Pattern and Reptition in Death of a Salesman
In the play Death of a Salesman the author Arthur Miller often uses repetition of words, phrases, structual features, and ideas. The reason he does is so is to promote the meaning and tone of the play to the reader. In the following essay I will use three such examples of repetition and discuss their pattern and the affect it has on the reader. All of these examples will be focused on Willy, because he is the main character and is devilerer of Miller's theme and meaning of the play.A recuring pattern in the play is Willy and his children's constant need to be to be "well-liked." When Biff plans to ask Oliver for a job, his brother Happy encoruages him telling him he is "well-liked." Willy, lost in his memories, flashes back to when Biff and Happy were younger, recalling his aspiration to form his own business. He tells his children that his business will bigger than their uncle's because Willy believes he is more "well-liked." Later Willy and his two boys hold a coversation about Bernard and come to the conclusion that Biff will do in better in life than him because Biff is "well-liked." Willy is unable to see that being well-liked does not mean that you will be succe
ssful. He is also unable to distinguish between love and being "well-liked." Linda loves him and if hewould look at himself through her eyes, the eyes that have seen him fail many times, then he would be able to acknownlegde his flaws. But instead he feels that he must convince his family th! sing in on him like the time he has left, his debts, and his relationships with his friends, family, and mistress. Uncle Ben is the character who deals with the idea of a jungle, which is sometimes referred to as the woods by Willy. The idea that Willy must fetch a diamond out of the woods is symbolic of the turmoil his life is in. The jungle is symbolic of life, and the diamonds of success. As Willy's life is crashing down around him, he says, "The woods are burning!" In terms of imagery "the woods are burning," is a very powerful statement. Willy says this when his life begins to fall apart. Willy's brother Ben made a success of himself early in life and compared the process of gaining success to entering the jungle. Willy constantly remembers Ben saying "When I was seventeen, I walked into the jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out...And by God I was rich!" This from
Some common words found in the essay are:
Biff Happy, Arthur Miller, Willy's Ben, Miller Willy's, Uncle Ben, Willy Garden, Bernard Willy, Ben Biff, well-liked willy, Death Salesman, success life, woods symbolic, people remember, woods burning, success willy's, ,
Approximate Word count = 792
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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