'Death of A Salesman'- Notes, Example intro, synopsis, paragraph and useful sites- updated again!

A useful site for notes and summary of the play:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/salesman/


Use of Memory Scenes in Act One

• Shows Willy as being unable to cope with the present – he seeks sanctuary in the past.
• Whilst at first the memories are pleasant, they soon turn sour as his failures as a man become all the more apparent.
•  Use of Memory scenes is a key tool used by Miller to show us the fragility of Willy and also his weaknesses.
• They show how Willy can manipulate the truth to suit his own needs.
• For example, in the present he cannot understand why Biff ‘with such personal attractiveness’ is a failure. The memories show us why…
• Willy failed Biff as a father. Biff was a failure at school, and what’s more, a thief. 
• Biff believed that to be ‘well liked’ is the only thing that matters.
• Highlights the fact that Willy’s view of the American Dream is warped.

  First Memory scene:

• Starts with a fond family scene – father and two sons
• Willy gives advice and is idolised by sons; he also idolises his sons – they are seen as ‘Adonises’( a beautiful youth beloved by Aphrodite). Epitomises the idea that outward appearance is all that matters/ the idea that is you give off the impression of success then you will be successful. Of course, this is not true.
• We see key failures in Willy’s advice to his sons- bad parenting.

Then...

• Linda and Willy are struggling with money – they desire the material goods to show success, but can’t afford them. This is Willy’s way of appearing successful.
• Miller is attacking materialism here: obtaining these goods causes strife financially; they continuously break, meaning that a new one has to purchased. He uses this to attack capitalism – American economy based on consumerism. The illusion is that obtaining commodities brings happiness. It brings Willy nothing but anguish. Again, his view of the American Dream is flawed. His fault or society’s?

Second memory scene:

• Tender love scene between Willy and Linda
• Contrasts with rather lewd scene involving the Woman – Willy’s guilt in his mind.
• Stockings are a symbol of this infidelity.
• Memory scene ends with short, fragmented dialogue illustrating the anguish and confusion Willy feels.
• His life is falling apart and rather than finding solace in the past, he only finds torment.

Question to try:

In what ways does the first memory scene of the play help to develop the characterisation of Willy?

Powerpoint on key-scenes and essay writing, minor characters and documents on useful quotes  and a sample essay paragraph can be found here:
http://msbellamyenglish.wordpress.com/

Example Intro and Synopsis

Choose a play which underlines how one person’s flaw(s) can have a significant impact on other people as well as on him or herself. Explain briefly the nature of the flaws and then, in detail, assess how much the character and others are affected.

It could be argued that to be flawed is to be human, and this is certainly true of Willy Lowman in the play ‘Death of a Salesman’. Indeed, Arthur Miller’s protagonist’s flaws run so deep that they have a profound effect on not only himself, but those around him too. Willy Loman’s flaws all stem from his blindness to the realities of the American Dream, the central theme of the text. He has never been able to understand what makes a man successful, nor has he been able to comprehend the true nature of the world in which he lives and this causes great anguish both to him and to others. Arthur Miller wrote in The New York Times that ‘I believe that the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy as kings are’ and this is certainly true of Willy Loman. Willy’s flaws are tragic, but the real tragedy lies in the fact that his flaws deeply affect those he holds dear.

Synopsis:

·         Play structured in two acts and a requiem

·         First act introduces to Lowman family (mention who they are) and shows us the conflicts they experience as well as the inner conflict Willy undergoes within his own mind.

·         Although the first Act illustrates the fractured nature of the Lowman family, there are elements of hope at the end.

·         Act two allows the audience a deeper insight into Willy Lowman’s past as we witness his infidelity. Willy is also brutally fired by his boss.

·         In a desperate attempt to provide for Biff, Willy commits suicide.

·         Willy’s attempts to help Biff realise the American Dream are futile, as in the requiem Biff rejects Willy’s ‘wrong dream’. Play ends with strong feelings of pathos as we see Linda, Willy’s ‘foundation’, left alone and the sense that the Lowman family are still trapped in Willy’s deluded dream.

 

Notes on Qn on Ending

Choose a play in which the dramatist creates tension at the beginning or at the end. Explain how the tension is created and discuss how it contributes to an effective introduction or conclusion to the play

1.      How does Miller create tension at the beginning or the end of the play?

2.      Your first paragraph should deal with the opening of the play and how it creates tension. What quotations could you use?

3.      Your next two paragraphs should mention other areas of high tension in the play. Your arguments should always refer back to the beginning and how this prepares us for what is to pass. What other areas of the play could you examine? What quotes could you use and what would your analysis be?

This question could also work with a focus on the end of the play. You points still have to be chronological so as not to confuse your reader. Paragraph 1 and 2 deal with parts of the play where tension is seen but still link to the end. Paragraph 3 deals with the end section (Climax/Requiem)

Suggested plan

Point 1:

Miller’s tendency to include extremely detailed stage directions is most apparent in the opening of the play. Miller uses Realism to suggest to an audience the threat to the Loman family. As a result tension is created as we become concerned for their future in a brutal world.

Quote: We are aware of towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides…the surrounding area shows an angry glow of orange.’

Point 2:

The next area where we witness an area of tension – an area we are suitably prepared for by the introduction – is in the play’s memory scenes. The first memory scene is tense as it highlights the problems Willy is facing. It highlights his flawed past and illustrates the issue that he has misled his sons and is suffering as a result of his life’s failures. Expressionism used.

Quote:

Biff: Well, I borrowed it from the locker room. (He laughs confidentially.)

Willy: Sure, he’s gotta practice with a regulation ball, doesn’t he? (To Biff.) Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative!

Point 3:

Tension is also seen in the scene with Howard. Howard almost seems like the embodiment of the threatening buildings we see at the start. A man such as Willy will struggle to survive in the ‘jungle’ in which he lives.

Quote:

Willy: You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of fruit!

Point 4:

Tension is perhaps most heated at the climax of the play, the point where Biff and Willy come to a point of severe conflict. Although we admire Willy for his defiance and stalwart attitude, we pity him for his blindness. He is an ordinary man and will never be any more. This creates pity for Willy as there were successes in his life, although perhaps not what he would have seen as such. However, Miller wants the common man to be celebrated; the fact that Willy’s life is never treated so is one of the texts tragedies.

Quote:

Biff: Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you!

WILLY: I am not a dime a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman!

Other points:

You could mention the memory of the woman, or other parts of the chop house scene.

Example paragraph

Death of a Salesman – a character with flaws.

As Willy Loman’s mind begins to unravel, it becomes increasingly apparent that as a man he is haunted by the errors he has made in the past. Miller’s use of memory scenes help us, as an audience, to fully appreciate the fragility of Willy’s mind and also bear witness to the pressures he experiences internally as well as externally. Willy’s flaws as a father and the effect these have on Biff are seen early on in Act One where he fails to reprimand his son for stealing a football:

 

Willy: Sure, he’s gotta practice with a regulation ball, doesn’t he? (To Biff.) Coach’ll probably congratulate you on your initiative!

One of the play’s saddest truths is that Willy’s flaws profoundly damage all those around him, and arguably it is Biff who is most affected. Here we can quite clearly see Willy making excuses for his son, which undoubtedly encourage Biff’s arrogance and lack of respect for authority figures later in life. Willy is often criticized for his blindness and his complete avoidance of the truth and this episode in the play is a key example of these traits. As a father he is far too concerned with finding false perfection in his son and this is what essentially causes Biff’s failure to see the wrong in his actions. Biff’s success and achievement of the American Dream have perhaps always been Willy’s sole driving force, but poignantly, it is Willy’s flaws as a father which serves as a catalyst for Biff’s future inadequacy. Through Expressionism Miller shows us the inside of Willy’s mind, and here we can see that as a man he is haunted by his erroneous past. Although these flaws surface in his mind, he never truly admits the reality of the past elsewhere. His lies and blindness to the truth set Biff on an uncertain path, and in the Requiem, following Willy’s death, the Lomans are no clearer as to the ways they can achieve success, or perhaps more importantly, happiness. Indeed, the continuous nature of the Loma’s blindness is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of the play, and certainly is the legacy of Willy’s flaws.

Whilst Willy’s flaws as a father deeply affect Biff, it is his failure to see the harsh reality of capitalist society that will prove most ruinous to his younger son, Happy…