Death of a Salesman-Arthur Miller

    I didn’t think that reading the Death of a Salesman script was bad; I understood the premise and was kept relatively interested, despite the focus on dialogue. However, I think it’s definitely better to experience Death of a Salesman as a movie. Having a solid image of a character is always nice; when I read, I have vague ideas of character’s appearance, but it’s charming to see specific characteristics on actual faces. I also didn’t like reading names at the beginning of each line, so watching the movie made it easier to focus on the plot and less on who was speaking. The movie does a really good job of showing just how obsessed Willy is with the American dream, money, and reputation; it didn’t register with me while reading the play, but Willy isn’t the kind of person I imagined him to be. I thought he was run-down, sad, and crushed by the repeated failures he couldn’t recover from, which I still think is relevant and true, but he doesn’t outwardly express that kind of sorrow, for the most part. He’s loud and lively, constantly moving, speaking, and remembering. A lot of that can be attributed to dementia (or whatever Willy was suffering from); Willy’s worst moments, the ones where he does something awful despite being in high spirits, tend to happen whenever his past memories get tangled with the present. 

    I lost a lot of sympathy for Willy after watching the film; I hadn’t imagined his lines to be spoken so aggressively. In the scene where we first see Willy, a small man with glasses carrying two large briefcases, I immediately felt bad. He looked like a friendly little old man; his tone didn’t reflect that, especially when speaking to his wife. I know that Willy couldn’t have been a great husband to Linda, given that he cheated on her, but reading the play didn’t give me the same impression as watching it happen. I didn’t pick up on how terrible he was at all; between Biff, Happy, and Linda, Willy did a lot of unnecessary yelling. He treated Linda horribly, even though she was the only one who stuck with and supported him until the end. I know Willy experienced the crushing realization that a lifetime of effort had not led to the future he wanted, but he shouldn’t have projected the disappointment onto everyone else. 

    I was not expecting ‘young’ Biff and Happy to be played by the same actors as present Biff and Happy. Maybe this has something to do with Willy’s refusal to let go of the hopes he had for Biff; he still views his son as the star he was in high school because he wants to believe that Biff has the same youth and potential as he did back then. It was also just funny to me; in flashback scenes, the only thing different about Biff was his sweater. 

    The movie made it much easier for me to understand and resonate with the characters, particularly Biff. His struggle to find something he’s passionate about hit home, though his reason is different from mine. Biff was pushed to become a salesman, though he lacked the academic skills to succeed, and he didn’t care for the type of career that Willy thought was ideal for a successful young man. He wasn’t interested in a job oriented around business or academics; Biff mentions his dream of living on a ranch and working outside multiple times throughout the movie. I have the exact same thought. 

    Overall, I understand why this movie might be viewed as controversial. A man works his entire life and comes out with nothing; watching Willy get crushed under the capitalist boot after a lifetime of doing exactly what was expected of him was depressingly realistic. Writing this makes me wonder if I’m doing the right thing with my life. Nothing is guaranteed to work out, as proven by Willy; if people must work until they’re old, why would you choose to do something you don’t genuinely love? Choosing a major or career path based on the pay sounds miserable enough, especially if it doesn’t guarantee you the promised reward.