1.1.2 Historical Context Flashcards
Sentence summing up Death of a Salesman
Set in 1940s America, Death of a Salesman examines the rapid economic and social changes of the time.
Where & what time period was Death of a Salesman set?
Late 1940s New York City
What was going on in New York during the time in the play?
The country was beginning to emerge from the suffering of the Great Depression and WW2, on the verge on the verge of a sustained period of prosperity and growth in the late 1950s & 60s
What moment does Miller capture in society?
The American Dream with its offer of wealth, happiness and success for all who are willing to work for it, are reborn
How is America shown to be fast becoming a consumerist society?
The plays references to a range of modern goods and brands such as the Hastings Refrigerator and the Chevrolet Car
How is it shown that New York was becoming dominated with new marketing techniques?
With Willy and Linda reassuring themselves that their Hastings refrigerator must be a sound buy as it had “the biggest ads of any of them”
What does Miller explore with the character of Willy Loman?
What is being lost in the rush to modernity as his role as a travelling salesman is becoming less relevant in an age of mass-marketing strategies using new technologies such as television
What is Willy Loman a victim of?
A new, more ruthless version of capitalism which was beginning to emerge
How does Miller explore urbanisation?
As power and wealth become more concentrated in vast cities such as New York, Americans were beginning to become more distant from the countryside, both physically and spiritually
What does the sound of the flute in the beginning of the play signify?
“telling of grass and trees and the horizon”
-Millers poignant reminder of an America that is in danger of being loss or forgotten as wealth becomes increasingly concentrated in it’s rapidly expanding cities
