death of a salesman Flashcards
(30 cards)
a melody
‘a melody is heard, played upon a flute… telling us of grass and trees.’
flute represents hope- contrasts with rest of the description
nature as a real god - pantheist. links to his father, a successful flute salesman
towering
‘towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides.’
concrete jungle - intimidating, house as a prison
an air
‘an air of a dream clings to the place’
dynamic verb ‘clings’ suggests danger contrasts the ‘dream’ - foreshadows the danger of the american dream
it’s all
‘its all right. i came back’ (willy)
foreshadows death. link to cyclical structure
i’m tired
‘i’m tired to the death’ (willy)
foreshadowing. flute fades away. suggests all hope is lost. flute represents the success of his father - all hope of success is lost
work a
‘work a lifetime to pay off a house. you finally own it, and there’s nobody left to live in it.’ (willy)
nihilism and materialism. sense of hopelessness and futility.
‘biff is/isnt’
‘biff is a lazy bum.’
‘there’s one thing about biff - he’s not lazy.’ (willy)
contrast - willy’s psychomania. high expectations of biff.
be liked
‘be liked and you will never want.’ (willy)
wrong reading of the american dream. tragic flaw, hubris. tragic blindness.
to me
‘to me you are. [slight pause] the handsomest.’ (linda).
corrects herself - aware of willy’s fragile ego yet does nothing about it, eggs him kn
few men
‘few men are idolised by their children the way you are.’ (linda)
ironic
idea of religion - links close to american culture of the time
worm
‘you want him to be a worm like bernard?’ (willy)
misreading of american dream
ironic
seventeen
‘when i was seventeen, i walked into the jungle and when i was twenty one, i walked out and by god i was rich!’ (ben)
suggests the american dream is easy but imagery of a jungle contradicts this
old dog
‘he’s not allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog.’ (linda)
threat of death - linda knows the reality yet does not act upon it. wilful ignorance
attention,
‘attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person’ (linda)
repetition highlights urgency. tragedy of the common man
his life
‘biff, his life is in your hands!’ (linda)
father/son relationship/duties - expectations of biff
young
‘like a young god.’ expectations of biff - hyperbole. religious influence
once
‘once in my life, i would like to own something outright before its broken.’ (willy?)
materialism, nihilism, conspicuous consumption
died
‘he died the death of a salesman.’
ironic compared to the requiem
boston
‘what happened in boston, willy?’
willy rejects anagnorisis - biff fails because he loses faith in his father
sell
‘the only thing you got in this world is what you can sell.’ (charley)
nihilistic - morals are dubious
worth more
‘you’ll end up worth more dead than alive’
foreshadowing, ironic
prince
‘a fine troubled prince’ (biff about willy)
irony, trying to help his ego
fake
‘you fake! you phony little fake!’ (biff)
biffs anagnorisis is finding out about the affair
planted
‘nothings planted. i don’t have a thing in the world.’ (willy)
symbolic. no seeds to nurture. failure as a patriarch.
