"Death of a Salesman" premiered in 1949 and ran for 742 consecutive performances on Broadway. It won the Tony Award, the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, thus earning Arthur Miller international fame.
The script tells the tragic story of Willy Loman, a salesman. Willy, who is in his sixties, is old and frail. He is no longer popular with his customers and can only borrow money from his neighbors frequently. As a result, he often talks to himself, falling into dreams and memories that intersect with reality. He regretted that he did not go to Alaska to make a fortune like his brother Ben when he was young, and blamed his two sons for not doing their jobs properly and accomplishing nothing.
Willy's eldest son Biff is his biggest worry. Biff is thirty-five years old but still has no settlement in life. He yearns for the pastoral life on the farm, but cannot make up his mind to put it into practice. When Biff was young, he caught Willy having a tryst with his lover, which greatly stimulated him and made him more and more self-destructive. As an adult, Biff changed jobs from job to job, but none of them was successful. When Biff was a boy, Willy had unrealistic expectations for him, and he still hopes that he will succeed. In the choice of life path, the father and son had great conflicts.
Willy's wife Linda discovered that he was showing signs of committing suicide. In order to comfort his old father, Biff had no choice but to decide to borrow money from his former boss to do business, but he failed. Willy also plucked up the courage to ask his boss to stay in New York and stop doing business in New England, but his boss fired him. Willy was depressed and in a daze. His son retorted and laughed at him, saying that he was just a salesman running around.
The old salesman had had a lifelong dream, but now it was all disillusioned. In the end, in order to get a life insurance premium for his son, he crashed his car late at night and died. Before he died, he still imagined that his son would be able to get ahead with this capital.
Reader comments
A great novel.
For the protagonist Willy, looking at his difficult life and his chaotic and fragile mental state, I sympathize with him. But after seeing the bad things he did, the harm he caused to his wife and son, and his unrealistic fantasies, I despised him again. I think this book is also a warning to me: Don't be Willy.
Don't be full of unrealistic fantasies, be based on reality and work hard on the ground. "The good wind will send me to the blue sky with its strength." However, we must not completely expect charity from others, and we cannot place all our achievements and hopes on favors. Our own abilities and efforts are the most real and reliable. When dealing with others, it is okay to provide advice and encourage others, but you must not boss them around in a complacent manner and rely on your own experience to be a life mentor. Listen more and speak less, listen first and then speak.
This is a two-act play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The protagonist of the work is Willy, who has more than 30 years of sales experience. He has always been shrouded in the illusive halo of American business culture. He blindly estimates his own abilities and fantasizes about gaining fame and unrealistic bright prospects through product sales. As a result, he is often in a state of boasting, boasting, and lying. Until he dies, he believes that he will definitely achieve success and fame, but has no idea of the cause of his own destruction. The book depicts the tragic life of a small person and exposes the deception of the myth of American wealth.
This novel centers on salesman Willy Loman. Through his inner monologue and memories, it shows the frustration and despair of a man chasing the American dream in reality. Willy Loman is brought to life, and his inner world and struggles resonate with readers. This book deeply explores the falseness and emptiness of pursuit in modern society. It reveals people's desire for success and wealth, as well as the confusion and loss behind this desire. The novel triggers profound thinking about human nature by showing the bankruptcy and collapse of individuals under social competition and realistic pressure.
I wiped my eyes from my eyes as I read, "Little people will be exhausted just like big people." Whether you are reading O'Neal or Miller, you will always have a sigh of "What are people working so hard to live for?" O'Neal was hysterical, and Miller was more helpless. The self was swallowed up by the American dream, and the family was deeply hurt. Even in the end, they did not want to wake up. They would rather sacrifice their lives to pass the dream to Biff. They never reflected at all and were unwilling to see clearly who the child was. In Loman Willy's case, real life has no value, and it is far less worthy of pursuit than the desire and fame brought by the shining dream. "His fault lies in his dreams. Everything, everything is wrong." "He never understands who he is."
The work pressure of a salesman is unimaginable. This book tells the story of a young man who was abandoned by the real society. He tried to escape from the cruel reality of this world and eventually suffered a mental breakdown. The protagonist has always blindly believed in his own abilities, thinking that he could change the world and achieve good results. Sometimes people are blinded by the appearance of success and are overconfident in thinking that they can easily succeed. They ignore the fierce market competition and the changing environment, and are eventually eliminated by society.
If life can lift me up, I will definitely choose what I like and do my best. I think of Chen Nianxi's "Mote Dust", a story of blood and tears of a group of miners who were forced by life [crying] [crying]
The salesman indulged and doted on his son. On the one hand, he neglected to discipline his son's studies, causing the child to neglect his studies. On the other hand, he believed that his son was a talent and would eventually have a chance to stand out. Swinging back and forth between pride and frustration, constantly switching between hope and disappointment, collapsing in the face of cruel reality...
This book is very in-depth and allowed me to see the struggle and helplessness of a salesman. I like the character of Willy, his persistence and dreams are touching. The conflict between father and son in the play was also very real and made me think about the importance of family relationships. The development of the plot is very attractive, especially the scene where Willy dies in the car, which makes people sigh. This is a book worth reading and will make you think more about life.
The author criticizes the unrealistic American dream in the United States at that time. People were so ambitious and dreamed of unrealistic dreams. The protagonist Willy always boasted that he was a great big shot and how good he was at selling things. He was popular everywhere. However, at the end of his life, no one came to attend his funeral. It was sad.
Biff's sobriety is the author's cry.
Happy's obsession is his father's downward spiral.
A very excellent script that reflects the tragic fate of the people at the bottom of the era.
Don't watch the video for this book. I read the explanation combined with the script. I really can't understand it. It's very well written. The stage layout of the Beijing Grand Theater in 1983 is also awesome. I recommend watching the video. You can understand some of the script.
The long-standing silent scourge suddenly breaks out. Maybe Biff wasn't so miserable, he woke up.
A good drama that is still timeless nowadays
The father who hoped that his son would become a successful child could no longer adapt to the world corrupted by money, and this became a tragedy.
A great novel. For the protagonist Willy, looking at his difficult life and his chaotic and fragile mental state, I sympathize with him. But after seeing the bad things he did, the harm he caused to his wife and son, and his unrealistic fantasies, I despised him again. I think this book is also a warning to me: Don't be Willy. Don't be full of unrealistic fantasies, be based on reality and work hard on the ground. "The good wind will send me to the blue sky with its strength." However, we must not completely expect charity from others, and we cannot place all our achievements and hopes on favors. Our own abilities and efforts are the most real and reliable. When dealing with others, it is okay to provide advice and encourage others, but you must not boss them around in a complacent manner and rely on your own experience to be a life mentor. Listen more and speak less, listen first and then speak.
This is a two-act play written by American playwright Arthur Miller. The protagonist of the work is Willy, who has more than 30 years of sales experience. He has always been shrouded in the illusive halo of American business culture. He blindly estimates his own abilities and fantasizes about gaining fame and unrealistic bright prospects through product sales. As a result, he is often in a state of boasting, boasting, and lying. Until he dies, he believes that he will definitely achieve success and fame, but has no idea of the cause of his own destruction. The book depicts the tragic life of a small person and exposes the deception of the myth of American wealth.
This novel centers on salesman Willy Loman. Through his inner monologue and memories, it shows the frustration and despair of a man chasing the American dream in reality. Willy Loman is brought to life, and his inner world and struggles resonate with readers. This book deeply explores the falseness and emptiness of pursuit in modern society. It reveals people's desire for success and wealth, as well as the confusion and loss behind this desire. The novel triggers profound thinking about human nature by showing the bankruptcy and collapse of individuals under social competition and realistic pressure.
I wiped my eyes from my eyes as I read, "Little people will be exhausted just like big people." Whether you are reading O'Neal or Miller, you will always have a sigh of "What are people working so hard to live for?" O'Neal was hysterical, and Miller was more helpless. The self was swallowed up by the American dream, and the family was deeply hurt. Even in the end, they did not want to wake up. They would rather sacrifice their lives to pass the dream to Biff. They never reflected at all and were unwilling to see clearly who the child was. In Loman Willy's case, real life has no value, and it is far less worthy of pursuit than the desire and fame brought by the shining dream. "His fault lies in his dreams. Everything, everything is wrong." "He never understands who he is."
The work pressure of a salesman is unimaginable. This book tells the story of a young man who was abandoned by the real society. He tried to escape from the cruel reality of this world and eventually suffered a mental breakdown. The protagonist has always blindly believed in his own abilities, thinking that he could change the world and achieve good results. Sometimes people are blinded by the appearance of success and are overconfident in thinking that they can easily succeed. They ignore the fierce market competition and the changing environment, and are eventually eliminated by society.
If life can lift me up, I will definitely choose what I like and do my best. I think of Chen Nianxi's "Mote Dust", a story of blood and tears of a group of miners who were forced by life [crying] [crying]
The salesman indulged and doted on his son. On the one hand, he neglected to discipline his son's studies, causing the child to neglect his studies. On the other hand, he believed that his son was a talent and would eventually have a chance to stand out. Swinging back and forth between pride and frustration, constantly switching between hope and disappointment, collapsing in the face of cruel reality...
This book is very in-depth and allowed me to see the struggle and helplessness of a salesman. I like the character of Willy, his persistence and dreams are touching. The conflict between father and son in the play was also very real and made me think about the importance of family relationships. The development of the plot is very attractive, especially the scene where Willy dies in the car, which makes people sigh. This is a book worth reading and will make you think more about life.
The author criticizes the unrealistic American dream in the United States at that time. People were so ambitious and dreamed of unrealistic dreams. The protagonist Willy always boasted that he was a great big shot and how good he was at selling things. He was popular everywhere. However, at the end of his life, no one came to attend his funeral. It was sad. Biff's sobriety is the author's cry. Happy's obsession is his father's downward spiral.
A very excellent script that reflects the tragic fate of the people at the bottom of the era.
Don't watch the video for this book. I read the explanation combined with the script. I really can't understand it. It's very well written. The stage layout of the Beijing Grand Theater in 1983 is also awesome. I recommend watching the video. You can understand some of the script.
The long-standing silent scourge suddenly breaks out. Maybe Biff wasn't so miserable, he woke up.
A good drama that is still timeless nowadays
The father who hoped that his son would become a successful child could no longer adapt to the world corrupted by money, and this became a tragedy.