Analysis of Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman

Arthur Millers play Death of a Salesman was a hit nearly from its debut, and its importance to American literature and theater has not diminished in the over half a century since its first performance in 1949. However, the specific areas of the play that have most intrigued critics have changed over time, as different historical, social, and literary concerns lead critics to come up with different interpretations. By analyzing three different critical responses to Death of a Salesman, it will be possible to not only understand the play better, but also actually see how the reception of the play has changed as societys standards of criticism and discourse changed over the intervening years. One is able to see how shifting views on patriarchy lead to a change in the plays reception, and particularly the characterization of Willy Loman, who transforms from a tragic, albeit flawed man into the contemptible lackey of a patriarchal, capitalist society that has little regard for human healt h or happiness. The first critical response to Death of a Salesman considered here actually comes from 1949, just as the play was first debuting on Broadway. The first reviews of the play were almost unanimously positive, and February, 1949, review in the Los Angeles Times is indicative of the praises it received at the time. The Times review, like most popular reviews, does not bother with literary theory, but rather focuses solely on the plot and reviewing the constituent elements of theShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Arthur Millers Death Of Salesman 1548 Words   |  7 Pages Research paper on death of salesman Arthur Miller created stories that express the deepest meanings of struggle. Miller is the most prominent twentieth-century American playwrights. He based his works on his own life, and his observations of the American scene. Arthur Asher Miller was born 17 October 1915 in Manhattan, New York city. He was the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland. His parents had a prosperous clothing company. Unfortunately when the stock market crashed, because his familyRead MoreAnalysis Of Arthur Millers Death Of Salesman 1611 Words   |  7 PagesResearch paper on death of salesman Arthur Miller created stories that express the deepest meanings of struggle. Miller is the most prominent twentieth-century American playwrights. He based his works on his own life, and his observations of the American scene. Arthur Asher Miller was born 17 October 1915 in Manhattan, New York city. He was the son of Jewish immigrants from Poland. His parents had a prosperous clothing company. 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TheRead MoreDeath of a Salesman Analysis Essay2107 Words   |  9 Pagestheir family; however, there has been much debate over whether or not the American dream is still obtainable in modern society. One piece of American literature that substantiates the fact that the American Dream can not be gotten is Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman which describes the tragedy of the average person in America. A number of other writers also draw the inability to captur e the American Dream. John Steinbeck demonstrates in his highly acclaimed novel The Grapes of Wrath how hard economicRead MoreFailure Of The American Dream In The Writings Of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Zora Neale Hurston, And August Wilson1418 Words   |  6 Pages†American Dream† in the writings of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Arthur Miller, Zora Neale Hurston, and August Wilson. Fitzgerald’s account of the Jay Gatsby s rise to fame in the 1920s defines the failure of financial success as part of the American Dream. Gatsby will eventually die due to his excessive greed, which is not unlike the emotional death of Willy Loman as he fails to become a successful salesman in Author Miller’s Death of a Salesman. More so, Hurston’s depiction of Nanny’s own failures in