, who cannot advocate for themselves as strongly, in the dust.,Who Killed Willy Loman?,Willy Lomans death as a social tragedy Willy Lomans death as a personal tragedy,Willy Lomans death as a social
25、 tragedy,Willy Loman is the victim of the American dream. His tragedy is caused by his faith in accomplishing it, which means success through working hard and obtaining others acceptance by popular personality, which makes him believes “a man can end up with diamonds here on the basis of being liked
26、. ” Dave Singleman Once in his youth, he has seen a man named Dave Singleman who is able to stay in his hotel room, where he telephones buyers and sales a tremendous amount of merchandise without even leaving his room. When Dave Singleman dies at the age of eight-four, buyers and salesmen from all o
27、ver the country come to his funeral. Dave Singleman sets a perfect example of being successful as a salesman. All Willys life has been spent in trying to imitate this person.,Ben The success of his brother Ben also contributes significantly to his firm faith in the American dream. Ben is a person wh
28、o possesses nothing but he enters the jungle when he is seventeen, and when he comes out at twenty-one he is rich. It strengthens Willys faith. The Great Depression As a middle-class family, the Lomans could not get rid of the influence of the powerful Great Depression, which almost made the whole c
29、ountry into a disastrous economic desperation. As the Great Depression deepened, the American dream had become a nightmare. What was once the land of opportunity was now the land of desperation. What was once the land of hope and optimism had become the land of despair.,Social system,Puritanss belie
30、f: personal values are based on material sucess. So if you are not successful, you are nothing Darwin “The origin of species” The survival of the fittestAmerica as society of the strong Exploitative Indifferent Howard: No, but its business, kid, and every body s gotta pull his own weight.Kid, I cant
31、 take blood from a stone,Willy Lomans death as a personal tragedy,Dishonest Jealous Inability to face reality Holding false values,Dishonest,Linda: , because I love him. He is the dearest man in the world to me, and I wont have anyone making him feel unwanted and low and blue. Linda loves her husban
32、d and even respects him “in spite of all his difficulties.” She constantly believes in Willy and is even ready to reject her sons for this man who dreams such strange illusions. But to a wife like this, Willy is still dishonest. He plays a role of an absent lover in their marriage. He develops a gui
33、lty relationship with a woman Miss Frances, and Willy has given this woman many stockings. On the contrary, Linda always mends stockings. So the stockings are used as a symbol of Willys guilt.,Willy is jealous of Charleys success. When Willy is fired by Howard, Charley offers him a job. But Willy re
34、fuses him. From these we could find Willys jealousy and his false pride. Charley helps him. He also sets good examples for him. If Willy could listen to him, then he might still be alive and live another life. But he treats this impact in a different way. He refuses his help, and he goes further and
35、 further from the reality and the happy life which Charley lives and he probably also could live.,Jealous,Other Personalities,Self-centered, self-important Why do you get American (cheese) when I like Swiss? I thought you would like a change_ I dont want a change! I want Swiss cheese. Why am I alway
36、s being contradicted? Arrogant, extravagant I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. “Willy Loman is here”. Thats all they have to know, and I go right through. Knockedem cold in Providence, slaughteredem in Boston. Self-willed and obstinate Blindly ambitious: distorted,Inability to face reality
37、,The story is told partly through the mind and memory of Willy Loman, which implies Willys inability to face reality. He is dominated by his illusions, which results in the losing of his many opportunities to be successful. He has the illusion that he could be as successful as the salesman named Dav
38、e Singleman so he gives up his opportunity to go to Alaska with Ben to make a fortune by other means. He has the illusion that he is better than Charley so he can not work for Charley. This time he loses his last chance to succeed or to be alive.,Inability to face reality,Illusion about his own succ
39、ess: lies about how well-liked he is in all of his town and New England. Illusion about his sons Willy: Because you got a greatness in you, Biff.You got all kinds of greatness. Refuse to acknowledge the fact (that he is in fact a better carpenter than a salesman), continues to live a life of lies, m
40、emories and dream. Biff: A carpenter is allowed to whistle Willy: Even your grandfather is better than a carpenter Go to the West! Be a carpenter, enjoy yourself. No awareness of what happen to him.,False values,To be well-liked and to have personal attractiveness When he talks with Biff, he says “t
41、he man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want.” No one can tell him what to do He believes that he can not be bossed around and that he is too important to fall under anyones authority but his
42、own. He teaches Biff and Happy not to take orders from anyone.,False values,Willy philosophy: success is based on appearance & popularity, not by being hard-working& studious Bernard can get the best marks in school, bet when you gets out in the business world, y understand, you are going to be five
43、 times ahead of him. Thats why I thank Almighty God youare both built like Adonises. Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world.is the man who gets ahead. Belief in materialism and commercialism but not spiritualism: Dave Singleman, Ben, “fortune, diamon mine” Willy:Boys, boys. Li
44、sten to this. This is uncle Ben, a great man. Tell my boys, Ben! Ben: Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out.And by God I was rich Willy (to the boys): You see what I been talking about. The greatest thing can happen.,Conclusion,Willy Loman i
45、s clearly a victim of what he devotedly adheres to the capitalist system and its values. Personality type is destiny. His tragic life is also victimized by his own flaws in his character. Summary Willys fate is inevitable His tragedy is an unbreakable trap Willy is victim of his own belief and socie
46、ty,The origin and development of American Dream,The American Dream consists of a genuine and determined belief that in America, all things are possible to all men, regardless of birth or wealth; if you work hard enough you will achieve everything.It originated in the Colonial Period of America when
47、Benjamin Franklin was famous for his success through his persistent self-improvement. His words “God helps those who help themselves” generalize the essential theme of the American Dream.,It is based on the Declaration of Independence: “we believe that all men are born with these inalienable rights-
48、life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” During the process of western exploration in “Gold Rush”, innumerable adventurers leapt to wealthy upstart overnight which stimulated the rapid growth of the “American Dream”. The ideology is deep-rooted and has far-reaching impact on the American life. A
49、fter the two world wars, people became greatly disillusioned for the loss of faith and many critics began to reflect upon it and attached more importance to the negative effect of American Dream. The “American Dream” is fatal in its fantasy, when the dream is confronted by reality and broken by the
50、harshness, disaster will come.,Conclusion,Death of a Salesman traced the life of a common American and narrated a losers poignant story. Willys tragedy lies in his excessive fanatic in American Dream which eroded his soul and distorted his personality. The process of his failure was the period in which American Dream disillusioned.,
