Script Analysis of Death of a Salesman Essay Example

mirror Willy’s interactions. His existence encompasses the whole performance. Willy, the salesman, aspires for wealth, success and admiration from his family and contemporaries. Despite his desire for recognition and respect, he never obtains it. Just as his attitude, the play orbits around him. He maintains a single friendship and shares a strained relationship with his spouse and two sons. Linda is the sorrowful wife, mother, and woman dwelling in agony and fear, which she deliberately opts not to escape from.

Linda is a commendable partner and committed wife to Willy, although undeservedly so, but fails to excel in her role as a mother. She recognizes her husband's depressive and suicidal tendencies, but chooses to drown in a sea of denial as a coping mechanism. Willy's elation for life is revitalized by the sight of Biff, his eldest progeny and apple of his eye. Many of Willy's recollections and flashbacks feature Biff. Young Biff admires and idolizes his father until he discovers Willy's infidelity, a revelation that shatters his high regard for his father and drives him to detest him.

The dramatic shifts significantly alter the lives of Willy and Biff. Happy, who is like a youthful carbon copy of his father, exists under the overshadowing influence of his elder brother. Much like Willy, he habitually dwells in a perpetual state of constructed fantasies. He has a propensity to exaggerate trivialities, thus distorting the true depiction of his life. Happy incessantly seeks his father's validation, and despite his recurring deceptive tendencies, he can never measure up to Biff in the eyes of his father. Consequently, Happy transforms into a deluded, woman-chasing individual, mirroring Willy perfectly.

The foundation of

Miller's Death of a Salesman revolves around the inquiry; Is it possible for an individual to embrace change and failure? The play vividly portrays this through scenes of anger, negation, and dispute. Regrettably, the culmination of these dramatic events is contained within the play itself when Willy decides to end his own life in his final effort to correct his circumstances. Miller masterfully engages the audience by showcasing a regular man who commits errors and repeatedly fails in his attempts to rectify his issues. Ultimately, even Willy's suicide doesn't effectively rectify his mistakes.

Death of a Salesman, in its entirety, can be described as a current of order and chaos. However, it particularly becomes fascinating when Biff uncovers his father's shadowy secret about an illicit affair, and witnesses his father gifting a strange lady the stockings that should have rightfully been for his mother, Linda. This incident triggers a cascade of dramatic events throughout the rest of Willy’s recollections. It is at this point that the deterioration of Willy and Biffs' relationship, their aspirations, and dreams can be sharply observed, along with the shambles that the Loman family turns into.

The narrative progressively culminates to a peak when Biff ultimately faces Willy with the rubber hose and pledges to show no mercy, proceeding to challenge the entire family about their state of denial. The sole resolution arising from this is Biff's acceptance of his real self and determination of his future path. The tone of Death of a Salesman gravely conveys sadness, compassion, and severity. This tone is strikingly steadfast throughout the entire play. It remains unaltered, with reminders released to the audience each time Willy dives

into yet another flashback.

In the drama, the motifs of refutation, conflict and confusion permeate and are visibly present. These three mutually reinforce each other to build a highly deceptive milieu. Curiously, Willy's antiquated red Chevy truck recurrently emerges in his recollections and reverberations, acting as a symbol of tranquility, satisfaction, and joy in his tumultuous and fantastical existence. The manner in which Miller presents the dialogue, lexicon, and pace in Death of a Salesman enables the viewers to empathize as it provides a crystal clear image of what it entails to lead a regular ordinary life brimming with challenges and hardships.

The striking portrayal of the settings, costumes, and make up provides an austere yet detailed stage setup. The gentle undulation of music and sounds, coupled with a gloomy set rather than a luminous one, plays a crucial part in crafting the dramatic action in Death of a Salesman. These elements are not just conduits for helping the audience visualize more than what is presented onstage, but they also contribute towards creating the intended viewpoint that Arthur Miller aims to impart as he narrative culminates towards the tragic end of the salesman Willy Loman.