Blog 06: Death of a Salesman

In today’s blog, the focus will be the next of our A Level texts: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

With all of these blog posts, I’ll be highlighting three important things to consider to elevate your exam responses.

Key Character

Biff. All the members of the Loman family (the play on words in the surname is clear, remember) were candidates for this, but I do like Biff as (a) the locus of Willy’s desires for a future that can never come and (b) a perfect example of that stereotypical figure of tragedy, someone whose greatest achievement in life came in his late teens, and who has spent 50% of his life trying to regain this glory (see also Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby).

Key Theme

Reputation. Willy talks about being ‘vital in New England’, but this is a reminder that the world has moved on: what matters now, in post-WWII America, is making sales and generating income; the ‘American Dream’ to which Willy still clings is based on success coming as a result of ‘who you know’. Willy has been left behind, with tragic consequences.

Key Quotation

‘The grass don't grow any more, you can't raise a carrot in the backyard’: symbolises the extent to which Willy feels boxed in physically by the urban growth that surrounds him — but also mentally, as he no longer has the commotion with nature that he feels was there in the past: there is something unnatural about his current state.

📌 If you want more of this focus on character, theme, language, and context to prepare you for your exams, get in touch.