Emphasise the tragedy in Death of a Salesman Essay

A symbol is defined as an target or action that represents an idea, function or process, essentially anything which stands for something else. When viewed in notification to the Aristotelian model of tragedy in Poetics, milling machines naughty put on of symbolism in Death of a Salesman contradicts a make out premise within Aristotles tragedian theory, labelling the sad zeps hamartia as the cause for their downfall. moth miller uses symbols to explore the compositions of success, freedom and failure, as salubrious as to help shape our view of his characters.Throughout the routine milling machine emphasises the strength of these symbols through the elbow room they affect the Loman family and in particular Willy, whose coercion with the the Statesn Dream and all that it encompasses brings him to his tragical obliterate. We whitethorn consider Willy to posses the tragic flaw of hubris, which will only assist the inter diarrhoea of the material and figurative symbols m oth miller compels to entrap Willy within his beliefs, leaving him unable to escape. Inherent throughout the play is Millers heavy use of symbols to convey meanings such as hope, struggle and self-worth.Significantly, symbolism assists the tragic imagery as a life-or-death element of Millers stagecraft. Miller elaborately constructs the perfect conditions for Willys downfall in several key ways including his use of music, the motif of dreams and symbolic props. His first method is the recurring element of music use through his stage directions. The melancholy mental strain heard, played upon the flute head start from Act 1 resonates with the atmosphere and is Millers structuralism proficiency of oscillating to and from Willys smoothenion of the by.The natural element of this symbol alludes to his brings influence as a flute-maker, and its use during Willys self-examination could suggest an alternate, more than successful life pursuing in guile instead of being a salesman u nder the impression of becoming well-liked. It acts as the transition between imagination and factuality, place the scene as we meet the bold symbol of Willys unfortunate circumstance.Furthermore, the flute symbolises Willys light connection with the natural world, clearly illustrated by the stage directions as he enters Scene 1 The flute plays on. He hears but is not awake(predicate) of it By not being aware, one whitethorn consider this melody to be a calling which Willy crusades to mentally suppress. Additionally, Miller introduces his tragic hero with an afflicted perception the moment he is presented to the audience. Structurally, Miller develops this further as Willy gives us an account of his journey phratry, stating I almost forgot I was driving. This trim for his surroundings and safety illustrates just how easily his physical and mental perceptual constancy can be compromised. Alternatively, one may associate Willys spell by the thick trees and warm sun with th e almost hallucinogenic connotations of nature, or what he may be describing as such strange thoughts, with the passage possibly symbolise Willys suspension between responsibilities and his sense of nirvana, a road he confronts e very(prenominal) week of my life. The use of nature is probatory to the settings created by Miller. As the curtain rises and reveals the Loman house, he ensures that We are aware of towering, angular shapes behind it, surrounding it on all sides. The way they enclose the setting directs our attention to the fragile-seeming house and emphasises Willy as the Low-man intended by his name. One may interpret this as a pathetic fallacy, alluding to their sense of isolation and vulnerability, the reason of which being a traditional trait of the tragic hero.However, the way Miller isolates the entire Loman family reflects the way the American dream was an influence to many mountains lives and is not merely a unique flaw in Willy. The setting created by Miller corresponds with Aristotles unity of place, stating that a play should cover a single physical space and should not attempt to compress geography. This appropriately fits within the Aristotelian model as it focuses little on the power of external conflicts, but rather the intrinsic and non-progressive world view Willy is unable to escape from.This peripheral is sharply contrasted by Millers references to the hobo camp through Ben, who despite being dead before the play begins, remains a big influence to Willy and his search for capitalism. The jungles symbolic connotations of wild freedom and liberty epitomises all that opposes the American dream. One could also argue that they represent the opportunities Willy rejected due to his hubris, his hardy faith in the American dream.Rollyson explores this idea and states Willy is only as unfluctuating as the society in which he tries to sell himself, and everything from his view of America as the greatest country in the world to his idolisation of David Singleman suggests that the American dream is something he is deeply sold into. Through Millers use of a non-linear narrative, the audience gains a greater understanding of the way symbols are established and the development of the setting in which they manifest.Willys commemoration of the past makes us aware that the apartment buildings replaced their natural surroundings, most notably the two beautiful elm trees, the presences of which echo through the repeated port of leaves around their home. The construction of the apartment buildings has rendered their neighbourhood lifeless, and Willys statement The gauge dont grow any more may reflect on the state of poverty throughout the United States, induced by the Wall Street crash.He adds that they massacred the neighbourhood, with the lexical choice massacred highlighting the mercilessness of the industrialisation which compromised their way of life. The ambiguity of they may echo Willys miss of perception ov er who is truly responsible for the desolate state of their economy, represented by both Willys failure as a salesman and their home environment, isolated, unable to flourish. At this point, the audience should understand the power of these symbols, which are shown to prepare direct influence over Willys life by conciliatory his mental stability.Willys two large sample cases symbolise his lessened efforts attempting to fulfil the role of a successful provider. Their physical weight acts as a pathetic fallacy to represent Willys emotional ponderosity and an appeal to the audiences sympathy. Lindas first words pull up her anxiety of him potentially smashing the car, symbolising mobility. The irony is that no count how far he drives to work, he doesnt seem to get anyplace or achieve anything beyond his mundane routine.Miller immediately contrasts this real symbol in their present seasonframe with a mentally-constructed symbol from Willys past, open(a) to us through Willys inner thoughts That funny? I coulda give tongue to I was driving that Chevvy today. This juxtaposition of past and present tenses helps create the feeling of disorientation which we would expect Willy to experience. The Chevrolet symbolises status and success, even described by Willy as the greatest car ever built only for him to later contradict himself by asserting that they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car We may identify Willys tragic flaw as his willingness to base his very existence on material goods. Millers extensive use of such symbols reflects the obsessive nature of Willy and this effective literary technique acts as a vehicle to draw our attention to the flawed society of 20th-century America, solely preoccupied with the relentless pursuit of the tragic American dream. It is at the end of Act 2 when we discover that the car, a symbol of advance and modernity, becomes no more than an instrument for Willys suicidal downfall.Throughout Willys indwelling confli ct, Linda remains a symbol of emotional security, whose unconditional love sees past his lack of success. Her pivotal speech Willy Loman never made a apportion of money So attention must be paid mirrors the utter of Greek tragedy, acting as an interlude during which the audience reflects on the progression of the play. Linguistically, her repetitive use of negatives not and never emphasise his lack of execution and simplicity as a character.She is heavily conscious of the tragic hatful Willy is heading toward, and her devotion to him is shown as she mends her stockings. Structurally, this is placed immediately after Willys scene with The Women whom is treated with new stockings. Miller juxtaposes Willys infidelity with the dishonor he feels being unable to provide successfully shown as he acts angrily at the sight of them. The motifs of hope and dreams symbolise the search for the unobtainable, a fundamental flaw in Willys characterisation.With the working title The deep dow n of His Head, Miller originally intended to make the setting itself a natural philosophy manifestation of Willys internal mental state, with the stage layout resembling the shape of a head. One could argue that Millers use of imaginary walls-lines which characters travel through instead of the doors as to indicate a recollection of Willys past would show a comprised mental structure within Willys psyche.Although these externalities largely influence Willys behaviour, we must also consider him as symbolic, as he represents the struggling everyman whose belief in the flawed American dream is slowly killing him. Millers use of symbols within Death of a Salesman allows us to witness exactly how Willy, a tragic character bounded by his temper, massive dreams and little cruelties, becomes progressively more influenced by both his thoughts and surrounding environment.By stimulating our senses and heightening prominent tension, it is a quintessential device used to enhance the audienc es understanding and sense of sympathy toward this tragic character so mentally distorted by this ideal, without which there would be no tragedy to interpret. As a play famously described as a time bomb expertly placed under the edifice of Americanism, Miller makes a great effort to illustrate his beliefs of the American Dream as a corrupt ethos by showing its tragic effect on the park American man.