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Summary A* DEATH OF A SALESMAN NOTES - Ideas on Tragedy
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A* DEATH OF A SALESMAN NOTES - Ideas on Tragedy
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Death of a Salesman revision booklet AQA A Level English Lit B
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compare & contrast of the characters Willy Loman and Charley in the play Death of a salesman by Arthur Miller
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Death of a Salesman as a story told through mind and memory of Willy Loman
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Ideas IIThe most ironic part of the play is the fact that Happy, the son that Willy paid least
attention to is most like him.
Willy summed up his entire life and the tribulations he had caused for himself and his
family when he said "your grandfather was better than a carpenter". Willy was obviously
gifted with his hands. As Charlie put there was more of him in that front porch. Charlie
even complimented Willy when he said putting up a ceiling is a mystery to me. Willy's
fallacy was he had no regards for his own God given talent, but spent his adult life chasing
and engaging in career he was no good at.
Every single character lies. Either it be a white lie or lying to themselves. Lying is such a
big part of the story because it shows how harmful it can be. In addition, it fuels
motivations for characters and how they think. For example when something good
happens and Willy is expresses his delight, Linda makes herself believe that "Willy is
getting better" when unfortunately he is not, his mental state is still crumbling. Narcissism
is a big theme as well. We can see that both Happy and Biff have traits of narcissism which
is because of Willy. Willy boosted their narcissistic behaviour by repeatedly telling them
that "they deserve the world" and making it seem they couldn't do anything wrong.
"It's called the American Dream because you have to be asleep to believe it". G. Carlin
Stage Direction and Setting
The play opens with a melody “played upon the flute” this is the introduction to the
recurring motif differentiating Willyʼs past and his present
The setting presented in the play shows the Loman family home surrounded by “towering
angular shapes…surrounding it on all sides”. This is significant as it isolates the family,
presenting their lives as insignificant and “fragile” in the capitalist system, an idea that is
constantly built upon throughout the play. This is where almost all events take place,
therefore making this a domestic tragedy.
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