ESSAY : Death of a Salesman

Examine Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman from the perspective of one of the characters. Write a 2-3 page essay incorporating theme (The American Dream, Failure, The Appearance of Things, Truth, Abandonment, etc.), temporal and spatial setting, style of dialogue, props, repetition of motifs, all of the elements of drama as personified and utilized by one of the characters. This is both a critical examination of your character and of the play itself.

Each character has his or her own unique purpose in a drama. How does your chosen character aid the forward action? Do you see this character has having evolved over the couple of days of the drama, or have they remained consistent? Does their perspective serve the action tragically, or with an opposing (even, perhaps, comic) intent.

Charley, for instance, though continuing to support Willy financially and with some degree of friendship, seems to serve as a contrary attitude to Willy's view that success is in being well-liked. Charley appears to be more aware of the true rules of the American Dream (that an individual who works hard will receive his or her just rewards of home, family and success in the eyes of peers) than Willy.

Even in Willy's imaginings, his creative re-interpretations of memory, Charley does not support Willy's pipe dreams, thereby serving as opposing perspective to Willy's misguided ambitions. In the end it is Charley, a business owner and the father of Bernard, a lawyer arguing before the Supreme Court, who stands above Willy's grave.

Through his survival one can judge that Miller sees true success as something different than just someone who is well-liked. Charley's survival implies that it is a man or woman's true substance that measures the individual, not how he or she appears to others.

Something like that.

Paper should have a thesis (included in the introduction), a body that addresses multiple points of dramatic form through the perspective of your chosen character, as well as a conclusion.