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Arthur Miller (стр. 3 из 4)

Willy’s flashbacks are always in 1928. This is his last happy year before his break with Biff. Willy tells young Biff to be careful with the girls and then shows the two boys a punching bag he has brought home to help Biff improve his timing. The bo

are all excited and Willy notices Biff has a new football. Football is used to symbolize immaturity in Biff and Willy (Heilman 123). He asks Biff where he got it and Biff tells Willy he borrowed it from the locker room to practice. Happy says Biff w

l get in trouble, but Willy thinks the coach will “congratulate you on your initiative.” The values Willy is teaching his son about, “personal attractiveness,” leads to more thefts and ultimately to jail. While all attention is being focused on Biff,

ppy announces, “I’m losing weight, you notice, Pop.” Willy, not paying attention, says, “Try jumping rope.” According to Schneider the lesser characters should not be ignored. Of importance is Happy’s feeling of guilt because he resents his older bro

er, Biff (xix). Later Happy lays on his back and pedals his feet while saying he’s lost weight, but still no one notices the overshadowed son. Willy tells the boys that he will have his own business someday and he will not have to leave anymore. He t

ls them it will be better than Uncle Charley’s because Uncle Charley is, “liked, but he’s not well-liked.” Willy also promises to take the boys on a trip through the New England states so they can see how well-liked he is. In reality Willy knows he is

ot well-liked so he never does take his boys. Bernard enters and tells Biff they must study because his math teacher has threatened to flunk him. Since Biff has three athletic scholarships, Willy finds studying unnecessary. He would much rather see h

son practicing or socializing so he can be well-liked. He encourages Biff to cheat off of Bernard on the final exam. Willy tells his sons that good marks in school do not mean too much, but instead, “the man who creates a personal appearance is the m

who gets ahead… Be liked and you will never want.” Biff explains to Willy that Bernard is liked, but not well-liked. It has become evident that Biff is accepting all the values Willy is instilling in him and not making any of his own. This leads t

his downfall. Willy tells his boys that later in life good marks mean nothing, “Because the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead.” Linda comes on stage carrying a basket of

ash and Willy tells the boys to help their mother. Willy tells Linda he was great and sold 1,200 gross in Boston and Providence. Linda figures out how much they owe and Willy knows he only sold 200 gross and his commission does not cover what they owe

So he told Linda the truth. Annoyed with the need for a new fan belt for the refrigerator he says, “The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddam maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you finally pay for them, they’re used up.” He

uld like to own something before it breaks. When the boys were polishing the car, Willy calls it, “the greatest car ever built.” After he finds out he needs to buy a new carburetor for the car he has a quick change in temper, “that goddam Chevrolet, t

y ought to prohibit the manufacture of the car.” Willy can not face the reality that he is not a good salesman and can not understand why, “people don’t seem to take to me,” and why, “people laugh at me.” He guesses he talks too much, but Linda is alw

s there to reinforce his illusion by telling him how wonderful he is. She also fails to recognize his limitations and covers them up so he can keep building his illusion. Linda takes out some silk stockings and begins mending them. Willy thinks Charl

is a man of few words, yet people respect him. Willy worries about his appearance, but Linda assures him that he is handsome. While Linda is talking a woman appears in Willy’s mind. She is laughing while dressing. It is clear that Willy gets loneso

on the road because he is not as popular as he says. As the woman leaves she thanks Willy for the stockings. Willy feels guilty and upon returning to the happier illusion he notices Linda mending her stockings and tells her to stop. Bernard enters a

asks for Biff so they can study because it is a state test and he can not give Biff the answers. Willy is aggravated by Biff’s lack of studying and threatens to whip him. Then Bernard and Linda begin to criticize Biff as well and Willy abruptly turns

n defense of Biff. Willy tells Biff that he does not want him to be a worm like Bernard because Biff has spirit and personality.

Happy comes downstairs and Willy is saying he wishes he went to Alaska with his brother Ben. He says Ben at age seventeen, “walked-into the jungle and when I was twenty-one I walked out…and by God I was rich.” Happy tells Willy he is going to retir

him for life and although that is what Willy wants, he can not ask his boys for help because then he will have to realize that they are incapable of helping him. Willy tells his boys the, “…woods are burning. I can’t even drive a car.” When Willy s

s the woods are burning he means that life is closing in on him. Ben is Willy’s ideal because he had nothing and ended up rich. The jungle is woods for Willy. Ben conquered the jungle of life (in its figurative meaning) and Willy is trapped in burnin

woods. Thus time is running out on Willy. Every time we see Ben he has his watch out and says he only has few more minutes to catch the train. This emphasizes the concept of time hurrying past man. Ben utilized time while time simply passed Willy by

At this time Charley enters and sends Happy back upstairs. They begin to play cards and Charley offers Willy a job, but Willy refuses. Ben appears in an illusion and Willy is talking to Charley and Ben at the same time. Ben is Willy’s ideal success

ich Willy would like to obtain. Charley has practical success, which is not what Willy believes in, so when Ben appears in illusion Willy is anxious to get rid of Charley, this way Willy can indulge himself in his favorite daydream. Charley stands for

verything opposite of Willy’s view of life. Charley is not well-built, he has no personal attractiveness, he is not adventurous, and he is not well-liked. But Charley is successful. These are the reasons Willy can not accept a job from him. It would

ean Willy acknowledging that all his ideas in life were wrong. Charley tells Willy to forget about Biff, but Willy can not because he would have nothing left to remember. Biff’s success is Willy’s purpose to live and later it is his purpose to die. W

hout the memories of Biff and the hopes for a better future, Willy’s entire existence is meaningless. Willy insults Charley on his card playing and Charley goes home. Willy is now alone with Ben and asks Ben about their parents. Ben tells Willy that

eir father used to make and sell flutes giving more meaning to the flute being played in the background. Although this implies a similarity of a salesman quality between Willy and his father, we see that Willy pedals wares already made whereas his fat

r made his own flutes and sold them himself by piling the whole family in a wagon and driving across the entire midwest. Happy and Biff appear and Willy tells them that Ben is a genius, “success incarnate.” He wants to show Ben that his boys are magni

cent. Ben suddenly trips Biff and tells Biff to never fight fair with a stranger, “You’ll never get out of the jungle that way.” Willy sends his boys to the construction site to steal some lumber in an effort to show Ben their fearlessness and ruggedne

. The stealing of the lumber relates to Willy’s teaching of bad values and Biff’s stealing himself out of every job he will ever have. Charley’s reaction to the stealing is that the boys will get caught and be put in jail just like the other fearless

aracters. Ben says the stock exchange has fearless characters. As well as Biff’s approval, Willy would like Ben’s recognition. Willy expects Ben to praise him for having great sons but Ben merely says they are, “Manly chaps.”

Linda comes downstairs to check on Willy, Willy complains about being too crowded and boxed in, and decides to go for a walk even though he is wearing his slippers. Biff comes down and asks his mother what is wrong with Willy. She tells him that when

e is away Willy functions much better, but when Biff writes that he is coming home all of Willy’s dreams begin to close in on him and he becomes agitated. Linda tells Biff not to come home just to see her because he can not be disrespectful to Willy.

ttention, attention must be finally paid to such a person.” Linda tells Biff that after thirty-four years the company has put Willy back on straight commissions. Biff thinks the company is ungrateful, but Linda tells him the company is no worse than h

two sons. She tells her sons that Willy goes to Charley every week to borrow $50.00 and tells Linda that it is his salary. Biff refuses to take all the blame and accuses Willy of being a fake. Biff calls him a fake because of the scene in the hotel

Boston, but does not tell Linda. Linda tells Biff that Willy is trying to commit suicide. Last month he had a car wreck, and the insurance company thought it may have been intentional. After the car accident, she found a rubber hose attached to the

s pipe. This is the first introduction of suicide in the play. Arthur Miller is trying to prepare the audience to accept Willy’s suicide as a result of cause and effect. Linda tells Biff, “I swear to God! Biff, his life is in your hands!” Biff says

ey all should have worked out in the open, “mixing cement on some open plain, or… be a carpenter.” Willy has just entered and represses these physical urges saying that even, “your Grandfather was better than a carpenter.” Thus Willy’s dreams make h

aim higher than his heart would like. Biff and Willy argue and Willy tells Biff not to curse in the house. Then Biff, referring to the hotel scene in Boston, asks, “When did you get so clean?” Happy tells Willy that Biff is going to see Bill Oliver.

Willy gets excited over the idea and tells Biff to wear a dark suit, to talk as little as possible, and not to tell any jokes. Willy was being realistic, teaching Biff not to be like Willy Loman, but to conduct himself as Charley would. Biff says he wi

ask for $10,000.00 and Willy tells him to ask for $15,000.00 because if you start out big you end up big. Contrary to before Willy gets caught up in his illusions and tells him to begin with some jokes because “personality” always wins the day. Not o

y is Willy getting caught up in his dreams but even Biff is beginning to believe that Oliver will lend him this large sum. When Linda puts in a few words Willy yells at her to stop interrupting. It gets to the point where Biff can’t take it anymore and

emands that Willy not “yell at her.” Subconsciously Willy takes out his own sense of guilt by yelling at his wife. Biff is upset by this, yells at Willy, and Willy leaves. Linda follows Willy up to the bedroom and Linda reminds Willy that the plumbi

needs to be fixed. Now Willy feels everything is falling to pieces. The two boys come in to say good-night. Willy falls back into his dreams and could only think of Biff’s greatness. He gives Biff more advice about what to do in the interview with

iver and Biff begins to feel the greatness in himself. While Willy is reminiscing about Biff’s greatness, Happy, feeling overshadowed by Biff, tries to get his parents’ attention by saying, “I’m gonna get married.” This serves the same purpose as “I’m

osing weight,” in the earlier scenes. Biff goes down to the kitchen and removes the rubber tubing, ending Act I on the thought of suicide.

Act II opens up with a touch of hope and joy. Willy wakes up after a good night’s sleep and finds that Biff has already left to see Oliver. Willy feels good and would like to buy some seeds to see if they will grow in the backyard because he has a st

ng need to create something material to leave behind, something Ben says, one can see and touch. Willy is determined to tell Howard he needs a New York job. On his way out Linda reminds him of the bills they owe. Willy resents the refrigerator repair

ill because he bought an off-brand while Charley bought a well-advertised brand that has never needed any repairs. Willy also has one last payment on the mortgage and the house finally belongs to them. Linda tells Willy he is to meet Biff and Happy fo

dinner. Once again Willy asks Linda to stop mending her stockings.

Willy is at Howard’s office and is not only denied a job in New York but was fired from the firm. Willy pleads saying he would only need a few dollars a week, reminding Howard of how many years he has been with the company, and the promises made to hi

by Howard’s father. “You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of fruit.” He also told him the story about David Singleman. Willy tells Howard he averaged $170.00 a week back in 1928, but Howard states that he never aver

ed so much. Howard suggests that Willy gets help from his sons, but Willy can’t go to them because the fact that they are fine boys is a part of Willy’s lies and illusions. Right after being fired and hitting an all time low, Ben appears offering Will

a job in Alaska, but Linda reminds Willy of the partnership promised by old man Wagner. Willy has to miss out on this opportunity to go to Alaska with Ben because he is trapped in his lies about his position in the Wagner firm. Willy tells Ben he is b

lding something, personality and connections. Ben’s idea of building something is so you can “lay your hand on it.” Since Willy has nothing tangible he tries to grow things in the backyard. Ben leaves and everyone is in a rush to go to Ebbets Field f

Biff’s football game. As everyone is getting in the car Charley appears pretending not to know that they are going to see Biff’s game. Willy become very agitated and his display of fury shows his immaturity.

While thinking about the past Willy has been walking to Charley’s office and is at the height of his anger upon arriving at Charley’s to borrow money. Willy talks to Bernard and is impressed that Bernard will be playing tennis with his own tennis rack

s on some private courts. Willy seeks Bernard’s advice about where Biff, the popular athlete, went wrong, but once Bernard said the two boys fought for no reason after Biff came home from Boston, Willy becomes defensive and yells angrily at him. Charl

enters and sends Bernard off to the train so he can argue a case before the Supreme Court. Willy asks Charley for $110.00 so he can pay his insurance. Charley offers Willy a job but Willy insists that he has one. In a small argument Charley asks, “W

n the hell are you going to grow up,” a question he asked in the previous flashback. When Charley asks Willy how much he needs, Willy admits that he has been fired, but still refuses to work for Charley. If Willy worked for Charley it would be an adm

sion that his life has been a failure. Charley gives Willy the money and Willy says that a man ends up worth more dead than alive. Before leaving Willy realizes that Charley, whom he previously felt was an enemy, is actually the only friend he has.

Happy and Biff are at the restaurant. Happy is flirting with a girl and when she leaves to find a friend to join them, Biff explains how he had to wait all day to see Oliver who did not remember him. Biff discovers, “What a ridiculous lie my whole li

has been.” He has always stolen as a result of feeling neglected. The fright of seeing himself for what he really is, caused Biff to steal Oliver’s fountain pen. Happy opposes telling the truth to Willy, but when Willy joins them in the restaurant B

f tries to make Willy understand reality. Biff’s attempt to communicate with his father and bring him out of his world of illusion is unsuccessful. In despair Biff cries to Happy, “I can’t talk to him!” The failure of Biff with Oliver brings to Willy

mind the failure Biff was in math. As Biff tells the truth, Willy’s dreams overpower Biff’s realistic talk. Willy closes his mind to reality and feels that Biff is spiting him because Biff refuses to do as he says. The break in Willy and Biff’s rela

onship was a result of the woman in Willy’s room in Boston. Willy blames the hotel discovery on the fact that Biff failed math. “If you hadn’t flunked, you’d've been set by now!” Willy hears a woman’s voice asking him to open the door and he gets fri

tened and goes to the bathroom. While he is in there Happy wants to leave. Biff says Willy is, “A fine, troubled prince. A hard-working unappreciated prince. A pal, you understand? A good companion. Always for his boys.” This is a sudden change fro

his calling Willy a fake earlier. This is because Biff has come out of Willy’s world of illusions and has begun functioning on reality. Looking back on Willy he notices Willy’s faults but now can see lots of values. This realization makes him beg Hap

to help him reach Willy. Happy wants to leave and Biff accuses him of not caring about his father. Happy denies his father, “No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy.” This is a result of the brutal rejection Happy has been subjected to throughout