Death of a Salesman Flashcards
Key term:
What does consumerism mean
a contemporary society’s obsession with spending on new products
Key term:
What does irony mean
saying something in a way which conveys a different/ opposite meaning
Key term:
What does materialism mean
an excessive regard for material possessions
Key term:
What does the American dream mean
Dream of land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone with opportunity for each according to their ability/ achievement
Key term:
What does Requiem mean
A religious ceremony and mass for the dead
Key term:
What does Protagonist mean
the main character in a plot/story
Key term:
What does objectification mean
the action of degrading someone to the status of a object
Key term:
What does tragedy mean
a serious play in which represents the disastrous downfall of the main character
Key term:
What does hubris mean
excessive pride which leads to the downfall of the protagonist
Key term:
What does capitalism mean
an economic and political system in which a country’s trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit rather than the state
Key term:
What is realism
artistic movement in France 19th century
sought to accurately portray characters, situations and problems
Plays based on realism often link to social problems
Key term:
What is expressionism
reaction to realism and began in the 1900’s
Sought to portray the inner psychological life of a character
Lights used to create atmosphere
Key term:
What is mobile concurrency
The past impending on the present
Key term:
What is a domestic tragedy
Domestic tragedy is a type of drama where the tragic protagonists are ordinary middle-class or lower-class individuals,
Motifs:
How does the motif ‘jungle/ woods’ link to the play (use quotes)
woods/ jungle - symbol for life (shown through the colour green) and taking risks in life (shown through how jungle is associated with the word unknown
Ben isn’t afraid of taking risks e.g. ‘Walked into the jungle - took control of his life - determined his destiny (Act 1)
Willy is more fearful of taking risks e.g. when he loses his job ‘the woods of burning’ - everything that he knew of has gone - his security is lost - he is afraid of the unknown (Act 2)
Ben tell tells Willy that ‘the jungle is dark’ but he must walk into it - telling him to take control by committing suicide - by him committing suicide he can control the way the boys think of him (as a hero - from Willy’s perspective). (Act 2)
Motifs:
How does the motif ‘diamonds’ link to the play (use quotes)
Diamond - a symbol for success - materialism
Ben finds diamonds in the jungle and gives Willy a diamond watch ‘ didn’t he give me a watch fob with a diamond in it’ - Willy (Act 1)
Willy pawns watch for Biff’s course - trying to pass ‘success’ to Biff ‘You pawned it dear (…) for Biff’s radio correspondence course’ - Linda (Act 1)
Tries to do this again by committing suicide and leaving money to Biff - He’ll worship me for it’ - Willy referring to the life insurance Biff will receive if he commits suicide ($20,000)
Willy has a vision of success Biff can achieve with the insurance money - Can you imagine the magnificence of with twenty thousand dollars in his pocket (…) he’ll be ahead of Bernard again) - Willy (Act 2)
Motifs:
How does the motif ‘the garden’ link to the play (use quotes)
Garden - symbol of Willy’s desire to create a good life for his family - full of vegetables - vegetables of nutritious and good
Willy is trying to ‘grow’ something for his family e.g. he wants to be successful and support them
At the end, one of his last acts in life is a futile attempt to plant seeds ‘He holds a flashlight to look at the seed packets’ - Stage directions (Act 1) - it is night time nothing is going to grow.
Willy never achieves success in life and he also never plants his garden ‘Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper’ - Linda (Act 1)
Motifs:
How does the motif ‘stockings’ link to the play (use quotes)
Stockings - represent Willy’s affair with the Woman and a symbol of material wealth
Linda is seen to be mending stockings while the Woman is given new ones. ‘Just mending my stockings they’re so expensive (…) I won’t have you mending stockings in this house’ Willy and Linda talking about stockings (Act 1)
When Biff finds out about the affair. He is particularly hurt by the fact that Willy has given stockings to the woman he is having an affair with. Shows how Willy is prioritising the women over his family. Trying to be something he is not. ‘You - you gave her Mama’s stockings!’ Biff (Act 2)
Motifs:
How does the motif ‘falling/ down’ link to the play (use quotes)
fall, falling, down - appear again and again and emphasise the fall of Willy and his family
Willy is described as beaten down and he lies back exhausted (Act 1)
When Biff steals Oliver’s pen he runs down 11 flights of stairs (Act 2) ‘ I ran down all eleven flights. I ran and ran and ran’ Biff
When Willy dies, Linda lays flowers at his grave ‘ Linda lays down the the flowers, kneels and sits back on her heels’ Stage directions (Act 2)
Motifs:
How does the motif ‘stealing’ link to the play (use quotes)
Stealing represents the way that their true identities have been stolen by lying and the pursuit of the American dream
Stealing is a symptom of weakness in character, of wanting to have something that you didn’t earn, be something that you’re not.
Both Happy and Biff steal
Happy steals people’s fiancés ‘I don’t want the girl an still I take it and I love it’ Happy (Act 1)
Biff steals footballs, a fountain pen ‘I took his fountain pen’ (Act 2)
WILLY (laughing with him at the theft): I want you to return that Willy (Act 1)
