IB book report | Death of a Salesman |
Author: | Arthur Miller | Date of birth-death: | 17/10/1915 – 10/02/2005 | Title: | Death of a Salesman | Published by: | Penguin Classics | Year of first publication: | 1949 | Publication date of your edition: | 2000 | Relevant data on author and period: | 1932: Arthur Miller graduated from Abraham Lincoln High School, he worked at several menial jobs to pay for his college tuition. | | 1940: Arthur Miller married his college sweetheart, Mary Slattery, the Catholic daughter of an insurance salesman. | | 1948: Miller wrote part one of Death of a Salesman in a day, six weeks later, he finished the play. | | 1949: Death …show more content…
Did you call me Ben? [BEN looks at his watch]
Willy: That’s funny. For a second there you reminded me of my brother Ben.
Ben: I only have a few minutes.
Place
The story takes place in New York, America. Willy Loman and his family live in a small house with a small yard. Their house is surrounded by apartments. Because of the huge number of population at that moment in New York (American Dream), Willy gets a bit paranoid. He’s surrounded by all kinds of apartments and there are people everywhere. This is why he’s so confused all the time, his life seems very hectic. At the end of the book he walks outside and starts to scream about how crowded his neighborhood is.
Willy [suddenly conscious of BIFF, turns and looks up at him, then begins picking up the package of seeds in confusion]: Where the hell is that seed? [Indignantly] You can’t see nothing out here! They boxed in the whole goddam neighbourhood!
The place of the play is similar to the feelings in the play. Willy is hectic all the time, so is their neighborhood because it’s so small.
Most of the time the play takes place in their home or garden. But at a certain time, they go to a restaurant. Willy is also at his office.
Social …show more content…
He also doesn’t chooses a side. This is because it’s a play. The book only gives us the texts and feelings of the characters. The author isn’t important at all.
The characters live in a poor environment. Willy doesn’t earn much and he has to work very hard and a lot to pay the bills. Meanwhile, he borrows money from his neighbor. His wife, Linda, doesn’t know about this. He wants to hide it from his family because he’s embarrassed.
Willy: I can’t work for you, that’s all, don’t ask me why.
Charley [angered, takes out more bills]: You been jealous of me all your life, you damned fool? Here, pay your insurance. [He puts the money in WILLY’S hand.]
Style
Death of a Salesman is written in dialogue. The book contains out of short sentences. Those sentences are the lines the characters say. The feelings of the characters are between “[ ]” signs. This way, you get to know what the characters are like and how they think about things. The parts which aren’t from the characters, are parts to make a certain situation more clear. It tells us how something look likes, or explains things. Most of the time they are about what is happening on stage.
Biff [to Happy]: I can’t talk to