Arthur Miller

• Tennessee Williams
• Eugene O’neill
Death of a Salesman
1949 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The play
premiered on Broadway in February 1949, running for 742
performances, and has been revived on Broadway four times, winning
three Tony Awards for Best Revival.
It is considered by some critics to be one of the greatest plays of the
20th century
 극의 성격

사회극 가족극
 •Characteristics:
• Downfall of a noble hero or heroine, through fate,
Traditional • and the will of the gods.
• The tragic hero's powerful wish to achieve some
Concept of goal encounters limits, usually human frailty (flaws
Tragedy in reason, society), the gods (through oracles,
prophets, fate), or nature.
• Aristotle says that the tragic hero should have a flaw
and/or make some mistake.
- The hero need not die at the end, but he / she must
undergo a change in fortune.
- - The tragic hero may achieve some revelation or
recognition about human fate, destiny, and the will
of the gods.
Characteristics of the
Tragic Hero
• "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own
downfall."
• ~Aristotle

• Six Characteristics of the Tragic Hero:

• Nobility or wisdom (by birth)
• A flaw or error of judgment (Hamartia)
• A reversal of fortune (perepetia)
• The discovery or recognition that the reversal was brought about by
the hero's own actions (anagnorisis)
• The audience must feel dramatic irony for the character.
• The character's fate must be greater than deserved.
 • Usually evokes empathy…
• Has a weakness, usually pride
• Something has gone awry in his/her life
A few key traits
• Usually faced with a very serious decision he must
of the Tragic Hero make
• Noble in nature
• Must understand his mistakes…
• Likely doomed from the start…
 Miller’s thoughts:
• “Everyone knows Willy Loman.”
The Common
• The common man is suitable for a tragic hero.
Man as Hero
• Willy is meant to be seen as greater and better (at
least in potential) than his society.
The hero is a common man.
The hero struggles against society.
The hero meets his downfall.
The downfall is a result of an incongruity
between his own perception of the world Miller’s Modern
and reality. Tragedy
The hero achieves a kind of redemption
in his downfall.
Characters
Major Characters

The
WillyWoman
Loman
Howard
Biff Loman
Wagner
Stanley
Linda Loman
Jenny
Happy Loman
Miss
Charley
Forsythe and Letta
Bernard
Ben
Willy Loman

Father, traveling salesman

Believes in chasing the American Dream although he never
achieves it
Pins his failed hopes on his sons, Biff and Happy
Becomes mentally ill when pressure of reality crushes his illusions
Biff Loman

• Elder son, 34 years old

• High school standout-football star, many male friends,
and female admirers
• Academic failures lead to a life of kleptomania
• Represents Willy’s vulnerable, tragic side
• Fails to reconcile his father’s expectations
Linda Loman

• Loving, devoted wife

• Naïve and realistic of Willy’s hopes
• Emotionally supportive of Willy
• Willy’s strength until his tragic perishing
Happy Loman

• Younger son, 32 years old

• In Biff’s shadow all his life
• Relentless sex and professional drive
• Represents Willy’s sense of self importance and ambition
• Often engages in bad business ethics
Charley

• The Lomans’ next door neighbor

• Successful businessman
• Often gives Willy financial support
• Described sadly as Willy’s only friend although Willy is jealous of
Charley’s success
Bernard

• Charley’s son
• Successful lawyer
• Often mocked by Willy for being studious
• Compared to Loman sons by Willy; they do not measure up to his
success
Ben

• Willy’s deceased older brother

• Independently wealthy
• Appears to Willy in daydreams
• Willy’s symbol of success that he desperately wants for his sons
The Woman

• Willy’s mistress
• Her admiration for Willy is an ego boost
• Biff catches Willy with her in a hotel room
• Biff loses faith in his father due to infidelity
극의 시작 . 윌리의 집과 환경 . 물질주의의 팽배
 상업자본주의 사회에서 외판원으로서 성공한다는
이상
윌리의 모순된 평원에서의 자연적인 생활을 동경하는 개척자적인
내면 양상이 공존
윌리의 꿈은 사회에 받아들여지지 않는 것으로 갈등을
유발 .
윌리의 직업 - 잘못된 선택

• 장인의 기질을 물려받았지만 ,

• 데이브 싱글맨이라는 사람의 영향으로 세일즈맨을 선택 . 아메리칸 드림 .

베이츠
20 세기 상업주의와 자본주의 사회의 전형적인 인물로 이기적인
하워드라는 인물을 통해 표현 . 그러한 자본주의의 희생자로서의 윌리 .
• 윌리는 부의 축적이나 상품판매에만 집중 . 직업에 대한 애착이나 팔고 있는
상품에 대한 자부심 , 책임감은 없었다 .
• 결국 , 윌리는 외판원이란 직업은 단지 물건만 파는것이 아니라 , 자기 자신을
팔아야 한다는 , 인간의 상품화되어가는 것을 깨닫게 된다 .
아들과의 신뢰를 잃어버리는 윌리
인간성이 사라져가는 현대사회 ( 김경진 )
21 세기 현실과도 중첩되는 밀러의 시대인식
Symbols
Seeds

• “I don’t have a thing in the ground!”

• Willy laments after both his sons abandon him in Act 2 The sons he has cultivated with his own values have
grown to disappoint him, none of his financial hopes have borne fruit, and he is desperate to have some
tangible result of a lifetime of work.
• By planting vegetable seeds, he is attempting to begin anew. But as Linda gently reminds him, the
surrounding buildings don’t provide enough light for a garden.
• Willy’s attempt to plant the vegetable seeds at night further reinforces the futility of his efforts.
Rubber Pipe

• The rubber hose is a symbol of Willy’s impending suicide.

• Linda finds it hidden behind the fuse box in the cellar, and the “new little nipple” she finds on the gas pipe of
the water heater leads her to the conclusion that Willy had planned to inhale gas.
• Like Willy’s other attempted method of suicide—driving off the road in the car he uses to travel to work—the
rubber hose points how the conveniences such as the car and water heater that Willy works so hard to buy to
afford might, under their surface, be killing him.
 Stockings
• During his affair with The Woman, Willy gives her the intimate gift of stockings.
• Biff’s outburst at discovering Willy with The Woman—“You gave her Mama’s stockings!”—fixes the
stockings in Willy’s mind as a symbol of his betrayal.
• He has let his wife down emotionally, and he is siphoning the family’s already strained financial resources
toward his ego-stroking affair.
Flute

• The flute music that drifts through the play represents the single faint link Willy has with his father and with
the natural world.
• The elder Loman made flutes, and was apparently able to make a good living by simply traveling around the
country and selling them.
• This anticipates Willy’s career as a salesman, but also his underused talent for building things with his hands,
which might have been a more fulfilling job.
• The flute music is the sound of the road Willy didn’t take.
 Car

 Driving himself to death.

 We learn from Linda that Willy has staged several previous car accidents. These "accidents" were perhaps
early attempts to commit suicide, but they were definitely attempts to draw attention to his condition.
 The car represents power, movement forward, acceleration and mobility - all of which are symbols in Willy's
life of hopelessness, decay, and despair.
 It should therefore come as no surprise that Willy considers this vehicle as an instrument with which to kill
himself.
Fountain Pen

 Symbolic of Biff's inadequacies.

 Absurdity of theft, the demeaning quality of taking from someone something which you do not need.
 Biff has lived a life based on Willy's values, but when he discovers that these values are not good for him, he
abandons them in search of his own.
 The pen can therefore also be seen as the symbol of someone else's values, of someone else's possessions.
Biff discards it in favor of integrity and belief in himself.
 He wishes to get rid of his life-long habit of taking from others (such as the football back in high school). He
has spent time in prison, and this symbolically represents how he has spent much of his life imprisoned by his
father's mentality.
 사회와의 갈등 : 외판원이라는 직업선택 . 자신의
능력에 한계 . 변해가는 사회에 적응하지 못함 .

가족과의 갈등 : 아들과의 갈등 . 아들에게 신뢰를

갈등의 양상 잃음 . 아내는 남편의 내면을 이해하지 못함 .

개인 내면의 갈등 : 내면의 문제 . 시대적 흐름을

무시 .
Topics for Discussions
토론

• 윌리의 비극은 자신으로부터 기인하는가 ? 사회로부터 기인하는가 ?

• 윌리의 죽음은 어떤 의미가 있는가 ?
• 자신이 윌리의 상황에 있었다면 어떤 선택을 할 수 있었을까 ?
• 윌리의 가족은 윌리에게 어떤 의미였을까 ?
• 아메리칸 드림의 허상과 실제