Death of a Salesman

Miller firstly introduces the three major themes of Death of a Salesman: denial, contradiction, and order versus disorder. All
three themes work together to create a dreamlike atmosphere in which the audience watches a man's identity and mental
stability slip away. Having returned home returns home early from a sales trip, Willy worries because he is having difficulty
remembering events, as well as staying focused on the present. His wife, Linda offers excuses for his own behaviour, attempting
to protect him from seeing his own shortcomings. Although Willy believes he should be recognized and respected at work
because he established the company throughout New England, he is not respected because he has lost the ability to sell
merchandise effectively. Willy sees his son’s instability as a sign of laziness and lack of character; however, Willy later
contradicts himself and describes Biff as a "hard worker." Since his son's situation is too difficult to acknowledge, Willy creates
an alternative reality, denying the facts of the situation. In this way, Willy creates order from disorder because he manipulates
facts to produce a better alternative. Biff is overwhelmed by his own contradictory desires (whether to work outside on a farm
or to return to New York). Biff's instability stems not only from his inability to maintain a steady job. Happy, however, is
incapable of finding contentment. He is a man driven by sexuality and a need for power. He has obtained material desires — an
apartment, a car, and lots of women — but he cannot acquire peace. The physical strength and dominance are achieved
through Willy and the boys’ physical labor (Willy instructs the boys to polish the car properly). Although Willy prefers to believe
he is defined by his imagined likability and success as a salesman, in reality, it is the affair with the Woman that serves as the
defining feature of his being. He is guilt-ridden to the point that he is continually reminded of his infidelity whenever he is in
Linda's presence. Subsequently, Willy perceives all the events as occurring at the same time, leaving him confused and
bewildered. Whenever he feels overwhelmed by his lack of success, Willy recalls his favorite illusion: Uncle Ben and the
diamond mines. If only he had gone to work for Ben, he would be rich. If only he had gone to Alaska, he and the boys would be
thriving in the great outdoors. If only he had had the courage of Ben, he might have established himself as a highly successful
salesman. Observing and speaking to Ben is significant for two reasons. Firstly, not only is Willy hearing voices, but he is actively
hallucinating. Secondly, recreates his life by imagining what could have been and refuses to acknowledge that his opportunity
to work for Ben no longer exists. Willy cannot be content with his life, job, or his marriage because he is continually evaluating
himself based on the success of others. As a result, his success is fleeting. Linda has undergone a change in her character as she
is the only one able to see the truth. She knows that Willy is borrowing money from Charley and lying to her about it. She
recognizes that Happy is nothing but an over-achieving womanizer incapable of settling down. She also realizes Biff's drifting is
the result of his insecurity and his failure to understand his own needs and desires. Even though Linda knows the truth, she
actively attempts to conceal it in order to help Willy achieve order in his life. Despite congratulating himself on working many
years to pay off the house, he deflates himself and considers all of his work pointless. As Biff prepares for a football match, he
symbolizes the greatness Willy still believes is possible to achieve. A long-time acquaintance, Charley, confronts Willy with the
truth about his job: Willy is a salesman, and a salesman is defined by what he can sell. Anything that cannot be sold is irrelevant
and of no value. If the salesman cannot sell anything, then he is worthless. The fact that Charley can adequately describe Willy's
job, as well as Willy's character, along with the fact that he genuinely wants to help him, forces Willy to acknowledge that
Charley is his "only friend", who recognizes Willy's need for acknowledgment and appreciation.
Happy is defined by his sexuality and desire for power. Not only does he thrive upon sexual gratification, but Happy savors the
knowledge that he has ruined women engaged to men he works for and also despises. He bears an uncanny resemblance to his
father. Sexual interludes are the defining moments of both of their lives. Willy's life revolves around his attempt to forget his
affair with the Woman, while Happy's life revolves around an active pursuit of affairs with many women.
The affair is a betrayal of Linda and the boys, who center their lives on him. Once he cheats on Linda, Willy denigrates himself,
and this diminution of his character is unrecoverable. The affair negates all of Willy's tales of the greatness that have motivated
Biff up to this point. Why should he attend summer school or hold a steady job? The need for his father's approval no longer
guides his actions. Willy is not an invincible father or a loyal husband or a fantastically successful salesman like he wants
everyone to believe, but rather self-centered. Until the end of the play, Willy effectively blocks the affair out of his memory and
commits himself to a life of denial.
Committing suicide is Willy's last opportunity to earn a substantial amount of money and acquire the respect of his older
brother. In addition, Willy wants to make amends to Linda for betraying her. Leaving her financially stable will help alleviate the
guilt that he bears, even though he still cannot admit his unfaithfulness. As a result, suicide serves as a means for Willy to deny
his past, establish order and financial stability for his wife. Biff says that he and Willy are nothing but ordinary people who could
easily be replaced by others and is able to see beyond their shortsightedness because he realizes that denying reality is more
dangerous and costly in the long run. It is symbolic that Ben convinces Willy to commit suicide. Ben transforms suicide into a
final, brief opportunity that must be seized. Willy's suicide cannot be justified because it defies his own intentions. Willy
believes his suicide will resolve the disorder in his life by assuaging any pain he caused Linda, winning Biff's respect, and
demonstrating his popularity as a salesman and individual. In reality, he denies Linda a debt-free husband, Biff a reconciled
father, and Happy an improved role model. Thus, Willy's refusal to accept life on its own terms results in nothing but disorder
and fragmentation for those he loves most. The audience may react with sympathy toward Willy because he believes he is left
with no other alternative but to commit suicide. On the other hand, the audience may react with disgust and anger toward
Willy, believing he has deserted his family and taken the easy way out. Arthur Miller's play Death of a Salesman addresses loss
of identity and a man's inability to accept change within himself and society.

FILM:

Reading a play is quite different from watching a movie based on it. The visual and audio aspects of the movie greatly separate
it from its written form. Therefore, the perspective of a reader is quite different from that of a viewer. The movie based on the
play "The Death of a Salesman" is different from the play in many ways. Despite most of the dialogue being word-for-word, the
movie consists of inevitable variations from the play. With such popularity of movies, we have become used to watching drama
on screen, without having to worry about picturing anything. Movies do seem to do a better job at meeting the writer's
expectations of how he wishes the play to be presented. However, movies come with a limitation of their own, which is that
they are created from the director's vision. Unlike in a live play that is being performed on stage, actors have little or no control
on the characters. The movie based on "Death of a Salesman" has an altered beginning. It starts off with Willy Loman driving
and suddenly stopping, whereas in the actual play, it begins when he gets home and explains to his wife what happened on his
way to the trip. The dialogue is almost entirely same throughout the movie except for some omissions. Many of the deleted
lines hold little significance to the overall story. However, some of those lines do carry important information about the
personality of certain characters. In the play, Linda is seen as a strong woman who cares for and looks after Willy. Upon Willy's
request, Linda hums to him in bed, much like a mother sings her baby to sleep. In the movie, however, she agrees to sing but
doesn't. Instead, Willy kisses her on the forehead, portraying him as the comforting one. There are some adjustments made in
the movie, perhaps in order to offend the audience. In one of his flashbacks, Willy tries to explain to Linda why he was unable
to make a lot of sales on his trip, and mentions his inability to impress his buyers. In the play, one of his reasons for this is that
he is fat. In the movie, he says he is short.
The music also helps differentiate the movie from reading the play. The movie certainly has an advantage in this aspect. Hearing
the music is quite different than imagining it. Unless the reader is a musically trained person, imagining the suggested musical
tunes is greatly ineffective compared to actually hearing them. The play starts with a tune played on a flute. In the movie, other
instruments accompany the flute. The harmony works great in manipulating the viewer's mood and emotions. It works well to
generate sympathy for Willy after his death. However, in some instances, the music works against the movie. For example, in
the restaurant scene, the music slightly distracts the viewer from the seriousness of the conversation between Willy, Biff and
Happy. This does not happen when reading the play. The loudness and softness of the characters' voices also helps express
their feelings.
To conclude, reading the play was wholly different from watching the movie. Factors such as different perspectives, actions,
imagination, visual and audio effects, etc. all act to create two different experiences. Even though the movie cannot replace the
original play, it certainly is an interesting piece of work.