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Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman Stylistic Devices |
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Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman Stylistic Devices |
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| The play is about Willy's search rather than the socio-economic
enviornment in which his search takes place. To that end, the play's setting is
scrupulously devoid of detailed reminders of place and time. The Loman house is suggested
but there are no boundaries between Boston and New York or between past and present. The
play takes place in large measure withing Willy's mind. Ben, the flute music, and the voice of The Woman enhance Miller's concept that everything exists at the same time -- at least within the human mind. Normally stories are told chronologically, events occurring in logical sequence. Think of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn or The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. But sometimes one is jolted out of the ordinary scheme of things. Then life experiences may seem to intermingle, disturbing the logical flow of "reality." Willy has undergone such a jolt. As he tries to evaluate and justify his life, his past becomes a part of his present. While talking to Charley, Willy is also talking to Ben, while sitting in the restaurant with Happy and Biff, Willy is also in Boston cheating on Linda and reading the disbelief and disillusionment in Biff's eyes. Willy views his life as a totality. Conventions of time and place do not pertain. Got questions or comments? Contact Jay Edwards [Meaning and Art] [Motifs] [Character Analysis] [Verbal and Symbolic Technique] [Narrative Technique] |
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