Rating: 
Summary: no attention should be paid
Review: Don't say he's a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the
paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is
happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old
dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person
-Linda Loman, Act 1, Death of a Salesman Why must attention be paid? Since the play's debut, amazingly over 50 years ago now, that has been the central question : must we pay attention to the demise of Willy Loman? Even Willy's name seems to be a gauntlet thrown down in the face of the critics. Where traditional tragedy deals with the high born, the fall of royalty, Arthur Miller quite consciously structures his drama around the fall of a lowly man, a two-bit salesman. But the answer to the question, as is so often the case, is all in how you ask it. You see, if the question is, can the life and death of a salesman be tragic?, then, of course, the answer is yes it can. Nor does it require that he be a "great" man, but it does require that he be a good man. The problem with trying to imbue this play with the aura of tragedy is not that Willy Loman is a little man, it's that he's not a good man : he's not much of a salesman; he cheats on his wife; he lives vicariously and unfairly through his eldest son, Buck, then makes excuses for that son's pathological misbehavior; he virtually ignores his second son; he's a real bastard to friends, neighbors and extended family; and so on. Perhaps I missed something, but what quality is it in Willy that should make us regret his departure? Arthur Miller, who is one of the last unrepentant Marxists, obviously sees Willy as a victim of capitalism. Willy has bought into the American Dream and it has destroyed him; after a lifetime of toil in the system, he is being disposed of now that he is no longer productive. The problem with this is that, much like Jay Gatsby (see Orrin's review), Willy has simply failed to understand the promise of that dream. He believes that the recipe for success is to be "impressive" and "well-liked" and for your children to be identical to you in manner and aspiration. Toward that end, he is all back-slapping, forced humor, pretense, and bluster and he demands the same of his poor benighted sons. One doesn't really expect an intellectual to have any real understanding of economics (or much else for that matter) but Miller, in reducing capitalism to nothing more than a kind of cheap hucksterism, has followed in the footsteps of Theodore Dreiser, Sinclair Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and the like, with equally obtuse results. It is the genius of capitalism that chaff like the Loman's are ruthlessly winnowed. Willy and his sons are so transparently phony it makes your flesh crawl just listening to them. It's not as if Willy had been steadily advancing through the business world and then suddenly hit the wall. He's spent forty years on the lowest rung of the corporate ladder for a reason. That reason?, he has been judged inadequate, long before his age caught up to him. This is a man who should have been a gym teacher and an athletics coach. But not only has he deluded himself and ignored forty years of messages from the system, he also insists that his sons follow in his clearly misguided footsteps. It is perhaps most instructive to compare Willy Loman to George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life. George is a truly talented young man who yearns to escape his hometown and put his skills to use elsewhere. A series of external circumstances intervene and he never gets out, but he does build a vital local business, has a loving family and myriad friends. Facing economic ruin, through no fault of his own, he despairs that he's worth more dead than alive, but realizes, with the help of a guardian angel, that he's helped hundreds of people and that his selflessness has had a profound effect on those around him. He decides not to commit suicide and throngs of friends and customers turn up to help him out of his fix. He's really had a wonderful life. The narrative structure of Death of a Salesman is even similar, though Miller, perhaps unwisely, eschews the angel. But as Willy looks back over his life, he sees, not a series of charitable acts, but a series of selfish acts. When Willy finally does kill himself, there are hardly any mourners, and one has to ask whether even those who are there won't be better off with him gone. This play is really a relic of the short, unhappy period in the 30's and 40's when American intellectuals had been seduced by Marxism. It is too doctrinaire in it's assumptions about democracy and capitalism to actually say anything of lasting value. You know how there are periodic attempts to ban the teaching of certain books in public schools? Well, I had teachers who taught both this play and The Crucible, that equally morally flaccid piece of tripe and let me just say this : as a parent, I just don't want some nitwit teacher trying to explain this Stalinist propaganda to my kids and telling them that it offers some kind of profound analysis of our society. If folks think it's important to expose kids to authors who critique capitalism and the American Dream, at least let them read The Great Gatsby, which, though wrong also, is at least great literature. GRADE : F
Rating: 
Summary: "Well Liked"
Review: Those who've seen/read the play will get the title. Anyway, I've read this play twice (although I haven't seen it performred) and I think its great. The plot was pretty good, although a bit predictable, which cost it a star. I avoid plot summaries in my reviews, so all I'll say is that the play had a certain rhythm to it that got sort of tedious. The characters were well designed and interesting. The dialouge is entertaining, and Miller's use of setting, symbolism and themes is highly skilled. Overall a great play!
Rating: 
Summary: Miller's Immortal Play
Review: As an author with my debut novel in its initial release (and a one-time drama teacher), I truly admire Arthur Miller's immortal classic DEATH OF A SALESMAN. While THE CRUCIBLE is perhaps more often produced, DEATH OF A SALESMAN is Miller's finest dramatic work. Miller's play concerns a self-promoting yet self-defeating salesman named Willie Loman. Loman is Miller's mid-century American Everyman, based to some degree upon one of his relatives, if I remember my literary history correctly. This play deals with Willie's life and career--his failures in both. I also always enjoy the relationship between the father and his sons as well as his sons' relationship with each other. While THE CRUCIBLE deals with witch-hunt politics, DEATH OF A SALESMAN is centered on the human condition. This play deserves to be read and produced forever. It is an immortal work.
Rating:
Summary: Another American classic!
Review: "Death of a Salesman" is a sad, but wonderful play written by Arthur Miller. This play, together with "The Catcher in the Rye", was my introduction to real reading. Previous to reading this book, I had kept to what I will call "easier" reading. "Death of a Salesman" was assigned to us by our English teacher, as part of our undergraduate English class. Our teacher, Mrs. Syring, knew this play by heart. She pointed out the subtleties in this play for us (you can't expect too much from a bunch of accounting students..) and she made us understand what kind of outstanding literary attack on the American society and the American dream this play really is. The protagonist, Willy Loman, is a committed, hard working, aging, middle class man, with a dream to be rich and successful. Making it "big"- just like the American dream. Unfortunately, Loman is neither rich nor very successful. And in the end, Loman commits suicide, (wrongfully) thinking that his family will be just as happy without him, living well off the insurance money. This play is a classic portrayal of what kind of tragedy the pursuit of the American dream can bring to a man and his family. The play is written some sixty years ago (written in 1949), but I don't think this play will ever be outdated. Wonderfully written, with an important moral lesson for all of us to remember.
Rating:
Summary: Death of an American Dream
Review: This meaty play is yet another 20th century literary attack on the American Dream and yet another look at the frustrated search for meaning in human life. Willy Loman is a representative for a generation of "salesmen" - men who have led a shallow existence, filled with false dreams which shadow their purer yearnings. He travels about, rooting his dreams in the least stable and most ephemeral grounds - merchandise. Unwilling to admit the emptiness of his ambitions and the failure of his life, Willy detaches himself from reality. His sons, raised on the same false beliefs and optimism, misplacing their own hopes and confusing their individual niches, each fail in their own way. When one finally remembers who he is, it's too late. This is an American tragedy and a touching account of fatherly love, by an author who brings much sympathy to his misguided hero.
Rating:
Summary: Never gets "old!"
Review: I don't think this play will ever truly become dated. The themes are just to basic to human nature. There are cultural issues that come through -- issues I think still prevade in American culture. Arthur Miller will be one of the best forever.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth reading, but enjoyable?
Review: There is no question that Death of A Salesman is a classic piece of American Drama, and that anyone who reads in their leisure time or is a fan of classic literature should defniately be familiar with it. However, the story itself is not only depressing to read, with frequent arguments brewing over nothing and a cast of characters very, very hard to love, but also is, as time passes, losing its meaning, becoming little more than a statement about the struggles of past generations--especially to the ever increasing group of people who have never dealt with a door to door salesman. Death of A Salesman remains, in the strict sense, a classic, and has its merits, but Miller has written better. If you want characters you can appreciate and identify with, try The Crucible; if you're looking for a story about family struggle intertwined with finance issues(as Death of A Salesman is), I would go with The Price.
Rating:
Summary: Death of a Salesman
Review: Recently I read the story "Death of a Salesman", in my English class. The author of this book was Authur Miller. He was born in 1945 in New York City. He went to collage at the University of Michigan where he wrote his first plays. "Death of a Salesman" won a Palitzer Prize and was made into a movie twice, 1952 and 1985. "Death of a Salesman" is a story about the lat two days in the life oa typical American husband and father who has misplaced valious and considers suicide a solution. T he story takes place in "Willy Lama's house and yard in various places he visits..." in a modern setting. There are numerous flashbacks to reveal character. Willy Loman a sixty-three years old salesman, who stands baffled by his fail. Willy has two sons and their names are Biff, and Happy, and a nice wife, named Linda. Willy was a man that always had a flashbacks on of his flashbacks were when he remember his chilhood and when he had travled with his father and brother in a wagon. Linda is mother of Biff and Happy. She is wife of Willy Loman. Linda defines herself through Willy because she inhabits a world which offers her little but a supporting role. Linda fails to understand the true nature and depth of her illusions. Linda's strenght-her love and her determination is not enough, finally, to hold Willy bakc from the grave. Biff is the son of Willy and Linda, and brother of Happy. The relationship betweem Willy and Biff is central. They wrestle eachother for their existence. Biff is Willy's ace in the hole, last desperate throw, the proof tha he was right . Happy is son of Willy, Linda and brother of Biff Loman. Happy is a guy that like the gilrs and he want the better for his family. Happy is a guy that likes to play football with his brtother Biff.
Rating:
Summary: A Wrong Decision
Review: I recently read this book for my literature class, and it is to high school level. the book Death of a Salesman is a story about the last two days in the life of typical American husband and a father who has misplace values and considered a suicide solution. There are numerous flash backs to reveled the characters. The man never finds out who he was. He searches for the moment in his life took a wrong turn, the moment of betray that undermined his relationship with his wife and destroy relation with his sons. The father who didn't know how to support his family, and made a a wrong decision for his sons and money . Then the oldest son from the family failed inn his life because he didn't graduate from high school, and when he asked for help to his father,he discovered that his father was an adulterer. The youngest son has success with the girls, but he failing to the study. He never made it to college. the mother loves her family, and she ignores that her husband lied to her. The father couldn't handle the family 's problems and he took a wrong decision in his life. The little of the book gave us a simple idea of what the book is about .The story has a surprise ending. I would recommend this book because it has some themes that relevant in today's society such materialism and adultery in the family. The father thought that his sons had money and his support. The story has a great message of the importance of the father's perspective of his mistakes . The story holds the inters of all readers because the themes of the family's problem are real, and all readers could identify with those themes.
Rating:
Summary: Classic
Review: This play is slightly depressing, but interesting at the same time. Miller makes the reader interested in the life of Willie Loman and what drives him to the place where he is now. I reccomend reading this even if you are interested in reading about the mental decline of a Door-to-Door salesman.
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