Death of a Salesman

by Arthur Miller

Plot summary

Willy Loman, a salesman based in New York City, returns home from a trip to Yonkers where his sons, Biff and Happy, and his wife, Linda, greet him. Biff, who had been working on a farm in Texas, talks to Happy about working outside, and how this house brings back bad memories, and boxes him in. Willy goes outside and flashes back to Biff's childhood: Biff is the star quarterback of his high school football team, and the Lomans' neighbor, Bernard, advises him to study math, but Biff and Happy ignore him and carry on playing football. Later on in the flashback, Willy goes inside, where Linda talks to him about their budget. Willy is reminded of an encounter he had with The Woman, during which he gave her some red silk stockings, with lettering along the sides that said "scarlet's dream", and when he returns from the flashback, he sees Linda mending some stockings and snatches them away in guilt. Later, he and Charley engage in a card game (casino), during which Willy is reminded of his brother Ben. Ben begins a dialogue with him, and Willy contemplates why he can't become successful. Throughout the play, Willy has these imaginary conversations with Ben, during most of which he asks Ben how he made his millions. Ben had tried to go to Alaska to find their father but ended up in Africa. In Africa, he "stumbled" upon the diamond business and became wealthy by the time Willy was old enough to care about his own career. Willy feels that he can also become successful by luck alone. However, it is made apparent that Ben never spent much time with the rest of the Lomans and gave only rudimentary descriptions of how he gained his wealth. For instance, whenever Willy asks Ben (in his flashbacks) how he made his millions, Ben only answers "When I walked into the jungle, I was 17. When I walked out, I was 21, and by God I was rich." In addition, Willy worked for a man who only had to wake up in the morning, put his slippers on, and make phone calls, and had made millions of dollars. Willy assumes that one does not need to work or have ambition, but that all these men needed was a "smile and a shoeshine" to be successful.

This philosophy doesn't work out for Willy. He has been reduced to working for commission alone, has to travel long distances, and even has to borrow money from Charley to make ends meet. In order to escape from his own failure, he pressures his sons to make something of themselves, then is crushed when they don't live up to his expectations. The family discovers he's tried to kill himself when Linda finds a tube and "a new little nipple" on the heater, at which point Linda mentions he's deliberately crashed the car on several occasions. Biff has just returned from Texas after several years, during which he never contacted his family, and he is therefore not entirely welcome. In an effort to please their father, Biff and Happy plan to start a sporting goods business in Florida and put on exhibitions for publicity. Willy is excited by this plan, though it is ludicrous, and the boys plan to ask Bill Oliver, Biff's past employer, for startup money. Willy asks his current employer for a job in New York, so he doesn't have to travel so much. His employer instead fires him. Willy is outraged, and goes on a rant about the immorality of it, to which his employer responds "I have to see some people, can you hurry this up?" Willy walks out, and goes to where Charley works. There, he runs into Bernard, who mentions that, during Biff's last year in high school, Biff went to Boston to visit Willy, but after he returned, had lost all interest in school, thereby failing math. Willy denies anything happened in Boston. Charley mentions that Bernard is going to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court, which astounds Willy. Charley offers Willy a job when he finds out that Willy has been fired, but Willy refuses as he's still jealous of Charley.

Later, at a restaurant, Biff tells Happy about his encounter with Bill Oliver; he never got a chance to speak with Oliver, as he didn't even remember who Biff was. Infuriated, Biff stole Oliver's fountain pen and fled, at which point he realized his life was a lie and he was only a shipping clerk to Oliver. When Willy arrives, Biff tries to tell Willy the truth, but Willy so desperately wants good news that he forces Biff to lie. When Biff resists, Willy starts to pace, demanding to know why Biff didn't pass math. Biff takes pity on Willy, and lies that his encounter with Oliver went well, which allows Willy to continue denying reality. Willy has another flashback, during which he relives the night Biff found him in Boston; Biff walked in on Willy and The Woman, where Willy desperately tried to cover up his affair, but Biff saw through his lies and fled back to New York. Willy then wakes up in the bathroom, where he had somehow dozed off, and goes back home, where he begins planting seeds outside and talking to Ben. When Biff returns, he admits that he hadn't called because he had been in jail for a long time, and confronts Willy by showing him the tube with which Willy had attempted suicide. In a heated debate between Willy, Linda, Biff, and Happy, Biff pleads with Willy to be free of his judgment, to "take this phony dream and burn it." Biff, Linda and Happy then go to bed. Willy then follows the voice of Ben, calling him to his car, and Willy drives off with the intent of killing himself in order to give Biff the settlement from his life insurance.

The Requiem is a funeral scene, with Happy, Biff, Linda, Charley and Bernard standing over Willy's grave. At that point, Biff has learned to accept himself for what he is, Happy still wants to carry on Willy's dream of success in the city, and Linda ends the play with a monologue alone. In this monologue, she explains that she can't cry, and that she had made the last payment on the house, ending with the words "We're free, we're free..."

Major Themes

The Dangers of Modernity

Death of a Salesman premiered in 1949, right on the brink of the 1950s, a decade of unprecedented consumerism and technical advances in America. Many innovations applied specifically to the home: it was in the 50s that the TV and the washing machine became common household objects. Miller expresses a sort of ambivalence toward modern objects and the modern mindset. Although Willy Loman is a deeply flawed character, there is something compelling about his nostalgia. Modernity acocunts for the obselenscence of Willy Loman's career--travelling salesman are rapidly becoming out-of-date. Significantly, Willy reaches for modern objects, the car and the gas heater, to assist him in his suicide attempts.

Gender Relations

In Death of a Salesman, woman are sharply divided into two categories: Linda and other. The men display a distinct Madonna/whore complex, as they are only able to classify their nurturing and virtuous mother against the other, easier women available (the woman with whom Willy has an affair and Miss Forsythe being only two examples). The men curse themselves for being attracted to the whore-like women, and, in an Oedipal moment, Happy laments that he cannot find a woman like his mother, but are still irrepressably drawn to them. Women themselves are two-dimensional characters in this play. They remain firmly outside the male sphere of business, and seem to have no thoughts or desires other than those pertaining to men. Even Linda, the strongest female character, is only fixated on a reconciliation between her husband and her sons, selflessly subordinating herself to serve to assist them in their problems.

Madness

Madness is a dangerous theme for many artists, whose creativity can put them on the edge of what is societally acceptable. Miller, however, treats the quite bourgeouis theme of the nuclear family, so his interposition of the theme of madness is quite startling. Madness reflects the greatest technical innovation of Death of a Salesman--its seamless hops back and foward in time. The audience or reader quickly realizes, however, that this is based on Willy's confused perspective. Willy's madness becomes more and more of an issue as he hallicunates more and more. The reader must decide for themselves how concrete of a character Ben is, for example, or even how reliable the plot and narrative structure are, when told from the perspective of someone on the edge as Willy Loman is.

Cult of Personality

One of Miller's techniques throughout the play is to familiarize certain characters by having them repeat the same key line over and over. Willy's most common line is that businessmen must be well-liked, rather than merely liked, and his business strategy is based entirely on the idea of a cult of personality. He believes that it is not what a person is able to accomplish, but who he knows and how he treats them that will get a man ahead in the world. This viewpoint is tragically undermined not only by Willy's failure, but also by that of his sons, who assumed that they could make their way in life using only their charms and good looks, rather than any more solid talents.

Nostalgia

The dominant emotion throughout this play is nostalgia, which is understandable given that all of the Lomans feel that they have made mistakes or wrong choices. The technical aspects of the play feed this emotion by making seamless transitions back and forth from happier, earlier times in the play. Youth is more suited to the American dream, and Willy's business ideas do not seem as sad or as bankrupt when he has an entire lifetime ahead of him to prove their merit. Biff looks back nostalgic for a time that he was a high school athletic hero, and, more importantly for a time where he did not know that his father was a fake and a cheat, and still idolized him.

Opportunity

Tied up intimately with the idea of the American dream is the concept of opportunity. America claims to be the land of opportunity, of social mobility. Even the poorest man should be able to move upward in life through his own hard work. Miller complicates this idea of opportunity by linking it to time, and illustrating that new opportunity does not occur over and over again. Bernard has made the most of his opportunities, by studying hard in school, he has risen through the ranks of his profession and is now preparing to argue a case in front of the Supreme Court. Biff, on the other hand, while technically given the same opportunities as Bernard, has ruined his prospects by a decision that he made at the age of eighteen. There seems to be no going back for Biff, after he made the fatal decision not to finish high school.

Growth

In a play which rocks back and forth through different time periods, one would normally expect to witness some growth in the characters involved. Not so in Death of a Salesmen, where the various members of the Loman family are stuck in the same character flaws, in the same personal ruts throughout time. For his part, Willy does not recognize that his business principles do not work, and continues to emphasize the wrong qualities. Biff and Happy are not only stuck with their childhood names in their childhood bedrooms but also are hobbled by their childhood problems: Biff's bitterness toward his father and Happy's dysfunctional relationship with women. In a poignant moment at the end of the play, Willy tries to plant some seeds when he realizes that his family has not grown at all over time. 
 
 
 

Motifs

Motifs are elements of a story (dialogue, symbols, situations, etc.) that keep reappearing throughout. In Death of Salesman, Arthur Miller uses several motifs. They are:

The woods/jungle and diamonds:
Uncle Ben is the character who deals with the motif of the jungle (sometimes referred to by Willy as 'the woods') and diamonds. These motifs are symbols. The jungle is symbolic of life, and diamonds of success. As Willy's life is crashing down around him, he says, "The woods are burning! I can't drive a car!" At the end of the play (and many other places as well) Uncle Ben refers to the jungle: "You must go into the jungle and fetch a diamond out."

The garden:
The idea of planting a garden is a major motif in the play. Willy is always discussing the idea of planting a garden, in Act I on page 17 he says, "The grass don't grow anymore, you can't raise a carrot in the backyard." At the end of the play, one of his last acts in life is his futile attempt at planting seeds in the backyard of his fenced-in house. The garden is symbolic of Willy needing to leave something behind for people to remember him by. Something that people will think about and remember him as a great man. Willy never achieved success in life, and he also never planted his garden. (He does in the end of the play, but it is assumed that will not grow.)

Moon, stars:
Willy is often seen looking and commenting on the stars or the moon. This is seen in the first act after a fight with Biff when Willy says, "Gee, look at the moon moving between the buildings." This motif is also seen elsewhere in the play.

Structure

The play is divided into three main parts, Act I, Act II, and the Requiem. Each section takes place on a different day in present-day. Within Act I and Act II, the story is presented through the use of Willy's flashbacks. This use of flashback is fundamental to the structure and understanding of the play.

The story starts at present-day and Willy then lapses in and out of the past. Each flashback is somehow related the present. Very often, the contents of the flashback offer essential background knowledge for understanding why the present-day problems in the Loman family are occurring. For example, when Willy is thinking about Biff and Biff's problems, Willy is transported to the summer of Biff's senior year. The events that took place in the past expose for the reader the situations that have led up to the present-day boiling point in the Loman household.

Character Analysis

Willy Loman

Willly Loman is an elderly salesmen lost in false hopes and illusions. The sales firm he works for no longer pays him salary. Working on straight commission, Willy cannot bring home enough money to pay his bills. After thirty-four years with the firm, they have spent his energy and discarded him.

Willy's sons, Biff and Hap, are also failures, but Willy doesn't want to believe this. He wants his sons, especially Biff, to succeed where he has not. He believes his boys are great and cannot understand why they are not successful. This is a major source of conflict throughout the play.

As Willy has grown older, he has trouble distinguishing between the past and present - between illusion and reality - and is often lost in flashbacks where much of the story is told. These flashbacks are generally during the summer after Biff's senior year of high school when all of the family problems began.

Willy has had an affair with a women he meets on sales trips and once caught by Biff. Now, Biff does not respect Willy and they do not get along. Willy eventually commits suicide so that Biff can have the insurance money to become successful with.

Linda Loman

Linda is Willy's wife and is the arbiter of peace in the family. She is always trying to stand between Willy and her sons to ease the tension. She is protective of Willy. She knows that Willy is tired and is a man at the end of his rope - the end of his life and, as he put it, "ringing up a zero." She wants him to be happy even when the reality of the situation is bad. Linda knows that Willy has been trying to commit suicide, but does not intervene because she does not want to embarrass him. She lets it continue because she is not one to cause trouble.

Biff Loman

Biff Loman is Willy's son and it is the conflict between the two that the story of the play revolves around. Biff was a star football player in high school, with scholarships to two major universities. He flunked math his senior year and was not allowed to graduate. He was going to make the credit up during the summer but caught Willy being unfaithful to Linda. This shock changed Biff's view of his father and everything that Biff believed in. Biff then became a drifter and was lost for fifteen years. He was even jail for stealing a suit once. But now, he has come home and the problems begin.

Willy wants dearly for Biff to become a business success, although Biff has an internal struggle between pleasing his father and doing what he feels is right. Biff wants to be outside on a cattle ranch, and Willy wants him behind a corporate desk. Through the illusions that Willy believes, he cannot see that Biff is a nobody and not bound to be successful as defined by Willy. This conflict is the main material of the play.

Eventually, Biff finally sees the truth and realizes that he is a "dime a dozen" and "no great leader of men." He tells this to Willy who is outraged. Willy shouts, "I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman and you are Biff Loman!"

At the end of the play, Biff realizes the illusions that Willy lived on. Biff is destined to no greatness, but he no longer has to struggle to understand what he wants to do with his life.

Happy Loman

Hap is the Loman's youngest son. He lives in an apartment in New York, and during the play is staying at his parent's house to visit. Hap is of low moral character; constantly with another woman, trying to find his way in life, even though he is confident he's on the right track.

Hap has always been the "second son" to Biff and tries to be noticed by his parents by showing off. When he was young he always told Willly, "I'm losin' weight pop, you notice?" And, now he is always saying, "I'm going to get married, just you wait and see," in an attempt to redeem himself in his mother's eyes. Hap also tries to be on Willy's good side and keep him happy, even if it means perpetuating the lies and illusions that Willy lives in.

In the end of the play, Hap cannot see reality. Like his father, he is destined to live a fruitless life trying for something that will not happen. "Willy Loman did not die in vain," he says, "�He had a good dream, the only dream a man can have - to come out number one man. He fought it out here, and this where I'm gonna win it for him."

Charlie, Bernard and Uncle Ben

Charlie:
Charlie is the Loman's next door neighbor, and owns his own sales firm. He and Willy do not get along very well, but they are friends nonetheless. Charlie is always the voice of reality in the play, trying to set Willy straight on the facts of Willy's situation, but Willy refuses to listen.

Bernard:
Bernard is Charlie's goody-two-shoes son who was a childhood friends of Biff. Bernard always studied and eventually became a successful lawyer, something that Willy has trouble dealing with.

Uncle Ben:
Ben is Willy's dead brother who appears to Willy during his flashbacks and times of trouble. Ben was a rich man who made it big in the diamond mines of Africa. Willy once was given the chance to become partners with Ben, but refused and instead choose the life that he currently lives.

 

 

نقد فارسی

نمایشنامه مرگ فروشنده نوشته آرتور میلر در سال 1949 جایزه پولیتزر را از آن خود کرد.

این نمایشنامه که در ایران به چاپ چهارم رسیده است داستان زندگی مردی است که در دنیای خودش زندگی میکند

و نمیتواند با دنیای جدید و به اصطلاح مدرن جامعه آمریکا ارتباط برقرار کند. او مدام به گذشته پناه میبرد

و چرایی ناکامی زندگی خود و دو پسرش را در گذشته میجوید. ویلی لومان فروشنده شکست خورده نمایشنامه

در تضاد و تناقض بسیار به سرذ میبرد میان آرزوهای او و واقعیت فاصله بسیار است .او می پندارد

که پسرانش افراد موفقی هستند در حالی که بیف پسر بزرگ او شغلی ندارد و در مقابل ناکامی هایش

دست به دزدی میزند. گرچه احتیاجی به اشیایی که میدزدد ندارد و این کار تنها واکنشیست به سر خوردگیهایش.

هپی پسر کوچکتر ویلی لومان وضع بهتری از بیف دارد اما او هم آدمی بلند پرواز است و از زندگیش راضی نیست و سرخوردگی هایش را با وقت گذرانی با نامزدهای همکارانش سپری میکند.. در این نمایشنامه لیندا زن ویلی لومان تنها عضو خانواده است که از واقعیت فاصله نگرفته و به رویا پناه نمیبرد.. او همیشه به شوهر و

فرزندانش امید میبخشد و زندگیش را با نگرانی دایم برای شوهرش سپری میکند.زندگی زناشویی آنها

چندان تعریفی ندارد گرچه لیندا چندان شکایتی ندارد.ویلی لومان که یک فروشنده دوره گرد است در یکی از سفرهایش با زنی آشنا میشود و به لیندا خیانت میکند.ویلی جورابی را که قرار بود به لیندا بدهد به آن زن هدیه میکند در حالی که لیندا مدام مشغول وصله کردن جورابهای کهنه اش هست. به نظر میرسد جوراب در اینجا نماد روابط زناشویی باشد و وصله کردن جوراب توسط لیندا حاکی از آن است که او و ویلی روابط زناشویی موفقی ندارند.بیف که به طور اتفاقی به دیدن پدرش میرود از حضور آن زن با خبر میشود و ضربه سختی میخورد او

که جوانی هجده ساله است با ناراحتی به پدرش میگوید چرا جورابهای مامانو به اون زن دادی؟و البته در نمایشنامه تمام این حوادث در رویای ویلی و در پناه بردن مدام او به گذشته اتفاق می افتد. ویلی با پناه بردن به

خاطرات گذشته به سرزنش دایم خود میپردازد .(اگر بیف منو با اون زن ندیده بود شاید حالا این وضعو نداشت)

او با سرزنش دایم خود روح ناکام و سرخورده خویش را که مجالی برای آرامش در دنیای مدرن آمریکا نمیابد

آشفته تر مینماید به طوریکه گاه آنچنان به گذشته پناه میبرد و در خاطرات خود غرق میشود که متوجه افراد دور و بر خود نمیشود. در این میان لیندا تنها کسی است که دوست دارد هر طور شده به شوهر خود کمک کند اما فرزندان ویلی خود با ناکامی ها و سر خوردگی هایشان درگیرندو بنابراین مجالی برای کمک به پدرشان را نمی یابند.آرتور میلر در شاهکار خویش تصویر فروشنده دوره گردی را برای مخاطبانش به تصویر کشیده است که در دورانی به جامعه آمریکا قدم نهاده که هنوز اینچنین وسعت و گستردگی نداشته و تمامی شهر ها و ایالات آن را

ساختمانهای بلند فرا نگرفته بود. خانه ویلی لومان خانه ای کوچک است که باغچه ای داشته و امید و دلخوشی ویلی در کاشتن سبزیجات در باغچه اش و تنفس در هوایی آزاد و خیره شدن به ماه و ستارگان در شب است اما اکنون اطراف خانه او را ساختمانهای بلندی فرا گرفته است دیگر او نمی تواند در باغچه اش چیزی بکارد زیرا

ساختمانهای بلند اطراف نمیگذارند که آفتاب به باغچه بتابد و دیگر حتی ماه و ستارگان را نیز به آسانی نمیتوان دید.ویلی لومان نمیتواند این دنیای مدرن آمریکا را درک کند.او نمیداند که در دنیای جدید دیگر جایی برای کاشتن سبزیجات نیست. او و شغلی که دارد در دنیای جدید دیگر جایی ندارد. اصلا خود او دیگر جایی دارد او تنها وقتی مطرح است که برای جامعه آمریکا سودی داشته باشدبرای کار فرمایش ضبط صوت تازه ای که خریده است از سرنوشت او بسیار جالب تر است اما حالا که دیگر توانایی کار کردن ندارد از کار بی کار میشود و در این دنیای جدید کسی به او اهمیتی نمیدهدویلی شخصی متعلق به دنیای سنتی گذشته است که باید کنار گذاشته شود..آرتور میلر در این اثر به خوبی توانسته است رنجهای انسانی که بوسیله دنیای مدرن زخمهای بسیاری خورده است را نشان دهد. اما ویلی لومان به راحتی از مبارزه دست نمیکشد او تصمیم به خودکشی میگیرد تا پس از مرگش افراد خانواده او با پول بیمه او زندگی راحتی داشته باشند. پس از خودکشی او لیندا که بالای سر او ایستاده است گریه کنان میگوید(چرا اینکارو کردی ویلی؟چرا؟؟ما دیگه آزاد شده بودیم تمام قسطهای خونه رو پرداخت کرده بودیم دیگه آزاد بودیم)و به این ترتیب حرفی که میلر قصد دارد به مخاطب بگوید در این جملات آشکار میشود در جامعه مصرفی آمریکا انسانها آزاد نیستند آنها اسیر مصرف گرایی شده اند.میلر جامعه ای را به تصویر میکشد که در آن روح مردمانش در میان کار و زندگی مصرفی کشته میشود آنها حتی دیگر باغچه ای ندارند تابا کاشتن جند دانه سبزی در آن آرامشی یابند.وبه گونه ای میلر اشاره به نابدی طبیعت در قبال جامعه مدرن دنیز دارد.نکته دیگری که قابل ذکر است این است که به نظر میرسد خودکشی لومان نیز به گونه ای مبارزه در برابر جامعه مدرنی است که نمیتواند آن را بپذیرد او قبل از خودکشی در باغچه شروع به کاشتن سبزیجات میکند ما در او نشانی از ناامیدی نمیبینیم تنها پریشانی ست که لحظه به لحظه شدت میگیرد تضاد میان آنچه او میخواهد و آنچه در گذشته بوده و زندگی او در گذشته آبا آنچه امروز هست .بسیار زیاد هست. خودکشی او از آن نوع نیست که دورکهیم میگوید اتفاقا او خودکشی میکند زیرا تعلق خاطر بسیاری به فرزندانش و همسرش دارد و میخواهد به وسیله خودکشی زندگی بهتری برای آنان فراهم کند.ویلی لومان گرچه اشتباهاتی در زندگی گذشته اش مرتکب شده اما به سرنوشت خانواده خود علاقمند است. او با رجوع به گذشته میخواهد راهی بیابد تا روزهای خوش گذشته زنده شوند تا او خانواده اش دوباره همان جمع شاد و موفق را داشته باشند.او در رویایش می اندیشد کاش مانند برادرش به آلاسکا رفته بود او مدام به دنبال فرار از حال فرار از واقعیت و شاید فرار از زندگی مدرنی است نمیتواند آن را درک کند.در دیالوگهای نمایشنامه تضادها به خوبی به تصویر کشیده شده اند. نمایشنامه دارادی دیالوگهای قوی است این نمایشنامه برای اولین بار در سالنهای تیاتر برادوی به اجرا در آمدو در زمره 50 نمایش برجسته درآمد. این نمایشنامه ده سال ذهن میلر را به خود مشغول ساخته بود.نمایشنامه های دیگر او عبارتند از:تمام پسران من.شکست پذیر.خاطره یی از دوشنبه.نگاهی از پل.بعد ارز سقوط.حادثه درویشی.قیمت. او دو بار برنده ی جایزه ی منتقدان نیویورک شد.
منبع: باغ مخفی