Brief Introduction of American Literature Author arthur miller's Death of a Salesman

Brief Introduction of American Literature Author arthur miller's Death of a Salesman | Summary | Appreciation of Works

About the author Arthur Miller (19 15-) is an American playwright. Born into a wealthy manufacturer's family in new york, his father went bankrupt during the Great Depression. Miller 1932 went out to make a living after graduating from middle school and worked in an auto parts warehouse. 1934 entered the university of Michigan and began to write plays, and won the award of the Drama Association. 1944, his "Lucky Man" was staged on Broadway without success. His masterpiece All My Sons, staged on 1947, won the new york Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of an irresponsible manufacturer who sold unqualified aircraft parts to the Air Force, resulting in a plane crash. 2 1 A pilot (including his youngest son) died, and others were jailed for it, but he escaped the punishment of the law. Later, his son offered to marry his brother's fiancee, the daughter of the man who had been in prison for his father. Finally, I was condemned by my conscience and realized that all the dead pilots were "my sons" and committed suicide. 1949 "Death of a Salesman" is Miller's masterpiece and won the new york Prize for Drama and the Pulitzer Prize. 1953 staged the historical drama "purgatory", alluding to the persecution of the left by McCarthyism at that time. Miller himself was summoned by the Committee on Non-American Activities on 1950 and was convicted of contempt of Congress. It was not until 1958 that the Supreme Court dismissed this accusation. His other plays include Memories of Two Mondays, which reflects some of his early experiences in the auto parts warehouse. Looking at the Bridge reflects the tragic experience of Italian illegal immigrants in the United States. Miller was married to Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe, and wrote the screenplay "The Untimely Man" for her. 196 1 year, Miller divorced Monroe and then married an Austrian photographer Ingrid Mallasz. This kind of experience is reflected in the play "Settle Accounts after Autumn". In addition, he also wrote Vichy Incident and Cost, The American Clock and a lot of drama reviews. Miller likes to write about people's guilt and conscience. He has always opposed vulgar dramas that are purely entertaining and advocated serious dramas.

Willie Roman is a traveling salesman. He has always believed that likability and persistence are the key to success in his career and life. His idol is salesman David Singman. He lived to be 84 years old, and as long as he dialed a phone number in the hotel, he could make a deal. After his death, many buyers and colleagues mourned him in New England. Now Willie is 63 years old and has been engaged in sales promotion for 34 years. In his early years, he made great contributions to his boss's creation of a site in New England, but now he is old and weak, unable to sell goods and earn commissions, but all kinds of expenses at home must be paid on time, such as housing installment payment, insurance premium and so on. The financial burden, various mental burdens and long-distance driving made Willie exhausted and insane. He often sees hallucinations, especially he can't concentrate on driving. I made a fortune in Africa before, but my long-dead brother often appeared in front of him and talked to him. The past and the present often appear alternately, which makes his speech incoherent. His wife Linda is a gentle and virtuous wife. Having shared her worries with him for decades, she had long discovered that he was insane and suicidal, but she was afraid that it would hurt his heart even more, so there was nothing she could do. That night, Willie suddenly went home. Linda told him that Biff, the eldest son who had worked in the west for several years, was back, and Habi, the youngest son, was there, and wanted them to talk it over. Biff has always been Willie's hope. 14 was a high school football star before. Many schools across the country are scrambling to provide him with scholarships, but Biff doesn't know what to do. He regarded his father as an idol, but when he was about to graduate from middle school, he failed in math. To this end, he went to Boston to explain to his father. Unexpectedly, he found his father hanging out with a woman in a hotel and gave his mother's * * * to each other. This discovery made Willie's image in his mind plummet, and Biff never recovered. He left home for the west before he graduated from middle school. I've been hanging out for years, and I haven't hung out on my personal appearance. So far, I don't have a formal job, and I want to start over in my hometown in new york. Willie couldn't help getting angry when he saw his son like this. His son didn't want to be blamed, retorted, so they quarreled as before. In fact, Willie loves Biff and feels guilty about him. He mistakenly believes that Biff will succeed as long as he doesn't work hard. Habib also failed to accept the fact that he was a loser and regretted not taking risks with his brother. But after all, he knows that hope can only be pinned on Biff, because although Habib is handsome, he is a prodigal son who can only make love. After a quarrel, Biff decided to borrow some money from his old boss the next day and open a sporting goods store with his brother. Willie believes that with capital, the two brothers will succeed. He also agreed to his wife's suggestion, and asked his boss to give him an errand in new york without running far. In order to give his father a surprise, Biff left home early the next morning and asked his mother to tell his father. That night, father and son are going to eat in a restaurant. A table shows that the father and son are repaired, and a table congratulates the new beginning. The next day, Willie found the boss. Instead of getting the job in new york, he was fired. Willie was desperate and had to borrow money from his old friend Charlie to pay the insurance premium. Charlie has helped Willie financially many times. This time he promised him an excellent job, but Willie declined such care. In the evening, Willie arrived at the restaurant on time. Originally, the two sons tried to hide from him how the old boss warmly received him, but Biff couldn't stand Willie's cliche, so he had to come clean, saying that the boss had left him on the bench for six hours, and then pretended not to know him. Biff got angry and left with his golden pen. Biff also told Willie that both father and son were losers, but he insisted on teaching Biff that he would succeed. The father and son broke up in discord, and the two sons left with * * *, leaving Willie in the restaurant. Willie left the restaurant, went to the seed store to buy vegetable seeds and planted them in the backyard all night. He knew that his life was not worth dying for. Now, the house payment has been paid, and his family can get 20 thousand yuan insurance after his death. So he made up his mind to grow vegetables as a little compensation for his wife's guilt. Late at night, two sons came back. Linda scolded them and tried to drive them away. Biff also decided to leave home and never come back. He tearfully advised his father to face the reality and stop having the illusion of success. Willie thinks he is still a child and needs himself. If he had some money, he would succeed. So Willie's determination to die for them is even stronger. The two sons have gone upstairs to sleep, but under Linda's repeated urging, Willie still won't go upstairs to sleep. He saw his late brother reappear and talked to him again. Later, he drove out. When Willie died, Linda said at his grave, "I don't understand. Why did you do this?" ..... I thought about it, but I couldn't figure it out. Willie, I paid the last room payment today, but no one is home, dear. We are free ... we are free. "

Appreciation of Works Death of a Salesman is a typical modern tragedy. It exposed some ills of American society and shattered the myth that "everyone can succeed". Willie Loman is a tragic character in the play. His tragedy lies in clinging to the wrong values and being unable to face the reality. He spent his life in a wrong dream and died for a wrong dream. Willie represents his class, so his tragedy is also the tragedy of a group of people with dreams of success. As his name Lowman implies, he belongs to the lower class of society. Willie has nothing. The salesman has no salary, only a commission. They only sell other people's things. He believes that as long as people are likable and charming, the door of the world will open to him. He built his life on such a dream. He admired David Singman because he sold it very successfully. He doesn't have to leave the hotel, but a phone call can clinch a deal. When he died at the age of 84, so many buyers and colleagues came to bury him. Because he always lives in his imaginary world and regards fantasy as reality, he often talks big. Despite the fact that his sales promotion was unpopular, he boasted about how important he was in New England and how high his sales were, so he was trapped in his own lies. In his early years, his brother advised him to go to Alaska to make a fortune, but his wife Linda said, "Didn't you do well in Warner?" I hope to become a shareholder. "As a result, he missed the opportunity. Even at first, Linda advised him to let his boss run errands for him in the city, but he could only refuse because "he is very important in New England". In fact, the boss fired him. When dealing with his eldest son Biff, he tried his best to instill the idea that "as long as he is likable and charming, he can succeed", which made Biff unable to understand himself correctly for a long time and tolerated Biff's tendency to steal, causing another generation of tragedies. Willie's blindness made him jealous of his neighbor Charlie's success and turned down the job Charlie offered him. He convinced Biff that his charm was enough for his old boss to lend him a large sum of money to start a business. Finally, when Biff helped him face the reality with tears in his eyes, he mistakenly thought that Biff finally accepted his point of view and needed him, so he decided to commit suicide in order to save him some money. However, Willie's tragedy is not entirely due to his own weakness, but partly due to the shortcomings of American society itself. Willie finally found out that he himself was like something he bought on installment. If you pay off, things will be used up or broken. He paid the last house payment, but he had to rest in his grave. In American society, when people get old, they are just like finished oranges, whose skins are thrown away. However, the two sons he sacrificed for are not worth it. Biff is the second important character in the play. He is the victim of Willie's philosophy. Because Willie has always been thick, long and thin and loves Biff, Biff idolizes his father. Willie believes that Biff is liked by the coach, and even stealing something is not a problem. Later, in order to become his brother's hero, he encouraged the Biff brothers to steal wood. Biff lived according to his father's values until he failed in math. He went to Boston to ask his father for help, discovered his father's privacy and completely changed his view of his father. Because his father keeps telling him how important he is, he can't obey others. He has the habit of stealing. He has been wandering for many years, not only achieving nothing, but also going to prison. He tried to help his father get rid of his fantasy and face up to the fact that both father and son are mediocre people and can only start from scratch, but in the end he failed. But at the end of the play, he finally woke up. If Miller still has hope for the people in the play, then hope lies in Biff. Habib is a son neglected by his father. At home, Biff's image always overwhelms him. Hobbies grow up to be prodigal and selfish. He threw his deranged father into the restaurant and left with * * * *. But Habib is also a victim of Willy's philosophy. What's more sad is that he believes he will succeed until the end of the play. Linda is the image of a good wife and mother, but instead of helping Willie get back to reality, she let Willie get deeper and deeper in fantasy and blindness. She was responsible for Willie's death, but he seemed to be Miller's spokesman, shouting out the voice in many people's hearts, "We must pay attention to this person", that is, people can't throw it away like orange peel when they are old. Ben and Charlie are both figures who aim to prove the fallacy of Willie's philosophy. Ben represents a person who dares to take risks and can compete cruelly. He entered the African jungle at the age of 17, and became a rich man at the age of 2 1. He succeeded. His philosophy is "It must be unfair to fight with strangers". Charlie is a realist. He doesn't believe in personal charm. His famous saying is: "J·P· Morgan undresses like a butcher, but when he carries his wallet, he is very likable." "Because of his pragmatic spirit, he has also achieved limited success in American society. He and his son Bernard are complete opposites of Willie and his son. The play also uses symbolic techniques, such as the jungle symbolizing human society; * * * implies Willie's guilt for his wife; The fire in the Woods symbolizes that Willie feels that the pressure of life is too great to bear; The house that has paid off the loan symbolizes the values of people in American society; Willie planted vegetables in the sunless backyard late at night before committing suicide, which showed that he was eager to leave something for his family. There is also the flute sound when the curtain rises and falls, which symbolizes Willie's unfulfilled dream. The use of symbolism is like the use of stream of consciousness in novels. In the design of the scenery, the walls in the room are transparent. Real characters and dead characters, past plots and real plots appear alternately, just like stream of consciousness, but when the dead characters and past plots appear, the characters walk through the wall, ignoring the indoor environment, while the real characters come out of the door. In the past tense, the lights are dimmed, the behavior of characters shows the age difference, and the clothing shows the age difference.