IIN ROHMATUN ANITA ZULIANI
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ANALYSIS DRAMA DEATH OF A SALESMAN BY ARTHUR MILLER
1. Characterization
a. Biff Loman : a 34 year old son of Willy who has been searching for himself while working on farms in the west to the dismay of his father.
b. Bernard: a bookish friend of Biff and Happy who urges Biff to study in high school to no avail, however, he himself makes it as a prominent lawyer and goes to argue a case to the supreme court at the end of the play.
c. Charley: Bernard’s father who is fairly successful and offers Willy a job which Willy refuses on the basis of pride.
d. Happy Loman: the younger brother of Biff who tries in all he can to please his father and attempts to continue his father’s dream after he dies.
e. Linda Loman: the wife of Willy who tries to protect Willy’s feelings and can’t make herself confront him if it means hurting his feelings.
f. Willy Loman: a 63 year old once popular salesman who’s lost his popularity and sales, not to mention his mind.
2. Setting
- Restaurant; Restaurant where Stanley works where the Lomans were supposed to have dinner at the end of the play.
- The hotel; The hotel where Willy stays while in New England for his business trips. This is where Biff catches his father in the affair.
- Willy’s house; Small house in New York surrounded by apartments.
3. Plot
a. Exposition:
Willy comes home early from his work trip because he is not longer able to drive and he can’t do his job. Biff is home after working as a farm hand for many years in the West. But with the contrasting seeds of conflict buried here, this initial situation isn’t bound to last long.
b. Conflict:
Willy’s mental wanderings are getting worse; he is preoccupied with Biff’s aimlessness and inability to find success in business. Linda informs her sons that Willy has been trying to commit suicide and tells Biff that his father’s life is in his hands. Biff needs to get a job and get serious – or take the blame for his father’s actions.
c. Complication:
Willy gets fired and Biff doesn’t even get close enough to a job to get fired.
d. Climax:
Biff gets honest and destroys Willy’s dream; Willy finally realizes that Biff loves him.
e. Suspense:
Willy starts chatting with the imaginary figure of his brother and considers killing himself.
f. Denouement:
Willy commits suicide.Willy’s death was actually a foregone conclusion. The play’s title and Linda both predict it. What was unsure earlier in the play was why Willy would commit suicide. And the why, as we’ve discussed, is the real kicker.
g. Resolution:
Biff rejects his father’s misguided dream, but Happy runs with it.
4. Theme.
a. The Death of a Dream:
The play centers primarily on the inability of Willy Loman to fulfill his dream of a more prosperous and rewarding life for himself and his family. Willy’s failure as a breadwinner and father are due mostly to his own shortcomings, but he is also a victim of the survival-of-the-fittest business philosophy taking hold in America.
b. Unrealistic Expectations:
Throughout his career, Willy has been an average salesman at best. However, he has always thought himself far above average. Consequently, he has always expected more than he deserves. In addition, he has always expected Biff to become a high achiever, as he was as a football player in high school.
5. Summary
This drama above summary, the form is man and society. It can be shown that the above story drama about Willy, he is faced with a complex life (work, dreams, and family) and the people around him.
