Setting: Brooklyn, New York; Loman's House
Plot: Willy Loman returns to his home from a sales trip. Linda, his wife, tries to persuade him into talking to his boss to see if he can stay in New York and work. Willy says he will talk to Howard (his boss) the next day. Willy complains that Biff, his oldest son, hasn't made anything of himself yet. Linda gets mad because he gets so dsitraught and Willy goes downstairs to get something to eat. Willy talks to himself in the kitchen while his two sons, Biff and Happy, talk about the good old days when they were young. They talk about Willy's babbling and it usually holds some critism of Biff's failure to uphold Willy's dream. Willy then daydreams of young Biff and all his glory in football. Charley's son, Bernard, comes searching for Biff saying that Biff must study or he will fail and not graduate high school. Willy says Bernard is not well liked so he will not succeed in life. Willy complains about all of the things wrong in his life. As Linda consoles him, Willy hears the laughter of his mistress. The woman and Willy flirt and she thanks him for the stockings. He goes back into the first daydream and scolds Linda for hemming her stockings. Biff has stolen a football and Linda scolds that Biff must give it back. Happy comes downstairs to settle Willy down, and Willy talks about how he is upset that he did not go with Ben to have success. Charley comes in and Willy and him play cards. Willy denies the job. Willy imagines Ben came in, then calls Charley Ben. There is a lot of confusion and Willy tells Charley that he can't play cards with Charley if he is goingto cheat. Linda then tells the boys that Willy has been trying to commit suicide. Willy goes into Howard's office and tries to talk to him about staying in New York, but gets distracted by the voice recorder. Happy and Biff take Willy out to dinner to celebrate. Biff tells Willy that he waited 6 hours for Bill Oliver and that he didn't recongize him. Biff stole his fountain pen and ran. Happy and Biff leave, saying that they don't know who he is. Willy is in the bathroom daydreaming. He's in a hotel room with another woman. Biff walks in on them and gets upset and they have a huge fight. Biff leaves upset and angry. Willy then comes back into the present and leaves to buy seeds. He comes home and starts planting. Linda and the boys fight about how Willy is dying. Biff and Willy fight then Biff cries into Willy's shoulder and tells him he loves him. Willy then leaves with Ben as Linda and the boys tell him not to. Willy's car speeds away and then he dies. At the funeral, Linda tells Willy that they are finally free. Biff and Happy talk about going out west.
Characters:
- Willy Loman
- Linda Loman
- Happy Loman
- Biff Loman
- Charler
- Bernard
- Howard Wagner
- Stanley
- Miss Forsythe
- Letta
- Jenny
- The Woman
Narrative Voice: none really, it's a play
STYLE
1. Point of View: First person, all characters interact with each other; there is no outsider telling the story; because it is a play, there is no way to really tell if an outsider is looking in and telling the story because there is no narrator
2. Tone: Willy Loman is crazy and consumed by the materialistic dream. He wants to be a businessman even though he is no good at it. He thinks that being liked and known is the key to success. Miller wants us to see that Willy is like many people in the world. We don't do what makes us happy, but what we think will please others. We can't just do what we want to do. We have to have the big bucks to pay for useless things. Biff is unsuccessful but is trying to do what he likes. But he also changes to become what his father wants. Miller wants us to notice that Biff has gone and tried to find himself, which many people cannot do because they are too concerned with who likes them. Happy is just dumb. He has no respect for women, and he is going to end up like Willy. Miller does this to show that if you continue to do things only to please other people, that your life will not end up something you want it to be. Sometimes success isn't always a good thing. Linda cares for Willy even though she knows she must do more.
3. Imagery:
- Willy's daydreaming
- Linda mending her stockings
- The Woman and Willy's interactions
4. Symbolism
- Seeds- Willy's opportunity to prove the worth of labor
- Diamonds- tangible wealth, Ben, one's wealth and materialism
- Stockings- Linda's and The Woman's, new stockings, betrayl, financial
- Rubber Hose- suicide
QUOTES
1. "Bernard: But sometimes Willy, it's better for a man just to walk away."
Importance: This shows the different ways Bernard and Biff were raised. Biff was always told what to do and how to act and what to be. Charley never told Bernard how to live his life. Bernard is successful and Biff is not.
2. "Biff: I don't care what they think! They've laughed at Dad for years, and you know why? Becasue we don't belong in this nuthouse of a city! We should be mixing cement on some open plain, or-or carpenters. A carpenter is allowed to whistle!"
Importance: This shows how Willy never took a journey south or west or anywhere but east. He stayed in New York and the surrouning areas. He never took a journey to find himself. He is unaware that Biff is right, and that he should be a carpenter. Biff lived out west so he knows what he is to do with his life.
3. "Willy: All the cement, lumber, the reconstruction I put in this house1There ain't a crack to be found in it any more."
Importance: Willy has done all of the carpentry for the house and is still oblivious that that is what he was meant to do. But because he never took the journey south he will never know.
Theme: One theme in Death of a Salesman is betrayl and family disfunction. Willy betrays Linda and Biff when he has an affair and Biff finds out. Willy never tells Linda and Biff never tells anyone about it. They both keep all their secrets bottled up. Biff betrays Willy's dream for him. Biff never actually tries to become a salesman. The constant fighting and betrayl between these two characters is the main reason for the disfunction of the family. But everyones lies and secrets contribute.
Good job! The post is very thorough, and I like how it's structured in a very cut and dry method of listing, so it's easy to read and follow. It will be a very good study tool! Maybe for the part of imagery, use quotes to describe it, so we can see the actual imagery. But other than that, nicely done!
ReplyDeleteI really like the way that you structure your responses. It makes them very clear and I can easily tell what you are talking about. Same thing as last time with the main characters, maybe add some details about them. I think for your part about tone, you sort of just explain the book rather than talk about the tone. You could use what you wrote to help explain the tone of hopelessness or desperation in this novel. I htink your theme could also use some work. The theme should be an arguable statement that you are trying to prove with your evidence. Betrayal and family disfunction are more of motifs that come up throughout the play.
ReplyDeleteDo you think Willy is truly acting to please others, in his desire to be well liked? Or is he acting to please himself without regard for what society accepts as the actual path to success (hard work)? I feel like a lot of what you say in your Tone section could be moved to your character description instead. You have a lot of valid things about how the characters interact, but tone involves more of an attitude than a checklist, if that makes sense? I agree with Natalie about the theme: you're going somewhere, but what does the family dysfunction in the work mean in a broader sense? What does it represent?
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