BEYOND THE OBVIOUS:

A detailed Summary of BEYOND THE OBVIOUS:

Things are not always as they appear. At times many things are found to have deeper meaning. Arthur Miller displays his elusive technique as symbolism in Death of a Salesman. In this play, the author uses symbolism to establish the themes of pride and success. Furthermore, symbols are used to develop the characters of Willy, Biff and Happy.

The themes of pride and success are achieved by symbols used in Arthur Miller's play. First of all, pride is shown when Willy refused to accept a recurring job offer from Charley. Charley asked Willy, ". . . What the hell is goin' on in your head? . . . I offered you a job." (Miller, 96) Willy would accept money from Charley, but would not lower himself to work for him. Charley ends up having a successful son and a good business. Even though Willy depended on Charley for income, he continually insulted him and refused a job. Willy's sons were a source of false pride for him. He would not admit to Howard that Biff and Happy were not dependable and that he could not go to them for assistance. Moreover, Howard pointed out Willy's false pride. When Willy said that his boys were ". . . working on a very big deal." (83) Howard replied by saying, "This is no time for false pride, Willy,

able to give up his dreams of becoming a success.

The character development of the men in the Loman family was aided by the use of symbols. To Happy, women symbolized his search for acceptance and approval, as well as success. As a teenager, Happy tried to tear Willy's attention away from Biff by repeatedly saying, "I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop?"(33) When Happy had grown older he still searched for acceptance and he showed an ambiguity of character at the restaurant. Happy told lies to the waiter when he asked the waiter for a certain recipe, "Stanley, [do you remember] that recipe I brought you from overseas? The one with the champagne in it?"(99) Happy used the recipe as a symbol to give him the illusion of wealth and worldliness.

That girl ... I was with tonight is engaged to be married in five weeks [and] the

" (83) Not only was Willy unable to discard his pride in times of need but he was also un!

The theme of success is symbolized throughout the play by Willy's brother, Ben, Willy's idol, Dave Singleman and in the way Willy projects success onto his sons. Firstly, Ben gave evidence that he was always successful by the way he talked and the way he dressed. The jungle was also a symbol of his success. There is evidence of this when Ben said, "When I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was twenty-one. And by God, I was rich!" (52) Ben also told Willy that in the jungle it is "dark there, but full of diamonds." (135) Willy never found any diamonds and he never found success. Next Dave Singleman was a representation of the epitome of success to Willy, and he saw Dave as a role model. Willy told Howard that the reason he became a salesman was due to Dave Singleman. Willy witnessed Singleman when he was a rookie in the sales and Willy realized that, ". . . selling was the greatest career that a man could want." (81) Willy wondered, ". . . W!

hat could be more satisfying than to be able to go, at age of eighty-four, into twenty or thirty different cities, and pick up a phone, and be remember and loved and helped by so many different people?" (81) Furthermore, Willy even envied the way that Dave Singleman died since Singleman died ". . . the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the [train]." (81) The green velvet slippers were

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Approximate Word count = 1571
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English