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![Page 1: Death of a Salesman By Arthur Miller Presentation will include information on: -Biography -Modern Theater -Guiding Questions.](https://reader036.fdocuments.net/reader036/viewer/2022082505/56649cd95503460f949a22eb/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Death of a Salesman
By Arthur Miller
Presentation will include information on: -Biography
-Modern Theater -Guiding Questions
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Biography: Arthur Miller
• Born in Manhattan (upscale Harlem) on Oct. 17, 1915.
• Parents were Jewish immigrants. His father worked in the garment/textile industry.
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• The 1920s was an age of prosperity, and the concept of the “American Dream” was born.
• American Dream=work hard to earn your riches. Famous businessmen who symbolized the American Dream: JP Morgan and Henry Ford.
• Entrepreneurship was the key to success. The “salesman” was invented.
Roaring Twenties
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• In 1928, his father’s business failed.
• After the stock market crash of 1929, the family moved to Brooklyn.
• His father withdrew from business ventures, and this affected Miller.
• Miller graduated from high school, but he had to work in order to save money for college.
Miller in the 1920s
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Miller in the Great Depression
• He attended the University of Michigan in 1934.
• College experience matured his writing style and skills as well as developed his ideas and involvement in social causes.
• Miller was greatly influenced by Henrik Ibsen (father of modern drama).
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Miller in the Great Depression
• During the Great Depression, Miller watched rich people become poor overnight, and he grew cynical about the ideas of wealth and consumption.
• He wrote many plays that dealt with issues within the family structure. Miller also created characters who faced social inequities.
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Miller in the 1940s• The 1940s was an age of prosperity again.
Unlike the 1920s, the 1940s had a surplus of goods and federal income.
• Americans felts so secure in the economy that people borrowed and loaned money. Everything was bought with credit.
• The American Dream was redefined=material wealth defined success. Salesman was an ideal job for men who had little education.
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Miller in the 1950s
• McCarthyism (or Red Scare) took place in the 1950s.
• Miller wrote The Crucible, which discussed the paranoia of communism of the 1950s.
• This play brought him under the scrutiny of the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC), but his career survived this experience.
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Biography: Miller
• Miller was married three times, once to Marilyn Monroe.
• Continued to write plays and essays until his death in 2005.
• Daughter, Rebecca Miller, director/actress/writer. She was a consultant for the film version of The Crucible.
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Realism in Modern Theater
Death of a Salesman
• Time Period: Start of the 20th Century
• Realism: An attempt to reproduce faithfully the surface appearance of life, especially of ordinary people.
• Expressionism: distorting reality to create an emotional effect, especially emotional angst.
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Modern Theater continued…• Playwrights in the Modern Theater also
experimented with TIME to provide a more novelistic experience for audiences.– Miller bounces back and forth from 1931 to 1948.– Are these memories real or fabricated?
• Playwrights dealt with social issues– Miller explores the conflicts of man vs. society
(Willy Loman vs. American Dream), man vs. self (unsuccessful Willy Loman vs. ideal Willy Loman)
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Themes to Watch
• Old vs. Young Generations: Willy Loman’s values vs. his sons’ values. Explore how fatherhood affects boys’ development.
• Advancement of Technology: Willy’s battles with appliances and technology—is this symbolic of being “obsolete”?
• American Dream: is this concept futile? Is this how success and manhood are really measured? Is this concept at odds with a man’s psycho-social development?
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Guiding Questions• What is the American Dream? What are the
differences between the materialistic and the idealistic values that are associated with the American Dream?
• What comments is this play making on the idea of the American Dream and a man’s purpose in a modern world?