Death of the Salesman

A detailed Summary of Death of the Salesman

Importance of language and Structural techniques in conveying the significance of Discovery

An important aspect of an individual's growth and development is that person's discoveries. "The death of a Salesman", by Arthur Miller concerns the last days in the life of Willy Loman, a delusional and confused man in his latter part of life. The play explores the nature of discovery in its many forms as objective personal realisations and the understanding of reality. "My father began as a god" by Ian Davis is a poem of an individual's changing perspective of his father from childhood through to adulthood. "Big brother", a diary entry by James Hacker from YES MINISTER is about Hacker's discoveries of the true nature of his department as well as his actions to change the faults. These three texts above-mentioned use a special set of language and structural techniques to administer the importance of discoveries in the maturation and development of a person.

Furthermore, Willy's inability to discover and completely comprehend that he is delusional is an essential aspect of Willy's character that inevitably leads to his death. Through Willy's failure as a consequence of the lack of discoveries made by him the employment of the ingenious

Similar to the discovery by Willy that he is a failure is the revelation James Hacker experiences in "'Big Brother' a diary entry form "Yes Minister, the diaries of a cabinet minister by RT HON. James Hacker" that he, the minister has been manipulated and overrun by the Civil Servants. The importance of Hackers recognition is demonstrated through a combination of the colloquial language of the ordinary man (Hacker) and the impenetrably formal and evasive language of the elite bureaucrats. Hacker's time spent as the Minister for the Department of Administrative Affairs (DAA) had been not just but a futile attempt to run the DAA but a time exhausted in carrying out the desires of the Civil Servants. In trying, to implement his proposal to keep a database on all the British citizens Hacker is confronted by Sir Humphrey the Permanent Undersecretary of State and his delaying tactics. Amidst this predicament, Hacker is forced to decide whether to attend a meeting with the Prime Minister or to spend time with his wife Annie for their anniversary. This dilemma leads Hacker to a dismal conversation with Annie at which point he realises that he has been a mere mouthpiece, a puppet in the hands of the Civil servants. "Maybe they should get Miss Piggy to do your job. At least she's prettier" declares Annie to Hacker as the answer to Hackers question of "Do you think I've become a puppet too?" It is this use of colloquial language, that is taken for granted that conveys the importance of Hacker's discovery. "Minister, I quite appreciate your intention and I fully agree that there is a need for safeguards but I'm wondering if this is the right way to achieve it" is the reply by Humphrey to a simple question by Hacker of whether Humphrey had drafted the safeguards for the Data Base. The clever use of vernacular language is especially notable as Hacker is an ordinary man and vernacular language is spoken by the ordinary people. The use of vernacular language is essential in the transmission to the responders of the importance of discoveries in the lives of individuals. Willy says this to his sons and thanks god that "you're both built like Adonises" indicating that having a good appearance would determine their success in the business world. This use of middleclass American lingo is used to emphasise Willy's notion of having a good appearance. When Charley revealed to Willy that Bernard had become great and was about to argue a case in the front of the Supreme Court, Willy is shocked, pained and happy "No! The Supreme

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1719
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels