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Alan Adjei

Family Issues in the Death of a Salesman. - 7 views

In L. Domina's Literary Criticism of Arthur's Miller Death of a Salesman, Domina exclaims how the lack of trust in the Lohman's household created a countless amount of issues included the death of ...

Miller Death of a Salesman Secrets

started by Alan Adjei on 25 Jan 11 no follow-up yet
Nicole Keefe

Death of A Salesman Critic - 0 views

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    The Early Work of Arthur Miller Critic In this larger analysis by Leonard Moss on the complete works of Arthur Miller, the subsection regarding "All My Sons" explored the use of diction and other literary techniques to develop the complex family relationships of this novel. The family unit in "All My Sons" enjoys strong bonds and affections according to Moss; nonetheless, they are plagued with uncertainty and distrust among other members of the family despite this closeness. Moss progresses through the plot sequentially in order to support this claim about the family. Along the way, the article notes the language used by Miller to supplement the work. Colloquial language is used frequently, for instance, along with many allusions which are employed to reveal secrets of the family and signify shifts in emotions found within the story. Specifically noted is the "verbal contrast bringing out a psychological contrast" such as "harshness starting to displace simple folkiness, fearfulness displacing the comfortable self-assurance." Once accounting for the social truths and themes put forth by Miller, and the many supporting details, the author of this article concludes that much of the plot is centered on characters whose existence thrives in their pride as an honorable family member. This claim is supported by the actions of Joe Keller; after learning of his sons' discontent with his job as a father, he gives up everything and commits suicide because his life has no worth. These sentiments are definitely reflected within "Death of a Salesman" as well, which leads Moss to further conclude that Miller has strong opinions regarding family norms of this time.
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    The author of this critic, Terry Thompson, examined the family relationships and themes of Arthur Miller's "Death of A Salesman". Specifically the author examined two central symbolic elements to these aspects of the play, the first being the names of and the second being the physical characteristics of Willy, Biff, and Happy Loman. When closely examined, Thompson points out, the only character who is not addressed by a childish rendition of their name is Willy's brother, Benjamin Loman. Coincidently this is the only character of the novel that is viewed as successful; Willy, Biff, and Happy all continue to use immature pseudonyms which reflect their perceived shortcomings in life. In this same manner, the only characters who have facial hair and other features typical of grown men are Benjamin Loman and the father of Benjamin and Willy Loman. Again, this signifies their superiority, maturity, and success over the characters of Willy, Biff, and Happy. These minor details solidify the relationships between the male characters in the play, which lead to the conclusion by Thompson that Willy and his sons were truly inferior to other males. Moreover, this definition of inferiority was purely devised through standards put forth by Willy's idea of success stemming from the influences he had from men as he was growing up. This is clearly shown when Willy asks Benjamin to describe their father to his sons in order to show them a real role model and guide for success. Overall, Willy had a very harsh view about what success and self-worth comprised of.
Nicole Keefe

Family Values in Death of a Salesman - 0 views

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    This literary critic by Steven R. Centola investigates the "timeless human dilemma" that Arthur Miller portrays through his tragic character of Willy Loman, which is the quest to justify one's life. In order to fully examine this idea, the author progresses through the plot of the play and analyzes the occurrences that support this claim. Moreover, all the supporting characters are fully scrutinized to show their influence over Willy, especially his brother Ben who supplements the characterization of Willy due to his sharply contrasting ideals. Centola specifically mentions Willy's pursuit of a seemingly impossible dream as a tactic to justify his life and self-worth; however, Willy's desire for the love and respect of his family is noted as the ultimate indication of his success in life. There is a "tremendous variance between his [Willy's] deep feelings about and inadequate understanding of fatherhood, salesmanship, and success in one's personal life as well as in the business world in American society" though, which contributes to his eventual demise. With his textual support and intricate analysis of minute details and overarching themes, Centola concludes that Willy fails to fulfill his dreams pertaining to business and, more importantly, family. Despite his drastic choice to end his life, death does not defeat Willy because he was definitely loved by his family even if he never realized it; therefore, his memory and legacy will continue to live on and he will always influence his two sons - both positively and negatively. This facet connects to a major assumption made by Centola, which is that Willy wanted to sell himself more than any individual product hence why Miller never names the product he is trying to sell in his days as a salesman.
Alan Adjei

Miller's Death of a Salesman - 5 views

Arguments: In H.C. Phelps Literary Criticism Phelps's examines the uncertainty regarding Biff's love for Willy in the play. Phelps's also faults critics for easily accepting Biff's affection as the...

Death of a Salesman Miller

started by Alan Adjei on 26 Jan 11 no follow-up yet
Sam Haddad

Arthur Miller - 0 views

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    Short biography of Arthur Miller's life which also talks about his book Death of a Salesman.
Alan Adjei

Literature Resource Center - Document - 0 views

  • is an anti-hero, indeed the most classic of anti-heroes.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      Anti-hero is a main character in a dramatic or narrative work who is characterized by a lack of traditional heroic qualities, such as idealism or courage.
  • In this play, the themes of guilt and innocence and of truth and falsehood are considered through the lens of family roles.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      The themes in this novel are all connected to the Lohman family
  • .” Although he is ordinary and his life in some ways tragic, he also chooses his fate.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      Most hero's fate are bestowed on them but unlike Willy he decided his fate, which fits into the role of anti hero.
  • ...10 more annotations...
  • play's qualification as genuine tragedy,
  • Although Willy is dead by the end of the play, that is, not all deaths are truly tragic. The other characters respond to Willy's situation in the ways they do because they have different levels of access to knowledge about Willy and hence about themselves. An analysis of the relationships among these characters' insights and their responses will reveal the nature of their flawed family structure.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      Willy's death was not considered tragic because of how the other characters responded to the situation.
  • iff, the older son of Willy and Linda, is the clearest failure. Despite the fact that he had been viewed as a gifted athlete and a boy with a potentially great future, Biff has been unable as an adult to succeed or even persevere at any professional challenge.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      Biff is considered the failure as he wasted all the gifts he had been giving.
  • Yet Biff shares this knowledge with no one; instead this secret becomes the controlling element of his own life.
  • When Biff does attempt to tell the truth, not about Willy's affair but about his own life, Willy and Happy both resist him.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      They restrict him for letting out his feeling even though those feelings are holding him back
  • This inability to acknowledge the truth affects the family on many levels but most particularly in terms of their intimacy with one another and their intimate relationships with others.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      Trust is a major dilemma in the Lohman household and it prevents them from letting in new people into their lives.
  • The most profound secret of the play, however, is of course Willy's apparent obsession with suicid
    • Alan Adjei
       
      The lack of truth in the household eventually lead to secrets and then death because Willy could not share his secrets about suicide.
  • but she forbids them from addressing the subject directly with Willy, for she believes such a confrontation will make him feel ashamed.
    • Alan Adjei
       
      In not talking about his problems lead Willy to his death.
  • Willy. When he does finally succeed in killing himself, his act can be interpreted as a culmination of secrets, secrets which are compounded through lies because they have been created through lies.
  • they also include his failure as a salesman and the subsequent failures of his sons.
Austin Joy

A Thousand Splendid Analysis - 0 views

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    A thousand Splendid Suns is about women being abused by the men. Many people have read this book but Cheryl Reed saw it as "nearly impossible for a novel a work of fantasy and fabrication to deliver a formidable blow, a pounding of the senses, a reeling so staggering that we are convinced the characters and their dilemmas are genuine" (Reed). The two stories are similar but different at the same time because of the different women and different time periods. Reed goes onto explain that the two stories are about such young women being married off to much older women, while these men have multiple wives. An example of this is would be, "The man who saves her, who digs her from the rubble, is 60ish Rasheed, a shoe salesman, who has a penchant for young girls. His wife, Mariam, was given to him when she was only 15" (Reed). Mariam's mother dies in a hanging and she is married off by her dad. However, they are married to men much older than them and have to deal with the beatings and abuse. Although before they may be married off many things could happen to them. For example when Rasheed wives try to escape and get caught their punishment is brutal. "Rasheed's dissimilar wives team up to offer each other support from the beatings and the verbal lashings. They plan a risky escape but when that fails, the powerlessness of their plight couldn't be more palpable: Strangers turn them in to the authorities, and police officers shrug their shoulders at the likelihood that Rasheed may kill them for causing dishonor" (Reed). However, as punishment for trying to escape from a life of torture, they are brutally beat. Seems all they want is freedom but to get that they have to escape. Reed describes this the best "While The Kite Runner was the story of redemption, of male friendship and the bond between fathers and sons, Suns is a multigenerational story with a larger cast of characters, spanning 45 years and told from the dual perspectives of two powerless women
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