DOAS Quotes Flashcards
(16 cards)
1
Q
“A melody is heard, played upon a flute”
A
Act 1 - opening stage direction (2), act 2
Setting, theme, hopes and dreams
- music is introduced as a symbolism of Willy’s lifeline (“[Music is heard, Willy’s theme”] Act 2) and his dreams of achieving AD
- his tragic death - “[As the car speeds off, the music crashes down in a frenzy of sound]”, “[The music has developed into a dead march]” - “[Our dad] played the flute” (Ben dialogue, act 1) - W holding onto his childhood
2
Q
“Before us is the Salesman’s house… towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it”
A
Act 1 - stage direction
Tragic protagonist, tragic villain, setting
- setting is reflective of protagonist - Miller has introduced Willy in the script as “the Salesman” possibly to characterize W by his position in the business world
- supported by his following dialogue: “I’m tired to the death… on the road every week of my life” - foreshadows how this categorization leads to his death
- “small fragile seeming home” (stage direction, start of act 1) - reflective of W (“his exhaustion is apparent”)
- shows his obsession with gaining money (“you could walk out rich. Rich!” Ben, act 2), where he chases to AD in belief that this will help him achieve success/status (“you see what I been talking about? The greatest things can happen!” - Willy, act 1)
- fatal flaw - too blind and hubristic to his subsequent suffering and lack of success (“Willy Loman never made a lot of money” Linda) - hard to succeed in 1940’s business world - ultimately leads to his tragic death - lack of success emphasized through W’s dialogue about “Dave Singleman” who “made his living” and made W realize “that selling was the greatest career a man could want”
- importance of name - “Singleman” - shows that succeeding in the AD requires individuality (capitalist ideologies), but W’s characterization as “the Salesman” who is “tired to the death” categorizes him as an insignificant businessman who wasn’t independent enough to make a name for himself - emphasizes his lack of success - “It’s a rough world… a salesman is got to dream, boy. It comes with the territory” (Requiem - Charley dialogue)
- cyclical structure - “a salesman” - that’s all that Willy ever was - achieving AD was out of his reach
- acceptance - views W as another tired American businessman who didn’t succeed (common - depersonalizes W - no individuality)
- contrasts idea of capitalism and individualism in 1940s - shows that this was never in W’s reach - “towering angular shapes” - the capitalist ideologies that shroud Willy - he ultimately chooses these over his desire for a rural life
- cyclical structure - “over the house… the hard towers of the apartment buildings rise into sharp focus” (last stage direction of play)
3
Q
“It’s so beautiful up there, Linda, the trees are so thick, and the sun is warm”
A
Act 1 - Willy dialogue (on stage with Linda)
Nature, tragic flaw, blindness, gender roles, order
- great use of positive adjectives - “beautiful” “thick” “warm” surrounding the rural life (“trees”, “sun”) implies W’s subconscious desire for a rural life
- however, the “trees” mirror “the jungle” which repeatedly symbolizes the AD which is “dark but full of diamonds”
- W’s internal conflict surrounding a rural vs capitalist lifestyle (“the light of green leaves stains the house, which holds the air of… a dream” - act 2 stage direction, the “stains” of W’s subconscious “dream” for rural life remains)
- he is ultimately blinded by the the rewarding façade of the AD (“and the prospect of becoming “rich” (seen through his brother Ben who “walked into a jungle, and comes out… rich!”), stating “The greatest things can happen!” If he “can pick up and touch [the diamond in his] hand” - ultimately chooses this, despite the destruction it causes him due to lack of success (“I’m tired to the death”) - becomes his demise and is presented as his hamartia- “he had the wrong dreams” (Biff, requiem) - implies rural life would’ve been a better choice
- “it comes with the territory” (Charley, requiem)
- capitalist order is restored - Willy never achieving the AD (“Willy Loman never made a lot of money”) and not moving up social class
- W’s perspective - he is the one who has seen “beautiful” nature and opportunities, not Linda
- W is the active participant going after his dreams, Linda is the passive participant living vicariously through him - gender roles - women had less opportunities in the business world and were typically restricted to the domestic sphere in 1940’s America
4
Q
“How can he find himself on a farm? Is that a life?”
A
Act 1 - Willy dialogue (on stage with Linda)
Tragic flaw, blindness, gender roles, tragic V
- tone of disbelief towards a farm life - W’s tragic flaw of blindness - he’s been brainwashed by Ben’s success (and like many lower middle-class 1940’s businessmen) to believe that a capitalist lifestyle of “keeping stock, or making phone calls, or buying or selling” is the only life worth living
- contrasts his previous description of the rural environment as “beautiful” - shows W’s choosing the capitalist lifestyle and his “false pride” over other desires - introduces Biff as a tragic V who receives the blunt of W’s criticisms - he is introduced through W’s dialogue to support this
- W’s use of rhetorical questions - shows that Linda is expected to be passive
5
Q
“I take it and I love it”
A
Act 1 - Happy dialogue
Women, power
- a key factor of Willy’s internal conflict is attempting to forget his affair with the woman (“I’ll make it all up to you, Linda”), whereas Happy’s life revolves around the pursuit of many affairs with women (“Weren’t they gorgeous creatures? … I get that any time I want”) - sexual matters are the highlights of their lives
- W transferring his poor morals onto his sons (Happy: “That girl Charlotte I was with tonight is engaged”)
- juxtaposition of “hate” and “love” - similar to Will’y contradictions - pronoun of “it” - objectification and poor treatment of women - traded as symbols of power and dominance (“he’s the third executive I’ve done that to… to top it all, I go to their weddings!”)
- Happy is defined by his sexuality which he uses to gain power - doesn’t know how else to establish dominance due to W’s lack of direction and success/mentoring
- relishes in the fact that ‘respectable’ women can’t resist him
- “Do that, will you, honey” (Happy to the girl, act 2) - establishes power through sexual endeavors
6
Q
“Thanks for the stockings” , “Just mending my stockings” , “Will you stop mending stockings… it gets me nervous”
A
Throughout play - The Woman, Linda and Willy dialogue
Women, appearance vs reality,
- stockings symbolize their relationship which Linda repeatedly attempts to mend but is ultimately irreparable due to Willy’s flashbacks of his infidelity and unstable mind
- Linda is presented as a passive character, who is only active in the parameters she is allowed to be (domestic sphere - “can I make you some eggs?”)
- stockings are something gifted to women - traditionally modest when off, sexual when on - symbolize a reminder of Willy’s sexual infidelity with the woman - creates a barrier on his marriage with Linda
- “The Woman bursts out laughing, and Linda’s laughter blends in” - stage direction - flashbacks
7
Q
“The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress”
A
Act 1 - Willy dialogue
Tragic flaw, family, tragic ending, setting
- adventuring to places such as Africa and Alaska (like Ben) is Willy’s idea of what the AD should be - W actually lives in Miller’s reality of the AD: lower middle-class working man who feels aimless and hasn’t achieved any sense of happiness or fulfillment for all of his striving
- “an air of the dream that clings to the place” (stage direction, act 1) - implies that it will always be a dream due to the “dream rising out of reality” - not in W’s reach - contrast between his setting and the AD - world is an oyster, his world is the mattress - stuck within certain parameters
- “towering, angular shapes… surrounding it”
- “the way they boxed us in here. Bricks and windows, windows and bricks … not a breath of fresh air” - repetition shows monotony - can’t escape his mind (to succeed) which is reflected in setting
- “oyster” - pearls - wealth - only a few are rich enough to succeed - W cannot open the oyster to get the pearl in his setting - ideology that you have to be active to get what you want - the world cannot be your oyster if you’re lazy - success comes from where you are, rather than who you are
- links to Ben - Africa (“diamond mines”) and Alaska (“opportunity is tremendous in Alaska”)
- “If I’d gone with [Ben] to Alaska that time, everything would’ve been totally different” (Willy dialogue, Act 1)
- W’s inner turmoil - believes he has been lazy, and he must push himself harder to succeed, rather than accepting his incapability of succeeding (belief founded on Ben’s success) - transfers this inner conflict onto his sons (“Biff is a lazy bum”)
8
Q
“That’s just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into the jungle! I was right! I was right! I was right!”
A
Act 1 - Willy dialogue
Tragic villain, blindness, appearance vs reality
- repetition of “I was right!” - W’s building delusion that he must lead his sons into the jungle - Ben’s ghost and the idea of succeeding in the AD are feeding this delusions (Ben: “you’re being first-rate with your boys”)
- Ben is dead, so W has been left with a lifelong impression from Ben and how to succeed (must chase the AD - Ben: “lay your hand on it”) - too late for Willy to learn new ways - past point of redemption
- perpetuates the generational cycle - Happy in Requiem: “He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have - to come out number- one man… I’m gonna win it for him”- Biff as a dramatic foil - Happy’s need to fulfill his father’s dream is emphasized by Biff’s contrasting dialogue in the requiem - “He had the wrong dreams”
- “When are you going to grow up?” (Howard, act 2) - supports that W is hanging onto past pursuits to succeed - detached from the reality of his suffering and lack of success
9
Q
“You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away - a man is not a piece of fruit!”
A
Willy dialogue to Howard - Act 2
Tragic villain, blindness, death, fate, fatal flaw
- tone of despair - capitalizes his naivety and blindness towards the ruthless nature and rewarding facade of the AD, in that it exploits businessmen and ultimately ‘disposes’ of them (illustrated through his death)
- “business is business” (Howard to W, act 2)
- W still believes he can succeed in the AD (“business is bad, it’s murderous. But not for me, of course” - Willy to Ben, act 1) - hubris, irony in that it does ultimately ‘murder’ W but he was too blind and hubristic to acknowledge this (fatal flaw)
- “he is totally immersed in himself” (stage direction about W, act 1) - too hubristic to realize the ruthless reality of the business world that is “surrounding” him - consuming passion to become “rich” blinds him - “I’m always in a race with the junkyard!” (Willy dialogue, act 2)
- metaphor - symbolizes the brutality of a never-ending work cycle, which ultimately places W in a “race” with death - it’s too late/past point of redemption for W
- “he’s dying, Biff” - Linda, act 1
- further portrayed in stage direction near end of act 1 - “the light on Willy is fading” - visual
10
Q
“He’s only a little boat looking for harbour”
A
Act 2 - Linda dialogue
Tragic fate, protagonist, family, gender roles
- metaphor - W is aimlessly floating - he wants to succeed but doesn’t know how, only that he must “walk into the jungle” - false hope given by Ben
- false hope has been transferred onto his family that he will someday reach success
- Linda has hope that he will get better
- Requiem - Happy believes W’s dream was valid and he “did not die in vain… it’s the onyl dream you can have” - W is trying to find safety in chasing the AD as his mind is unstable
- Linda acts as a voice of reason to the audience (“a small man can be just as exhausted as a great man”) - suggests that who you are in the business world doesn’t define you
- L gets ignored as W still chases AD
11
Q
“I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life had been!”
“You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!”
A
Act 2 - Biff dialogue
Tragic victim, blindness, family
- Biff is gaining an individual conscience and breaking free from the delusions of success that surround the Loman family - stemmed from W’s morals and beliefs (“I see a diamond… I can pick up and touch in my hand”)
- repetition of “fake” - building realization of W’s false morals/delusions - “salesman… it’s a measly manner of existence… to devote your whole life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling out buying” (Biff, act 1)
- B acts as a dramatic foil to Happy in their views towards W and AD - Happy continues chasing it, B accepts reality- commentary on generational structures that trap individuals into delusional beliefs - B represents hops for younger generations
12
Q
“The woods are burning, boys”
A
Act 2 - Willy dialogue
Family, nature, tragic downfall, suffering, fatal flaw
- nature imagery - symbolism of “the woods” mirror “the jungle” (repeatedly symbolized as the ruthless business world that is “dark but full of diamonds”) - a glimpse of acceptance from W towards his inevitable tragic fate
- nature imagery represents W’s possible true desires - supported by nature and music imagery throughout - tone of despair - the woods are burning as the play approaches the climax, tragic event of his death - W is aware of his desperation and feeling of impending doom as his dreams are slowly crumbling - he feels trapped by his failures
- “I was just fired… after the years… you end up worth more dead than alive” - foreshadowing
- the ‘failures’ of his sons in the eyes of Willy - (“[Going to Willy with guilt]… I was never a salesman” - Biff, act 2)
- reflected through the destruction of the natural world (Willy’s lifeline) - foreshadows death and creates a foreboding atmosphere on stage - “Will you let me go… will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens?” (Biff dialogue to W, act 2)
- “burn” - emphasizes how Willy’s “phony dream” must be disposed of as it is destructive - W has acknowledged this but continues to chase it - fatal flaw
- “let me go” - shows B’s lack of interest in achieving the AD - W’s desperation for his sons to achieve it
- “that’s just the spirit I want to imbue them with! To walk into a jungle!” Willy to Ben, act 1
- “That boy is going to be magnificent” - Willy “staring wildly” on stage with L and H, act 2 - however, W hasn’t taught them how, as he doesn’t know himself, causing further destruction to his family
- “The trouble is we weren’t brought up to grub for money. I don’t know how to do it” - Biff, act 2
- “I oughta be makin’ my future. That’s when I come running home… all I’ve done is to waste my life” - Biff to Happy, act 2
13
Q
“I see it like a diamond… that I can pick up and touch in my hand”
“One must go in to fetch a diamond”
A
Act 2 (near end) - Willy and Ben dialogue
Tragic villain, blindness, fate, death
- ghost of Ben ultimately pushes W to his death - death is his only way to escape this vicious cycle but is disguised by the idea of him finally entering the jungle as he must fulfill his desperate need to succeed (“the car speeds off, the music crashes down in a frenzy of a sound” - music dies with him, his lifeline)
14
Q
“Help me, Willy, I can’t cry… We’re free and clear… We’re free… We’re free…”
A
Requiem - Linda dialogue
Tragic V, love
- repetitions and pauses in dialogue - she lived vicariously through W and supported his delusions for so long (Willy: “you’re my foundation and my support, Linda”) that she is now confused once she is free of him
- “It seems to me that you’re just on another trip. I keep expecting you” (L to his grave, requiem)
- “[Linda doesn’t react. She stares at the grave]” - also free of the mortgage for the “first time in thirty-five years” (“Willy, I made the last payment on the house today”)
- what W was working towards paying (“work a lifetime to pay off a house. You finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it” - foreshadowing tragic death - irony in that his life ended when the mortgage was paid off - didn’t get to reap his reward - injustice)
- sense of emotional grief over capitalist grief
15
Q
“The trouble with you in business was you never tried to please people”
A
Happy dialogue to Biff, Act 1
Family, fatal flaw
- mirrors W’s dialogue in act 2 “that’s…the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here on the basis of being liked!”
- like W, he is ultimately “all alone” and dissatisfied (“I don’t know what the hell I’m workin’ for… my own apartment, a car, and plenty of women. And still, goddammit, I’m lonely”) - irony of Happy’s name (short for “Harold”) - his happiness is superficial and stems from his need to have power (“maybe I just have an overdeveloped sense of competition or something”) and unrealistic dream of continuing to chase the AD for his father
- “great idea to sell sporting goods… you and I, Biff… the Loman Line… the beauty of it is, Biff, it wouldn’t be like a business. We’d be out playin’ ball again”
- requiem - “he fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him”
16
Q
“If you don’t have any feeling for him, then you can’t have any feeling for me”
A
Linda dialogue to Biff about Willy, act 1
Love and marriage, family, tragic V
- shows Linda’s reliance on W as the passive participant in their relationship
- despite his poor treatment of her (“stop making excuses for him! … never had an ounce of respect for you” Biff, act 1), Linda is still his “support”
- she knows that W has flaws and has disrespected her (“Willy Loman never made a lot of money… he’s not the finest character that ever lived”, “it seems there’s a woman…”), but still abides by him (“he’s just wonderful”) - “she has developed an iron repression of her exceptions to Willy’s behaviour - she more than loves him” (stage direction, start of at 1 - characterizes her) - her love for him is stronger than her better judgment - tragic V
- “Will you stop!” - Willy angry dialogue to L
- “You and your lousy rotten whores!” - calls out H for his sexual endeavors but not W when he was disloyal to her - blinded by her love for him
- requiem - “Linda doesn’t react. She stares at the grave” (stage direction)
