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Death
of a Salesman by
Arthur Miller (Questions
with Answers)
Death
of a Salesman as a play about American
tragedy as reflected in the character
of Willy Loman.
Arthur
Miller’s The Death of a Salesman
is set against post war America. The
play examines the assumptions which
ultimately led Willy and his family
to their state of desperation. These
are the assumptions that many American
business people held then. Capitalism
and commercialization were the two evils
that had engulfed the America of that
time. The psychological disturbance
experienced by Willy Loman was a common
experience of many Americans. Willy
Loman doesn’t stand alone he represents
the Americans of that period paralyzed
by war and depression. The problem arises
not because of one particular family
because of America itself as it was
then.
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What
happened to the genre called tragedy
in the twentieth century? Discuss it
with reference to Death of a Salesman.
Aristotelian
definition of tragedy has the tragic
protagonist and that should be noble
figure whose fall would be moving enough
and effect catharsis of pent-up emotional
energies basically pertaining to pity
and fear. Our times are without kings
and the notion of tragic protagonist
has accordingly undergone a great change.
One of the requirements for traditional
tragedy is that the hero should be of
noble birth. In Death of a Salesman
Miller countered that notion with a
statement of modern purpose regarding
tragedy. The right to be the tragic
hero shouldn’t exclusively belong
to people to noble birth. Even the common
man can be the hero of a tragedy. It
is democratization of tragedy. Underlying
the play is a belief that the common
man is as apt a subject for tragedy
in its highest sense as kings were.
This clearly shows that the genre called
tragedy has undergone a significant
transformation in the twentieth century.
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Lady
Gregory: The Rising of the Moon
Lady
Gregory’s The Rising of the
Moon is an explicitly political
play dealing with the relation between
England and Ireland trying to fight
for freedom from English rule.
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Sophocles:
Oedipus Rex Oedipus
Rex vividly dramatizes the tension
between individuals and their interdependences
as well. As the city of Thebes has been
paralyzed by a plague the people expect
something from the king to end their
suffering.
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Aristophenes:
Lysistrata Aristophanes
takes up the issue of war in the cities
of ancient Greece and satirizes war
for the loss of life and property it
has caused. Through a conflict between
the sexes he exposes the futility of
war and the devastation it has brought
about. Read
More...
William
Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night's
Dream Shakespeare
explores the issues of inconsistency
in human nature and relation by creating
a world of dream where the characters
behave in an irrational way by running
after dreams, fantasies and romance
that lead to anarchy, chaos, and confusion.
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William
Shakespeare: Hamlet Hamlet
is a revenge tragedy written in the
line of Roman senecan tragedy. It is
the tragedy of reflection and moral
sensitivity. The protagonist is very
reflective and too sensitive thus unfit
for taking revenge.
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William
Shakespeare: The Tempest
The play’s
major focus is on Prospero’s quest
for perfection, knowledge and power.
He devotes himself to learning even
to the extent of neglecting his duties
as a ruler. Read
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William
Congreve: The Way of the World
Restoration
drama had to depict the contemporary
times. There was a moneyed class with
a search for pleasure. Money became
the main concern of the people. Read More...
Oscar
Wilde: The Importance of Being Earnest
A
comedy is a play with happy ending and
aims at making people laugh at certain
follies, vanities, hypocrisies and weaknesses
of people for reforming society. Read More...
Anton
Chekov: The Cherry Orchard The
history of the early twentieth century
Russian society is the history of social
transition, transformation. The late
19th century Russian society was struggling
to be free from the shibboleth of the
dying feudal aristocracy. Read More...
Eugene
O'Neill: Desire Under the Elms O’Neill
presents women as victims of male’s
greed and cruelty and at the same time
it is women who are driven by a desire
for property. They are shown as lustful
too. To bring out this image of women
O’Neill resorts to myth, symbol
and the technique of naturalism.
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Samuel
Beckett: Endgame Beckett’s
play Endgame belongs to the
theatre of the Absurd as it views life
as meaningless and beyond human rationality
to understand. It shows the influence
of existentialist philosophy
Read More...
Marsha
Norman: Night, Mother Marsha
Norman’s one act play Night Mother
is basically about Jessie, who is preparing
for suicide which may have been provoked
by her relation with the other people
and the failure of communication and
lack of understanding in that relation.
Read More...
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