Death of Salesman by Arthur Miller

655 Words2 Pages

Watching Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” for the first time at London Theatre was both entertaining and frustrating. The degree of bewilderment created by the protagonist Willy Loman resulted in the loss of my undivided attention, as experiences from the past and happenings from present time fused together in what seemed to be a cluster of random thoughts and phrases. I lost focus when I tried to grasp and comprehend what was happening and at the same time attempt to distinguish between reality and imagination. After finally regaining my consciousness from the mind-puzzling events featured on stage, the play seemed to utterly shift once more, introducing a vicious circle. The storyline is unpredictable due to the time switches, and flying from scene to scene will without a doubt give you a jetlag.
Willy Loman, a character thought-provoking enough to hold his own separate review, shows throughout the play his completely skewed view on the American Dream and how to be a successful business man. In turn, Willy brainwashes his family (especially Biff and Happy, Willy’s sons) into the misguided image of the American Dream he established. Willy, clearly not an ideal father, lectures Biff and Happy in a pool of lies in how to be successful. Willy is not an ideal father in a sense that he can’t distinguish between what’s right and what’s wrong, not even for his sons.
Seeing how Willy raised his sons gave me a migraine. It got to the point where my eyes started to burn and all I wanted to do was to pull my hair out. He accepted the matter of his sons stealing, which definitely had a substantial impact on me. Just ten minutes into the performance, there was one element which I knew would haunt me for the rest of the play; Willy’s pai...

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...ng favorites. Willy does not recognize that Happy is being neglected by his father the same way Willy was neglected by his. Little as Willy knows, he should understand that open differential parenting does not only affect the less favored child, but the family as a whole. Hearing Happy’s cries for his father’s attention almost brought me to tears of contempt.
The only interesting aspect of this theatre performance was how confusing the concept was. Skipping from one time frame to another was an experience by itself. It was Willy’s presence and the influence he had on his family that made the play what it was - baffling. If you like rollercoasters with an endless amount of loops and spins, this is the play for you. On the other hand, if you are like me who prefers to keep their head intact and functioning, don’t waste your time or your thinking capabilities here.

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