Miller wrote many different plays
including ‘Death of a Salesman’, and
‘All My Sons’. His writing was
political by virtue that his work addressed
the Marxist theory advanced by Karl Max. Miller’s plays have been
linked closely to Marxist ideology through his representations
on the way capitalism
as implemented in the US failed to serve the
interest of everyone but a few influential figures
in the economy. The focus of this
study would be in exploring the different ways
by which these plays fit into the Marxist theory.
The plays All my Sons and Death of a salesman have addressed
the key issues
of Marxist ideology on the impacts of capitalism in the development of social classes and
oppression of the poor. Indeed, these
plays have featured
scenes that demonstrate the failures of capitalism
as practiced in the US based
on the fact that not all Americans benefited from the capitalist model of the economy.
Based on the political and social implications that Capitalism breeds in the society, it is fair
to argue that Capitalism is not a system that should be advocated for as it's adverse impacts outweigh the minimal benefits it is associated with.
Synopsis; All My Sons.
The setting of this play
is Keller’s yard where we encounter Joe Keller a business man and
his wife Kate who are visited by their neighbor Frank.
Kate asks Frank to unravel the mystery behind Keller’s missing son, Larry. Larry’s parents believe that
he will come back, but Chris believes
otherwise, and he intends to propose
Ann Deever, who was Larry’s girlfriend and with whom they have
seen each other
since Larry disappeared. Kate and
Joe are caught unaware with the news and
are surprised. Ann arrives, and we
get to know that she has a strained
relationship with his convicted
father Steve Deever, who has been imprisoned
for committing a crime and that
his partner was Joe. Chris proposes to Ann who accepts and Ann’s brother George calls Joe over an issue he intends
to settle with him.
Chris is reluctant
to inform his parents of
their engagement. The neighborhood is suspicious that Joe is guilty of the crime of supplying
faulty aircraft engines to the military. George Deever arrives and reveals
the mischievous plan Joe had as an accomplice of George’s father thus suggesting that
he was guilty.
George, therefore, is against marriage
between his sister Ann and
Chris. Joe defends his crime by claiming he had the flu on the fateful day of dispatch, but his wife denies this and also claims that he was building a business for his sons, a sentiment refuted
by Chris. Meanwhile, Frank reveals
that Larry is alive.
Chris has gone
missing, and Kate implores Joe to turn himself in. Though reluctant to do so, the
news that Ann has received a letter from Larry who intends to commit
suicide over his father’s
Crimes makes Joe pretend that he is turning
himself in. He enters another room and
kills himself with a gunshot. Chris reveals
what has transpired, and he is told
by his mom not to carry the blame.
Synopsis; Death of a Salesman.
The setting of this play
is Willy Loman's house in New York City. Willy Loman
is devastated that his business trip is canceled as he is determined to provide a better life
for his son athletic, a talented child who
did not make it to college. His wife Linda implores him to persuade his boss to transfer him to a local workstation
as she is concerned about his state
of mind, but Willy does not want to hear
any of these.
Bill and his brother Happy, believe their father's mental state is
degenerating and while their father thinks that the boys have never been productive, they try to appease him by informing him that Biff has a business proposition to attend to.
Willy takes
his wife‘s advice and requests his employer
to transfer him but instead he is fired. His attempts to secure another job with his former employer turn
futile as this employer cannot remember him. He encounters his neighbor’s son, now a successful lawyer who reveals to him the reason why Biff failed in his summer school
despite his motivation to
do well and it has
something to do with Biff
visiting his father in while he was working in Boston. Meanwhile, Biff attends the Business proposition. An argument ensues between Willy and Biff, and the sons
leave the restaurant
in frustration leaving their father. Linda confronts her sons over the argument,
and Biff’s attempt to reconcile with his father does not come to fruition.
Another argument escalates, and Biff tells his father to shed of his unrealistic
expectations, but his father
is frustrated that Willy does
not meet the expectations his
father has for him.
Willy commits
suicide by crashing his car so that
the insurance funds could be used by Biff to open up a business as he believes that
Biff now wants to be a
businessman like him. But Biff is still
not interested in pursuing that career. His brother,
however, relishes the prospect of following
in his father’s footstep.
PLAY ANALYSIS
2.1 Miller's Play 'All My Sons.'
2.2 Miller’s Play ‘Death of a Salesman.'
The play, ‘Death of a Salesman’ also explores the way
Miller looks at the American dream life after the
World War II. The play portrays the life
of an agent as he pursued the American dream, which was to proper, make wealth
and live a happy
life within the capitalistic driven society. The
story explores the question of who
is to blame when the hopes captured
in the American dream fails to work as anticipated.
Through the play, Miller makes clear of Willy Loman’s misguided quest for
the American dream. The play written
in the post-war America makes clear of the
American dream after the war where
American dream was of prosperity and wealth creation due to capitalism and the opportunities that came with this economic
system (Williams and Kent 33).
The system works in the initial phase as explained by Karl Max arguments that capitalism will only work to some extent until the point that the poor masses will begin to feel the burden of the gap that will be created by the industry
owners. According to Marxism, capitalism
would not work for the best interest
of all people but the few
industry leaders who will be protected by the state. This seems to be the situation that
the salesman finds himself bound as he fails to attain
the American dream of becoming wealthy, prosperous and rich
in the society. At the time the
play ‘Death of a Salesman’ was
written, the idea of the American dream was more
than a phrase but a lifestyle
and expectation of every
American. It was held that
with healthy capitalism and democracy, individuals
would make it prosperous (Sterling 44).
The play was written after World War II where
America flourished economically, and prosperity was the
root of the American Dream.
At this time, the idea of capitalism
was reborn through the development of a capitalist society,
and everyone in the land had a chance
to become rich and successful. Marxist had held that
the idea of prosperity in capitalism was a great falsehood
for it would not benefit all the people.
Marxists argued that socialism presented a better alternative to capitalism for all
persons would be equally
treated and that the society
would become more unified. It was held that
socialism would minimize cases of high-end gaps of inequality between the rich and the
poor. This is exactly what Miller brings out through the life experience
of the salesman who lives for
a dream that he never saw
come true due to the reality of capitalism
(Sterling 44).
Miller in the play, ‘Death of a Salesman’ addresses the life
of the agent in a perspective of the failures of capitalism. The United States that is strongly believed to have fully
adopted capitalism in running its economy is expected to provide all the Americans with the opportunity to prosper. The Americans at the time including the
salesman have strong aspirations to make it and
become prosperous. However, this aspiration fails to mature leading to the disappointment of the salesman. The
failure of the salesman to make it implies that
not all Americans have the opportunity to make it in the
capitalistic economy. The ultimate goal end
of the salesman in the capitalistic economy is not a
fulfilling one. This end tallies with Marxist view on capitalism as a system whose end
is instability in the economy characterized by high levels of inequality among its
members.
Marxism advances
that capitalism is a risk to itself through its value and priority on industry
and promotion of wealth to those who
are able. Marxists argues that capitalism would end up creating a stratified society with defined gaps between the rich industry
owners and masses
of poor people in the economy. Marxist holds that capitalism
would give more opportunities to the wealthy in the society
against the vulnerable poor people in the society. Miller
uses the salesman
experience as an example of the evils that come
with capitalism. Miller presents the story
of the salesman to show that the
dream that the
salesman had were falsehood and
not real. This is especially after the salesman realizes that he
cannot make it prosper as others in the society.
The play, ‘Death of a Salesman’ portrays
to the audience that the American dream in the capitalistic economy was full of falsehood
for the dream
was not for everyone but a few. This is the main thesis of the play. Miller
defends that the American dreams and high expectations to make it in life
is not for all Americans but a few people
who are presented with the opportunity. This notion is related to the Marxist view that
capitalism fails to serve the interest
of all people. Marxism holds that true
capitalism has the interest of a few at the detriment of the
many who would be exploited by the system.
According to Marxists, capitalism
provides a climate for the prosperity
of the few in the society leaving
masses of people at the mercy of the
few rich. The industry owners
would have the opportunity to control and exploit the
poor laborers, and this would lead
to conflict between these two
groups.
In ‘Death of a Salesman’, Willy
Loman comes out as a perfect example of someone who is trying to pursue this
dream in a capitalistic economy
with much hope. He has hoped to make it to others in the economy, a hope
that is disillusioned for he fails to make
it due to his position in the society. Through his experience, it becomes
clear that capitalism provides an opportunity for the
few rich and industry owners
while the poor
remain suffering in the hands of the
few rich. This story brings
out Marxism’s social theory
that argues that capitalism would lead two social classes of people, the ‘proletariats’
and the ‘bourgeoisie's’. This is exactly what comes out in the play
‘Death of a Salesman’ for
the salesman who seem to be in the low
socioeconomic class is
disadvantaged as he pursues the American dream to prosper in the society (Williams and Kent 27).
Indeed, the social capitalism
that leads to the two social classes of people comes into play in this play. In this play, the dedicated salesman Willy Loman struggles to aid his family near his retirement. However, as part of Marx’s proletariat classes, he lies
to himself by believing that he is of higher class. The salesman
influences his oldest son Biff to attempt to gain more in life
than that of the proletariat. Biff and the father, the
salesman, gets to accept the materialistic
ideals of Marxism and struggle to make ends
meet. However, they ultimately find
themselves stuck in the working class.
Capitalism
from Millers perspective can blind
one to the point of being suicidal. Willy so firmly believes
in his individualistic ideals that he
decides to take his life. He
had a life insurance
policy that he believed would help catapult his son Biff onto a better platform in society. Biff however in his soul-searching journey
throughout the play comes to reject the
capitalistic ideals of his society
and embraces the socialist view of society. He sees that
the standards that his father has tried to live his life by are false. He realizes
that his whole family is a victim of this system.
The need for material
and economic success is just a dream no better
than a lie. It is the culture that has been created
by the powerful few who control
the media through which they can alter our political and societal views.
3.0 CONCLUSION.
Arthur
Miller’s All My Sons is a perfect illustration of literary works
that would build up, on approaching the end, it simultaneously gives a satisfaction to the reader’s expectations and then conveys all the themes
of the play into a theatrical conclusion. As days
slowly bubbles into the current days,
the subscriber starts to require some individual confrontations-
and judgments- to take place. The
Miller’s finale that was crafted in a deftly way for his work is full
of dramatic irony that finally puts the
reader thoughtful. Finally, all the wrongs
are revenged, and the inside and outside
circles -both family and society-
all come to crash together.
Though the writer is somewhat slow, to
creating the main subject,
in his exposition, once it’s set, the major themes develop
into very influential communications that hold meaning for everybody: if you can look
outside their individual rounds, they are fated to an uninformed that’s ends in a tragic instance
of apprehension.
Keller drives over this painful and a slow
course of realization. All this
I consider as hard work for him
to maintain a sightless unfamiliarity concerning his delinquency, and his culpability, however,
despite the efforts he makes, the tainted past slowly creeps into his inner circles,
which is the only word that he consents himself to identify (Arthur).
Coming to
Arthur’s Death of Salesman, I would consider this work as the
most significant play. The play
being almost a conventional tragedy, it provokes much
controversy because of the brave nature
of its central character. Even though the
work, like its Greek descents,
depicts a sense of inevitable destiny, Willy holds no enormity
in either achievements or eminence. His sheer
commonness gives the work its power. The
writer shows that calamity is not for the only
one group of people but occurs to all-
the great and
small.
On its ultimate
level, the play depicts the degeneration of Willy’s
disposition as he frantically
searches for a moment in his recollection when the world
started unraveling. Willy's
volcanic affiliation drives the action of this
play with the grownup son Biff, who is a failure in all means
of life that his father is. Willy’s impressive dreams of contentment and material success
clash with the authenticity
of his blows up as a salesman.
The ultimate irony of
the play is brought out in the last scene: though Willy struggled all his lifetime to be remembered and well-liked, only his friends, and close family only attend his funeral (Miller and Enoch).
Works Cited
An
Anti-Social Socialist: a Critical Reading of Arthur Miller’s Death of a
Salesman. ACADEMY PUBLISHER, 2011.
Internet resource.
Bloom,
Harold. Arthur Miller. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers,
2003. Print.
Miller,
Arthur, Stuart, Pankin, and Jerome Dempsey. The Crucible. New York:
Caedmon, 1995. Print.
Sterling,
Eric. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2008.
Internet resource.
Williams,
Liza, and Kent, Paul. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman.
Woodbury, N.Y: Barron's, 1984. Print.
Bigsby, C. W. E. Arthur Miller: 1915-1962.
Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard UP, 2009. Print.
Miller, Arthur, and Enoch Brater. Death of a
Salesman. Methuen Drama Student ed. London: Methuen Drama, 2010. Print.
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