Death Of A Salesman, Certain Private Conversations In Two Acts And A Requiem

Two months ago I secured two tickets for my wife and me to attend the short revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. It has been many years since I had seen this play on the movie screen and I wanted to get the feel for the dialogue and the staging of the play. Hence I bought this script. The current revival currently being played at the Ethel Barrymore Theater is directed by Mike Nichols and starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Linda Emond and Andrew Garfield. The story in and of itself is a classic tragedy which was written for the late 1940's after WWII, but in a sense could be written in any time period. The story represents Willy Loman's hopes and dreams as he wishes the world to be. The tragedy is that what Willy is striving for and trying to become turns into a shattered dream. Life as he knows it does not bear the fruit he thought it would bear. His struggles represent what many people in life deal with and try to secure the elusive American Dream. How the script reads and says is magnificent in its portrayal of a man struggling to achieve his goals. This play is magnificent in its portrayal of a man struggling to achieve his goals.The story and the writing of Miller are indeed magnificent. However in seeing this production of the play done so well in its current revival, I can't envision this play being done any better than the current production. The current revival takes the writing of the script and is acted out by a superb cast earning this classic play the absolute pantheon of Broadway productions. Many reviews have said that what Miller brought forth in mid-20th century America of a struggling middle class man trying to fulfill the American Dream is still relevant in today's economy and that things really haven't changed. Yes Willie Loman was part of the 99% and yes even back in 1949 there still was that 1% who seemingly controlled the American Dream. I'm glad I read the script before attending this classic performance. As for the performance itself. It will remain an unforgettable afternoon which was acted superbly and with much real emotion. Truly unforgettable.

It arrived on ti.e and as described, much to my son's dismay. His English teacher is so happy that he brought his own book, and I'm happy he's reading it!

I read this book/play because I've always heard it by name, heard references about it and just wanted to see what it was really about. I gathered that by the title that a salesman died, but did not know that it was literally was going to be that. I thought that there may have been some kind of metaphor at play with the title. Anyway, it follows Willy Loman and his last day on earth. He is 63 and from the looks of it, looks like he is suffering from some form of early onset dementia. He talks to himself and the stress of life at his age is starting to wear on him. He's starting to wonder if everything that he has done really amounted to anything. He is married and has two boys. They are mid 30's and have not really done much with their lives. And they stay at home with them. In Willy's eyes, they are some what failures, but he is still holding out that they will somehow blossom into more. Can't say much without spoiling of course since it is a pretty simple read so I will review William Lowman himself. He is a typical salesman and he is a guy that puts “personality and character” over substance. You see it in the way he raises his sons and the way they turned out versus the boys best friend Bernard who goes on tho do bigger things. If you can't tell, Bernard is more on the quiet, diligent side of the spectrum. His father did not do much to egg him on either. Bernard's father was more hands off. Willy feels that his boys have to have “contacts” and have not made it unless everybody knows the name Loman. I think that ultimately leads them to not truly establishing themselves properly because they are being molded for a profession that really does not fit them. I also believe that Willy is doing this because he did not have the upbringing that he is providing for his boys. He does not remember much of his father and does not speak of any experiences of him either. So I am guessing that he is compensating by trying to do the opposite for his sons. He wants to be there all the time for them. The original helicopter father. The only time that he talks of his youth is when he is recalling memories of his brother. His brother Ben has officially “made it” in his eyes. Seeing that he always questions himself and Ben if he has raised his sons on the right path. That being said, Willy has some pretty hard hitting revelations hit him on his last day. I say for spoilers but you really see what drives him to do what he does. It was a good book. I read it on my Kindle Voyage. Would I buy a copy for the bookshelf? I think so.

Arthur Miller wrote an outstanding play on the human condition as it pursues the traditional American dream. Willy Loman is a man of high self-esteem and expectations, who always waited for the big hit to occur, yet it never did. He then gets to late in life and looks around to find all those whom he admired and didn't had made something of themselves, while he was still in the same salesman position he was in as a young man. The book switches between his memories and reality, which reflects his true state of mind, being linked to what is perceived as a glorious past in many different ways: - He was an extremely well liked person, had great connections, which was the basis of his self-esteem. - His sons were outstanding and capable of taking on the world. That glorious past was pitted against the crude reality: - The world changed and he knows no one anymore, which coupled with his old age, makes him unproductive and leads his to be fired from his long time job. He is fired by the son of the company founder, who had made him many promisses and kept his hopes up, hopes which were not fulfilled. - His son is a poorly adjusted man, never being able to focus on anything, preferring to go west for long stretches without accomplishing anything meaningful in Willy's eyes. Willy gets trapped in an imaginary world, swithcing from the reality of his and his family's shortcomings and the potential that layed before them as young men (his and his sons'). This is a short but densely written story, one of those few that will open a small window into a failed man's heart and let you peek inside.

not my cup of tea. too descriptive for my liking.

If you’re not use to reading screenplays, might be a bit confusing. It’s a lot of talking, as well. It’s a great story though, well written and easy to understand to an extent. I recommend reading this, then watching the actual film on it afterwards. Totally adding this to my collection now, along with the movie. A great way to dive into the world of capitalism and consumerism through a lens focusing on the negatives, and reality of it.

Classic novel . Cheaper than at the school bookstore

The tragic flaw of a complete culture, captured in one ordinary man that could sit right next to you in the subway tomorrow morning.

Incredible depth of character and inter relationships. What society, the world can do to a man. It takes a lot to withstand, maybe survive snd often right at the end when things are finally finished one can take it no longer- a tragedy, so real.