intro to historical context

Question 1

where is the play set?

Answer 1

in 1940’s New York city, a moment of rapid change in the US

Question 2

what was America like in the 1940’s

Answer 2

had just emerged from the great depression and WW2. It was on the verge of sustained prosperity and growth in the 1950’s and 60’s.

Question 3

explain the American dream in Miller’s play

Answer 3

-Miller captures the moment where the dream can be reborn
- the plays reference to materialistic items such as refrigerators and Chevrolets. Shows America as a consumerist society and marketing techniques

Question 4

give a quote to show America was a consumerist society

Answer 4

their Hastings refrigerator had “the biggest ads of any of them”.

Question 5

explain the historical context of Willy Loman

Answer 5

• Miller also explores what is being lost in the rush to modernity. - His hero, Willy Loman, is a victim of a new, more ruthless version of capitalism which is beginning to emerge.
• His role as travelling salesman is becoming less relevant in an age of mass-marketing strategies using new technologies such as television.

Question 6

explain the role of urbanisation

Answer 6

• Likewise, as power and wealth becomes concentrated in vast cities such as New York, Americans are beginning to become more distant from the countryside, both physically and spiritually.
• The sound of the flute which opens the play, “telling of grass and trees and the horizon”, is Miller’s poignant reminder of an America that is in danger of being lost or forgotten as wealth becomes increasingly concentrated in its rapidly expanding cities.