Death of a salesman – Arthur Miller

Description

In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman has dedicated 34 years of his life to being a salesman, only to find himself discarded at the age of 60. His dreams have long faded, and with no future to look forward to, he is left to grapple with the weight of his past disappointments. The play delves into the harsh reality of Willy’s life, highlighting his internal struggle between facing the truth of his failures and clinging to illusions of success and happiness.

In the spring of 1948, Arthur Miller retreated to a log cabin in Connecticut, with the first two lines of a new play already fixed in his mind. He emerged six weeks later with the final script of Death of a Salesman, a painful examination of American life and consumerism. The play opened on Broadway the following year, forever changing the course of modern theatre. By creating Willy Loman, his destructively insecure anti-hero, Miller defined his aim as being “to set forth what happens when a man does not have a grip on the forces of life.”

Miller captures the devastating effects of societal pressure and personal ambition, asking the question: is Willy’s final act one of heroism or a tragic display of self-deception? The play offers a poignant commentary on the American Dream, its promises, and the brutal cost of striving for unattainable success.

This classic is both an exploration of one man’s journey and a reflection of the larger societal forces that shape and often destroy individuals in pursuit of material success.