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LEARNING INTENTIONS
LEARNING INTENTIONS
To experience, engage with and critique literary and other texts and develop my comprehension strategies.
To experience, engage with and critique literary and other texts and develop my comprehension strategies.
To explore the issues presented, the kind of work which is described and whether the view presented is a positive or negative view of the world of work.
To explore the issues presented, the kind of work which is described and whether the view presented is a positive or negative view of the world of work.
To respond to the aesthetic and imaginative qualities of a range of theatre texts that depict the world of work
To respond to the aesthetic and imaginative qualities of a range of theatre texts that depict the world of work
To express myself confidently, effectively, appropriately and with grammatical accuracy.
To express myself confidently, effectively, appropriately and with grammatical accuracy.
Death of a Salesman
Death of a Salesman
Synopsis
Synopsis
This play is about the Loman family who live in America in the 1940s. The protagonist, Willy Loman, is a salesman struggling to make enough money to pay the bills who is obsessed with appearing to be successful and ‘well liked’. Willy has a long-suffering wife, Linda, and two sons: Biff and Happy. Although Biff was extremely popular and a talented footballer in his youth, he is still trying to ‘find himself’ at the age of thirty-four while the ironically named Happy is boastful and competitive but equally dissatisfied with his life. The structure of the play is such that we are not so much interested in asking, ‘what is going to happen to this family?’ as ‘what has happened to this family to make them like they are?’
Death-of-a-Salesman.pdf
Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman (1949) is the tragedy of a common man, the fictional salesman Willy Loman. The fatal flaw that brings him undone is his unswerving belief in the definition of success intrinsic to the American dream, which is that anyone with a little intelligence, personality, courage and lots of hard work can make it financially in business. His ultimate downfall comes when the unimpressive reality of his existence tears away his chosen image of who he is in the world. In the pursuit of financial success, Willy Loman failed by his own standards, and, as a result, he damaged himself and his family.
As social criticism Miller intended to generate scepticism about the value of individualism and capitalism. The play implies that Willy Loman would have been more fulfilled if he'd been a builder or worked on the land rather than participating in the urban rat race as a salesman for a big corporation that exploited its employees until they were no longer useful and then discarded them. Rather than competition and sales, Miller argues that honest labour, a loving family life, and looking out for one’s fellow man are values that should be at the centre of a society.
Optional Student Workbook
Optional Student Workbook
death of a salesman student workbook.pdfPage updated
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