Essays on Arthur Miller

The aim of this essay is to present you with a theatrical analysis of the play ‘Death of a Salesman’, written by Arthur Miller in 1949. This analysis will present you with the look of a hypothetical producer. Therefore, it will focus on the summary of the play, the world it represents and the wider cultural background within which it was first produced. Finally, it will emphasize on all the details concerning a production set nowadays. The essay will give the overall look of the hypothetical producer, focusing on the aspects which are to be taken into consideration in Continue reading...

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The drama, “Death of a Salesman”, written by Arthur Miller has been claimed as the “first true American tragedy.” It narrates the story of Willy, an American salesman, who lives in the myth that people are very fond of him, and he is indispensable at the organization he works for. His illusion continues through the play, and when he dies ultimately by crashing his car by himself, he still believed that his son Biff would do excellently in life. The story starts when Willy returns home from a failed sales trip, and complains to his wife Linda, that Continue reading...

Did Arthur Miller Believe in the American Dream?

Essay Outline

I. Introduction
a. Arthur Miller as an author
b. His beliefs towards American Dream
II. Arthur Miller
a. His family and childhood
b. His political stance and belief in the American Dream
III. Miller’s famous plays and stories
a. All My Sons
i. How did it convey his political stance.
ii. How was the American Dream portrayed in this work
iii. How did it affect his success as an author
b. Death of a Salesman
i. How was his political stance conveyed in this play
ii. Portrayal of the American Continue reading...

Death of a Salesman is a play that addresses the painful conflicts within a family, showing how Americans are tackling issues regarding their national values within real means. Miller therefore depicts America as selling false myths founded around capitalist materialism, and nurtured by the postwar competitions. During this time, most American families had centered their ways of life on material ownership, often with attempts by individuals to be equal to their materialistic neighbors (Death of a Salesman).
For mastering the structure of the play, that is, to understand and interpret the script and casts he should rehearse and work Continue reading...

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Literature

Death of a salesman, written by Arthur Miller, is a twentieth century modern play which primarily delineates the life of the modern man in today’s contemporary world that is getting sophisticated on a daily basis in numerous facets including the advancement of technology. The fundamental aim of the play is to portray how money has turned into an obsessions to many people these days, and how the modern life of people in today’s world is determined through the quantum of his earnings, either daily or on a monthly basis. The Continue reading...

Death of a Salesman is the Pulitzer Prize winning play by Arthur Miller, it was published in 1949. The play is an American tragedy that details the life and death of Willy Loman, a traveling salesman. Note that Arthur Miller named this character “Loman” a name that literally derives from Low Man. Willy Loman lives in Brooklyn New York, where Arthur Miller was born and lived his professional life. Loman’s home life revolves around his nagging wife Linda, deadbeat son Biff, and younger son Happy. Loman fantasizes about being younger and having a young, joyful family with productive Continue reading...

Analysis of Hydrated Copper Sulphate

The above experiment was conducted to determine the amount of Copper and water present in the given sample of hydrated Copper (II) Sulphate.

Introduction

Gravimetric analysis used in this experiment refers to a set of techniques in analytical chemistry aimed at the quantitative determination of an analyte based on the mass of a given solid. In most gravimetric methods the analyte, in this case hydrated Copper Sulphate, is first converted to solid by precipitation with an appropriate reagent, Oxine in this case. The solid precipitate is then collected by filtration (precipitation). The lab scientist washes the precipitate since it is Continue reading...

Arthur Miller was born in the house of a Polish Jewish couple in Harlem, New York City in 1915. In his book, “Timebends: A Life,” Miller mentions that the part of Harlem he was born in was quite modern and popular, but the Great Depression had already made its way in Brooklyn by the time was grown up. Since Miller was studying in the University of Michigan at that time, he had to a variety of physical labor to pay for his education. The above mentioned book is the only autobiography that Arthur Miller has ever written, but that Continue reading...

Family, Identity and the “American Dream” in Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller's 1949 play, Death of a Salesman tackles the issues of identity, family dynamics and the pursuit of the “American Dream” using the Loman family as a model to illustrate these concepts. The play starts with Willy Loman, a traveling salesman, returning from a botched business trip. Willy expresses disgust towards his oldest son, Biff, who has failed to do anything substantial with his life. Biff and his younger brother Happy take their father out to dinner where Biff has a flashback to the time he visited his father in Boston and discovered Willy was having an affair Continue reading...

Over the years, the definition of tragedy has undergone considerable evolution. According to Aristotle, a tragic play can exist without characters but it cannot exist without a plot (Poetics), however, this is not agreeable from a modern standpoint. By today’s standards, both the characters and the plot are vital aspects to a meaningful tragic play. On the other hand, Arthur Miller is more focused on the “tragic hero,” exposing the man behind the tragic mask rather than the contents of the plot itself. His idea of depicting a tragic hero as a common man is more up to Continue reading...

Arthur Miller’s iconic play Death of a Salesman is rife with symbolism, rich characters that welcome in-depth study and debate, relationships between different characters that warrant close examination and themes and motives that range from statements about the American Dream and socioeconomics to the importance of place, feminism, gender roles and familial relationships. One of the most prominent themes in Death of a Salesman is that of betrayal. Arthur Miller thoroughly and effectively examines betrayal and the different forms it can take. Betrayal and abandonment, a form of a betrayal, characterize nearly all of the significant relationships in Continue reading...

The aim of this essay is to present you with the answers to the following questions on how lighting can and ought to be applied on the theatrical performance of the play ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller.

1-Explain what type of lighting you would have for several different scenes?

It is common knowledge that lighting contributes to the message a play’s scene puts across to its audience since it creates the atmosphere of the set environment within which the play’s scenes are to be performed. The play ‘Death of a Salesman’ holds its own internal light since it leads its audience to self –knowledge shedding light through Continue reading...

Persecution has been a round for sometime and can be traced historically from the time of Jesus to the present time. Christians were persecuted for their faith in the hands of the Jews. Many Christians have been persecuted in history for their allegiance to Christ and forced to denounce Christ and others have been persecuted for failing to follow the laws of the land. The act of persecution is on the basis of religion, gender, race, differing beliefs and sex orientation (Davis 220). Persecution is a cruel and inhumane act that should not be supported since people are tortured Continue reading...

Introduction

Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is a masterpiece that has remained relevant for many decades. Like other literary works of this great dramatist the concern is with the anxiety and uncertainty that characterized the middle class of his time. This award-winning play is an illustration of the influence of a writer’s life experiences on thematic considerations in a work of art especially in relation to success and family life.

Arthur Miller – A Background

Arthur Miller was born in 1915 in a relatively rich Jewish family. During the Great Depression of the 1930s the his family’s business collapsed and Continue reading...

I chose Death of a Salesman because it is such a well-known play and I felt I ought to know more about it. I read the play and also watched the film version in which Dustin Hoffman played the central character, Willy Loman. I found the play and the film extremely moving, so I was interested to know how audiences had reacted to it when it first opened in 1949. Because of my reaction I was also interested in the tragic elements of the play. I thought the presentation of the female characters in the play was slightly weak – Continue reading...

Throughout the course of American mythology and literature, there is a curious persistence of the concept of the American dream. From the very beginning of western influence on the continent, groups of people have constantly flocked to the land in search of a fabled life better than their own. Even among natural born citizens, there exists a belief that life can become whatever a person desires, as long as they work hard. Playwright Arthur Miller frequently wrote about and depicted this ideology. Through his play Death of a Salesman, Miller denounces the American dream as impossible and unrealistic for Continue reading...

Tragedy is a genre rather than an idea. It depicts man as an unwelcome guest in the world and teaches the world that it is better never to have been born. Tragedy underscores the hopelessness of individuals’ attempts to remake the world. It deals with suffering through a series of experiences and conventions of life. Tragedy forces individuals to recognize that they may act against their own interests and that the consequences of their actions deviate disastrously from their hopes and expectations. In other words, tragedy refers to the inescapabilty of suffering and loss. Tragedy enhances any conceivable refinement Continue reading...

Introduction

Loman family is composed of four members, mother –Linda, father – Willy and two sons – Biff and Happy, each of them being the representative of social constructions. As such, Linda is the caregiver, being dedicated to the domestic sphere, loving and caring for her husband and their two sons. She sees and understands the challenges that all of them face and she behaves as the leant between all the members of the family, determined to maintain a peaceful home. Willy, on the other hand, is the family head, the one who has the responsibility of taking care of the family Continue reading...

When people describe an event as “tragic,” the first thing that comes to mind is that something terrible has happened to a person or people. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines tragedy as “a very bad event that causes great sadness and often involves someone's death; a very sad, unfortunate, or upsetting situation , something that causes strong feelings of sadness or regret, [or] a play, movie, etc., that is serious and has a sad ending.” In life, it is not difficult to classify particular situations as tragic, such as the ending of a young life by a drunk driver or the Continue reading...

Paranoia is deeply entwined with the human psyche, and parallels can be seen across generations. This is made extremely clear with Arthur Miller’s play The Crucible, written in 1953, which parallels the communist-hunting era, so characterized by Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy and his incessant search for communists, against the backdrop of the Salem Witch trials. There are indeed many parallels which can be made.
In both the anti-communist atmosphere of the Cold War and the paranoia of ultra-religious Salem in 1692, there was an element of “the enemy is among us”. It was, to an extent, taken for Continue reading...

The aim of this essay is to present you with an analysis of ‘Arthur Miller’s Play ‘Crucible’. The analysis of this play is to present you with a portrait of the historical context in which the play was written as well as the meaning underlying its plot in relation to its author’s profile.
Arthur Miller is an author whose plays have been received with great enthusiasm on behalf of his readers / audience. It is commonly acknowledged that Miller’s plays have been talking to the hearts of their audience since they seem to depict through their Continue reading...

Introduction

For the sake of this project, I chose to analyze the following literary and nonliterary works:
- “The Death of Ivan Ilych” by Leo Tolstoy (Novel)
- Death of a Salesman, directed by Laszlo Benedek (Film)
- “Piano Man,” written and performed by Billy Joel (Music)
All three of these works relate to the ways in which we live our lives, and the necessity to be able to view our lives much more abstractly and open-mindedly – the works feature characters who are either served well or could be served well by their capacity for critical thought and self-reflection.

Objective Analysis

Ivan Continue reading...

Introduction

The play, Death of a salesman is one of the plays authored by Miller. It gives a concept that is gathered from the exploration of the world as from the America after the war. It tries to assess the result of this war to the American new found prosperity on men. Ideally, men in the 1950s commence having a feeling of pressure that resulted from their family responsibilities. Besides the pressure to provide basic necessities but also to deliver the members of one’s family with luxurious items that are believed to be essential to the families. The idea Continue reading...

Introduction

Arthur Miller believes that a common person is like apt subject for tragedy in its highest sense a king could be. On the face of a modern psychiatry, the tragedies are obvious. The analysis of such tragedies is upon formulations such as Orestes and Oedipus complexes. For instance, the complexes might have been formulated by the royal beings but their effect applies to all people in the same emotional situations. For several reasons humanity is held below tragedies and tragedies above them. Former founder president of independent South Africa lived a tragic life under the colonial rule that brought Continue reading...

Introduction

In this play of “Death of a salesman,” I will argue how Loman explored the American dream and all he thought reflected the attitude of the true life and dream of the middle class and other common people of America.
Believe it or not, the beauty of life lies in commitment, honesty, true and simple living, integrity of character, and adherence to moral values. What matters ultimately in life is how honest one is to oneself. It hardly makes any difference how others perceive you or how you are to others. If one is true and honest to oneself Continue reading...

Tragedies are among the most enjoyable plays of the dramatic genre. Something far removed from our own lives such as the play on a stage allows us to enjoy the poignant not-really-fictitious realities of good tragedies. Arthur Miller's The Crucible is just that kind of tragedy. Inspired by the horrifically real tragedy of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692, Miller's four-act tragedy came to the American stage during the Cold War Era, when the Red Scare of was creating a fearful frenzy among the United States of America.

The Crucible recreates the awful events leading up to the Salem Continue reading...

Tragedy is among the common productions of drama. This means that some dramas take the form of tragedy, which basically means that they portray the downfall of a protagonist. Tragedy occurs as a result of some error in judgment or any other fatal error, leading to major suffering, but also important insights gained by the leading character. The main purpose of such tragedy is to elicit some emotions, fear or sympathy, in the audience. “Oedipus the King” and “Death of a Salesman” are among the most intriguing tragedies that have been produced. This paper is an analysis and comparison Continue reading...

The American Dream states that basically anyone can achieve anything if they work hard enough, thus obtaining freedom and ensuring upward mobility for the next generation. Every person who is thinking about America has the American Dream stamped in their minds, thanks to mainstream media and pop culture. But, is the American Dream just a fantasy, an unfulfillable promise, a utopia for those who have lost hope and are wanting a better life for themselves?
Arthur Miller, in his 1949 play "Death of a Salesman", portrays an average American, a man called Willy Loman. Willy is depressed, recently suffered Continue reading...

Death of a Salesman, written by American playwright Arthur Miller, is a play that revolves around the life and times of Willy Loman. After failing to attain his goals in life, Willy degenerates into a state of denial and frustration. For instance, he is angry with his sons, Biff and Happy, because they have not amounted to anything. It is at this point that the two boys hatch a plan to pacify their father. Biff would go back to his former employer and make a business proposal. However, the plan does not materialize because the employer can no longer Continue reading...

Introduction

The Crucible is a historical motion picture released in 1996 and adapted from a play by Arthur Miller. The plot of the film is based on real events and these are the Salem Witch Trials which took place in 1692. Salem is a religious Puritan village located in modern day Massachusetts. The infamous Salem Witchcraft Trials occurred in 1692 after several girls fell victim to hallucinations and seizures. During this period, religion extremity in the lives of the local people caused them to attribute surprising activities to the cohorts of the devil, for example witches. This movie screenplay is Continue reading...

29 March 2011
Belonging as an area of study requires exploration into a text or different typesof texts to
establish how the concept of belonging comes out. The concept of belonging reveals itself in a text depending on how a person’s perceptions and ideas are directed by culture and history , and may be the social context of the writer . The field of belonging therefore tries to find how different aspects of belonging come out in from a person’s experiences in life taking into account the notions of identity and relationships.
Texts do show or rather depict belonging Continue reading...

Introduction

Writers and playwrights try their best in bringing out different themes in their works of literature. Arthur Miller is one of America’s most known playwrights whose literal works have major influence on the lives of most residents of the country. Arthur Miller’s death of a salesman tries to depict how most people are hungry for success. This play gives a highlight on the American dream and how many people will strive to live the dream. Amongst the people trying to live the American dream, some of them will perish while trying to achieve the dream. This is elaborated in the play through the reference of the protagonist of the play Willy Loman. However, the play incorporates some minor characters that assist in bringing out the theme clearly and portraying the American dream from a positive perspective. The play highlights the different ways in which different people will view the American dream and how effective or ineffective some of them will be in achieving the American dream. The American Dream is dependent on the person pursuing it and the character of the person as well.

Continue reading...

Arthur Mills is a famous author who has capability to attract the peculiar feelings of the every reader who enjoys reading books and wish to feel author’s illustration power. The play Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller in the Aristotelian sense is a classic tragedy. It brings empty capitalism’s promises, the American dreams materialistic version and a sense of capitalism critique. It is a tragic play written by Arthur Miller. It is commonly known as the first tragedy of Modern American society. It is based on the foundations, values and moral principles of the American Continue reading...

Religion is strict with its limitations; a matter often destroying the specific constructive liberal structures of the society. Although it is not considered detrimental, the extensive rules that religion often imposes create more harm than good to its members. With such strict commandments, the response of the people were rather common; to hide secrets, to deal with matters in a hypocritical manner, presenting themselves clean when they actually are doing something else behind the back of the church’s knowing. Among the primary characters who could be noted for such consideration of the church’s laws include John Proctor Continue reading...

English

The Death of a Salesman deals with two unresolved problems; the problem of family, and the marked society. Volker Schlöndorff made Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1985) into a mini-serial for television audiences. The movie deals with the dynamics of the family system; whether it’s the relationship between father and son, or the relationship between father and daughter, and so on. In Death of Salesman, Willy Lowman, the protagonist, is seen as a man who leads a life in isolation. His life goes around in circles and has illusions that he would make it rich Continue reading...

This essay aims at comparing and contrasting the theme of fantasy and wishful thinking as presented in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman (1949) and also in Tennessee William’s The Glass Menagerie (1945). Both playwrights have intensively used characters who resort into habits of escapism into fantasy and wishful thinking to free themselves from their miserable existence. The main sources of their predicaments are their consistent failures in achieving their dreams, little interaction and communication with family members coupled with personal insecurities. Due to these facts, they all have a common problem which is frustration and boredom. Continue reading...

Question Selected: Gerald Weales, an expert in Arthur Miller’s work, writes this: “ [Willy] takes to the stage (takes flesh) as a man who just cannot keep his mouth shut and who never understands when he is condemning and when he is defending himself.” Explain your understanding of these words; then agree or disagree with Weales.

In the play Death of a Salesman that premiered in the year 1949, produced by Arthur Miller; it has been found that the Willy is always all over the place condemning and defending himself aimlessly. Gerald Weales, who is an expert in Arthur Continue reading...

Imagery in William Shakespeare’s “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” and William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud”
Both William Shakespeare and William Wordsworth rely on nature and its beauty to denote the true state of their emotions in their poems. Shakespeare compares his beloved with the loveliness of nature to evoke visual impressions of the person’s beauty, in an effort to make an abstract notion such as love and devotion more palpable, by comparing it to something that most people agree is beautiful. Wordsworth on the other hand, utilizes the beauty Continue reading...

The American Dream lured wave after wave of immigration, primarily from Europe, in the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century. This dream taught that if you came to America and worked hard enough, you would succeed. There was enough room, enough of a market, enough hope, and enough freedom for everyone who came to the United States to do well. This dream enticed so many people to come to the country from overseas that the government decided to put quotas in place to limit the number of immigrants from each country in the years before Continue reading...

Organization

Arthur miller's award winning play death of a salesman where Willy loman is the salesman driven by the emerging values of post war capitalism and materialism and wanted his sons to adopt the same. The conflict arises when his sons cannot do the profit or money-making. The play becomes of what was popularly known to be the American dream. This paper aims to analyze this over reaching theme that explicitly critiques. The paper also aims how the play impacted the American public considering it was published when capitalism was booming. It is important to understand how the people responded Continue reading...