Death of A Salesman

Death of A Salesman

The movie Death of A Salesman was released September 15^th, 1985. The movie was influenced from issues regarding American national values. Also, it involved traditional thinking of “The American Dream.” The genre of the movie is drama. The film was adapted from the play Death of A Salesman that Arthur Miller wrote. Though the film won over many film critics and received nominations for many awards, it was a box office failure. As I looked at the title, I thought it meant that a man’s that was a salesman was going downhill. So from the title, I expected the film to be showing a salesman dying and probably having a bad life.   The film starts off with the main character Willy Loman driving and then all of a sudden it looks like he started spinning on the road. As a viewer, it made me think what the heck is going on and why is Willy looking so plain? Also what happened that made him start swerving like that. The scene that is the climax is when Biff tells Willy the truth and Willy realizes that his family has been living a lie. Willy also realizes that Biff really does love him. That kind of illustrated the main idea because Willy was stuck on living ‘The American Dream” and when Biff told Willy the truth, it broke his dream of living “The American Dream.” I didn’t really see any loose ends because it was clear what was happening and what was said and done. The movie concludes with Happy following in the footsteps of his father Willy, after Willy commits suicide so that Biff can use the insurance money to start a business. The development of Willy Loman begins from the start of the movie all the way up to his death revealing how his sanity is declining. The purpose of Willy is to show how overworking yourself and betrayal of your family to achieve “The American Dream” can lead you to insanity and unhappiness. Willy wears business suits as well as some casual, not too-flashy clothes throughout the movie. Willy’s wife, Linda Loman comes in the picture when Willy comes home from work. Her purpose in the film is to be supportive and helpful to Willy even when he treats her very poorly. She also tries to get her sons Biff and Happy to help make Willy happier and to keep him from committing suicide. Linda wears casual dresses through the movie. Next is Willy and Linda’s eldest son, Biff Loman. Biff’s purpose in the film is to give the Willy a dose of reality. Biff wears mostly casual clothes throughout the movie. Then, there is the youngest son Happy Loman. Happy’s purpose  in the film is to carry on the dreams Willy had for Biff. Happy wore casual close in the movie. There are a few motifs in the film. First, there are the mythic figures and how willy used them. Willy’s tendency to mythologize people contributes to his deluded understanding of the world. He speaks of Dave Singleman as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles of “personal attractiveness” and power through “well liked”-ness; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the American Dream. Willy’s mythologizing proves quite nearsighted, however. Willy fails to realize the hopelessness of Singleman’s lonely, on-the-job, on-the-road death. Trying to achieve what he considers to be Singleman’s heroic status, Willy commits himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy (even if Willy’s life insurance policy ends up paying off, Biff wants nothing to do with Willy’s ambition for him). Similarly, neither Biff nor Happy ends up leading an ideal, godlike life; while Happy does believe in the American Dream, it seems likely that he will end up no better off than the decidedly ungodlike Willy.  Then there is The American West, Alaska, and the African Jungle. Those regions represent the potential of instinct to Biff and Willy. Willy’s father found success in Alaska and his brother, Ben, became rich in Africa; these exotic locales, especially when compared to Willy’s banal Brooklyn neighborhood, crystallize how Willy’s obsession with the commercial world of the city has trapped him in an unpleasant reality. Whereas Alaska and the African jungle symbolize Willy’s failure, the American West, on the other hand, symbolizes Biff’s potential. Biff realizes that he has been content only when working on farms, out in the open. His westward escape from both Willy’s delusions and the commercial world of the eastern United States suggests a nineteenth-century pioneer mentality. Biff, unlike Willy, recognizes the importance of the individual. Miller’s purpose in the film is to inform and expose. There is a theme in the movie. The American Dream is the most prominent theme throughout Death of a Salesman. The main character, Willy, believes in the “promise of the American Dream”. This “promise” is that a “well-liked” and “personally attractive” businessman will be able to attain the “modern American Dream” and all of the wealth and possessions that come with it. Willy’s interpretation of “well-liked” is very shallow. For example, he dislikes Bernard because he considers him a dork. Willy’s childish faith in his corrupted version of the American Dream ultimately leads to his downfall. The director uses many symbols in the film. For instance, seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. His desperate, nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Another is Linda’s stockings. Willy’s strange obsession with the condition of Linda’s stockings foreshadows his later flashback to Biff’s discovery of him and The Woman in their Boston hotel room. The teenage Biff accuses Willy of giving away Linda’s stockings to The Woman. Stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. New stockings are important for both Willy’s pride in being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy’s ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of, his betrayal of Linda and Biff.