Dialogue/characters

By Alex Nicolson       

 

Caitlyn has already touched on this, but I'll add some ideas of my own regarding characters and their particular dialogue.

 

Perhaps most interestingly, is Biff's name, which is short, harsh, and masculine. It is monosyllabic, and comes out of the mouth with a puff of air, and is onomatopoeia-like for a punching noise. It also rhymes with "if" which is perhaps a metaphor for Biff's character as a whole. His life, at least as Willy sees it, has been a giant wasted "if." What if Biff hadn't flunked math? What if he had gone to UVA? The Ifs roll on and on.

 

Happy on the other hand, always says things to make people happy. He uses the language of compromise, even telling half-truths and outright lies to keep the illusion of tranquility in the Loman household. Happy almost constantly asks questions, belying his insecurity and also giving his lines a higher, whinier pitch. By never making statements, he never asserts himself, always phrasing things in the less decisive form of a question, asking for the approval of those around him. However, he often uses superlatives, claiming Willy "has the finest eye for color in the business," for example. He constantly exaggerates so that he never speaks his mind plainly, but rather cloaks it all in a sugar coating to keep everyone happy.

 

In stark contrast to Happy, Linda rarely asks questions, and almost always makes statements and accusations. This gives her a much more decisive, confident sound, and reinforcing her as the stable foundation the family is built on. While she speaks far less than the other characters, when she does speak, it is always a poignant observation straight to the heart of the matter, with no frills or fluff.

Hodge Character Analysis

by Logan Turner

Name Desire Will Moral Stance Decorum Adjectives
Willy To live the American Dream, be well liked, attractive, and a good family provider. STRONG: Willy blinds himself for the entire play with his delusions, and will not give in to anyone, even going so far as to kill himself for his son. He is willing to sacrifice everything. Lives by the moral code of others. He follows the morals of Dave Singleman, and aspires to be exactly like him. He has a huge sense of duty to his family. Thinks that appearance is very important. He also wants to be well liked. Plain suits (ie: average traveling salesman), blue collar, aged Naïve, determined, caring, hopeful, wishful, driven, disillusioned, blinded, stubborn, childish, older, worn down.
Linda To be a good wife and mother. MEDIUM: She is extremely supportive of Willy, especially to his sons, but her desire is so simple, that she does not need much will to accomplish it. Duty to husband and family. Sacrificial. Dresses like a housewife. Always in the kitchen. Downtrodden, miserable, devoted, liar, housewife, dutiful, loyal.
Biff The American Dream, to be well liked and successful. Starts MEDIUM, then becomes STRONGER at end of play: initially believed everything his father told him about how to be successful, but when these things don't work out, Biff realizes his father's errors and changes his own ways and starts to become a happier person because of it. Follows ALL of Willy's values, and has not developed any of his own. Moral stance is more apt to change than Willy though, because Biff realizes how blinded they are. Attractive, strong, broad-shouldered, living in Willy's shadow. Failure, attractive, athletic, stupid, thief, disillusioned, hopeful, caring, eldest.
Happy He wants his father, Willy, to approve of him, and to be equal to Biff in Willy's eyes. WEAK: Happy has a weak will because he wants to be very different from his farther, but is so blinded by his father's ideals and philosophies that he, himself does not even realize it. He aspires to be nothing like his father, because he recognizes Willy's failures, but in the end cannot escape the family ties. Rejects his father's ways and everything to do with him, tries to live life differently. Unattractive, overweight. Youngest, somewhat responsible, a player, blinded, well-built, ambitious, self-centred, vain, hedonistic.
Charley The American Dream, to be successful and respected, but he does so in a very different way from Willy. STRONG: Charley knows who he is, where he comes from, and what he wants€¦ and he doesn't care what others think of him. He knows his place in the world and will not let anyone else sway that. He tries to help Willy realize his delusions. Businesslike dress, nicer suits that Willy, confident. Practical, not superficial, friendly, caring, successful, practical, ethical.

Idea and Metaphor-Construction of Nominal Phrase Used to Express Idea

By Eric Houdek 

Alright, for assigning our statement to the meaning of the play, I think there are a few crucial factors we must consider€¦

-Willy Loman followed the American dream, and it failed him. 

-Willy Loman believed that all a man needed to succeed was to be well liked by his peers.  This belief failed him as well as his son Biff.

-Biff Loman realized that his father and his family were common people, not destined for greatness. 

-Although Happy Loman says that Willy did not die in vain, it is clearly evident that he did.  Willy Loman sacrificed his life to get some meaning out of it by obtaining it for his son Biff so he can "make it big," when Biff shows no intentions of doing so.  In fact, he plans on moving out West.  It is not even clear at the end of the play if the $20,000 is honored. 

-Do to his dependence on his belief that all a man needs is to be liked by everyone to succeed, Biff fails to reinforce many key values in his sons.  Willy fails to discourage his children from stealing, and fails to place a value in hard work and respect for women. 

-There is a great emphasis on this play placed on delusion. 

-Hopefully this information will help us to brainstorm about the nominal statement identifying the idea in the play…

Idea and Metaphor- More Philosophical Statements…

By Eric Houdek

Willy: Figure it out.  WOrk a lifetime to pay off ahouse.  You finally own it, and there’s nobody to live in it.(Pg. 15)

Willy: Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!” (Pg. 16)

Willy: The world is an oyster but you don’t crack it open o a matress!(Page 41) Alejandro pointed this out.  

Charley: When a deposit bottle is broken you don’t get your nickel back.(Page 44)

Idea and Metaphor-Meaning of the Title

By Eric HoudekDeath of a Salesman is a play in which the title comes into play throughout the course of the story.  All of the action and events in the story finally add up into Willy Loman's death, which indeed turns out to be the death of a salesman.  However, it is important to remember that Willy Loman's death was self-inflicted.  Death of a Salesman explores the many situations and conditions that have caused Willy to take his own life.                Willy is not the only salesman whose death is mentioned throughout the play.  Willy refers to Dave Singleman, a salesman who was still working at the age of eighty-four.  Willy cites him as the reason why he went into the occupation of being a salesman.  When Willy discusses his death and his funeral, he mentions that there were "hundreds of salesman and buyers were at his funeral."                Willy's wife Linda is constantly fearing Willy's death.  She tells her boys Biff and Happy that "Your father is dying."  Knowing that Willy has tried to crash his car multiple times and has attached a rubber hose to heater in the basement, Linda knows that Willy will kill himself soon if things do not change.              Willy himself finds much comfort in the prospect of his own death.  Realizing that he has amounted to nothing, is unable to provide for his wife, and has failed to set a foundation for his son Biff's success under the American dream, Willy finds the $20,000 awarded to his family as a result of his death as his only source of refuge.  He makes a comment to Charley, "-a man is worth more dead than alive."              The Death of a Salesman in this play points to the fact that a man that has been failed by his dreams, morals, and beliefs will find more comfort in death than life.    EDIT by: Sam Beaver  This is all true, but i think we need to dive more into the actual reasons that there is a “death of a salesman” in the play.  the main ideas to consider here are:  the nature of the american dream, the extent one will go to create a legacy, and the importance of identity.  The identity issue can be seen through Singleman in many ways, because though he was a great salesman, he still died alone.  Willy is only concerned with a meaningless legacy that Singleman left behind.  What good is it to have hundreds of men you barely know at your funeral?  Willy neglects his true legacy, his family, in the desperate search for validation that he goes on.  What we need to take away  from the title and from Singleman, I think, is the nature of the salesman’s death.  There is no legacy, they all die alone.    Miller uses the title to project the universality of this death on the road, chasing the american dream. And this is a dream that, we learn, lacks moral value.  It is true that Willy eventually loses his morals, but it seems as though he never really had any to begin with.  Though he often preaches that a man can make a fortune just by working hard and doing his best, his actions contradict this theory completely.  Miller, in my opinion, is aiming to shed light on the perceived purity of the american dream.  Perhaps this is due to the time that we live in, but I would say that Willy’s hypocrisy is meant to expose the seedy, underhanded nature of such a dream.  The play is undoubtedly a voice against this “American Dream” that hopes so many men to death, and it also highlights the futility of individual hard work.  It’s all about who you know.   Finally, one must acknowledge that this play is not called “Death of Willy Loman.” He is the subject of the play, but it is not jst about him for the reasons mentioned above.  The title aims at a situation that befalls many, not just Willy

Idea and Metaphor- Actions…

By Eric Houdek

In order to find which actions lead to the meaning, I think it will be important to list a couple of actions in the play which i believe are crucial in the play.  Feel free to add to this list or disagree with this list.  I hope we can come up with a nominal phrase which establishes the meaning of the play…

-Willy Loman’s first argument with Charley(in the sequence of the play)

-Willy’s argument with Howard, resulting in the loss of his job.   

-Willy’s discussion and argument with Bernard. 

-Willy’s final argument with Charley, in which he turns down a job offer yet accepts a loan to pay off his insurance. 

-The argument between Biff and Willy at Dinner. 

-Biff and Happy’s abandonment of Willy at Dinner.

-Biff’s final argument with Willy.  

-Willy’s taking of his own life.

-Charley, Biff, and Happy’s final statements about Willy’s life. 

-Linda’s final goodbye to Willy.

Caitlyn Duer – Dialogue (Preliminary Ideas)

The speech of the characters of Death of a Salesman belies their posts in life, concerning both class and family station.  Ben has very precise language, filling in the gaps in Willy’s memories with perfect recall in clipped sentences.  He also has language more associated with the upper class (such as an advanced vocabulary of multi-syllabic words) and addresses Willy formally as “William”.

While Willy strives  toward the ideal that Ben represents, his language betrays his true nature as a common man.  He uses words like “goddammit”, “y’know”, “goin'”, and “don’t” instead of “doesn’t”.  Willy also skips around from idea to idea, as when he argues with Howard:

“I’m talking about your father!  There were promises made across this desk!  You mustn’t tell me you’ve got people to see – I put thirty-six years into this firm, Howard, and now I can’t pay my insurance!  You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of fruit!  Now pay attention.  Your father – in 1928 I had a big year.  I averaged a hundred and seventy dollars a week in commissions”.

In one paragraph, Willy skips from the problems of his reality to his idealistic philosophy of life to a tangential story from the past.  He repeats this pattern countless times throughout the play.  It belies the disparity between Willy’s facade of success and his reality of failure, as he is constantly jumping around in his speech to keep the facade and reality in balance.  The pattern also contrasts heavily with the direct dialogue of Ben, who as an honestly successful man has nothing to prove or hide.

The language of the rest of the Lomans denotes their family roles.  Linda constantly punctuates her speech with terms of endearment (“dear” and “darling”) and is often using imperative sentences to give instructions to the other family members..  This denotes her position in the family as a caregiver, manager, and peacemaker, traditional roles for a woman and mother.  Biff and Happy also fall into their traditional roles as wholesome young boys with their use of words like “gee whiz”, “pal”, and “scout”.  These examples are a continuation of Willy’s balancing falsehood and reality.  By using language common to their roles in life, the other Lomans attempt to project a facade of American familial perfection while hiding the truth of their failure.

Idea and Metaphor- Philosophical Statements In The Play

ERIC HOUDEK

 Willy: Without a penny to his name, three great universities are begging for him, and from there the sky’s the limit, becuse it’s not what you do, Ben.  It’s who you know and the smile on your face!  It’s contacts, Ben, contacts!(Page 86)

Bernard: Yeah, I’m going.  He takes the bottle.  Thanks, Pop.  He picks up his rackets and bag.  Good-by Willy, and don’t worry about it.  You know, “If at first you don’t succeed…”

Willy: Yes I believe in that.

Bernard: But sometimes, Willy, it’s better for a man just to walk away.

Willy: Walk away?

Bernard: That’s Right

Willy: But what if you can’t walk away?

Bernard, after a slight pause: I gues that’s when it’s tough.(Page 95)

Charley:Willy, when’re you gonna realize that them things don’t mean anything?  you named him Howard, but you can’t sell that.  the only thing you got in this world is what you can sell.  And the funny thing is that you’re a salesman and don’t know that.(Page 97)

 Willy, moving to the right: Funny, y’know?  After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointment, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.(Page 98)

Willy: A man can’t go out the way he came in, Ben, a man hast got to add up to something.(Page 125)

Biff: Pop, I’m a dime a dozen and so are you.(132)

Charley: No man only needs a little salary.(137)

Erica Brotzman – Imp. Info About Our Category!

Hey guys.  I have made a list of important information from Hodge regarding our two sections.  Hope this helps!!

Dramatic Action

  • clash of forces, continuous conflict
  • Action and characters = core of plays
  • “instruments that affect the action or are affected by it and forced to take action”
  • exists only in present tense
  • all action forces a counteraction. AKA Reciprocal Action
  • the characters make an adjustment before taking on a new action
  • plot = arrangement of action
  • a new unit is delineated when someone enters the room or the focus of the action changes
  • the smallest designation of dramatic action is a line.
  • Each unit has its own objective
  • Each speech can be reduced to a present tense verb
  • DO NOT use verbs that cannot be acted.  It must force another actor to do something.
  • page 33 gives procedure of breaking down units

Character Description

1.  Desire – what the character wants the most.  Usually not something tangible.

2.  Will – a characters strength in attaining his desires.  how much are they willing to give up?

3.  moral Stance – values.  Moral code that governs their behaviors.

4.  Decorum – physical appearance

5.  Summary adjectives – adjectives. Traits of the character their actions reveal.

Given Circumstances: Religious Environment

by Amy Szerlong

Religious

Although religion is never really discussed in the play, at least in terms of the characters' relationships to a God or other omnipotent power, there is still a strong religious environment that is apparent in the text. The constant theme of "the American Dream" is accompanied by a need for work ethic – a need of individual to make something of him/herself in order to prove his physical worth. Historically, this idea would be called a "Protestant work ethic" due to the fact that Protestants believe that whether they will go to Heaven or Hell is determined by the work that they complete in their lifetime, as opposed to the Catholic belief that iterates that the final destination of each person's spirit is predetermined by God. However, within the world of the play, the connection to the Protestant faith is not really relevant since the characters' drives are not necessarily related to the divine. Instead merely the belief in a work ethic, that hard work will allow one to succeed, is the religion within the play. Characters ultimately live and die by this rule.
The examples of this driving force within the text are prevalent, as Willy's character has a strong focus on success, and is the character who is most driven by this dogma. In the first scene of the play, Linda and Willy are discussing Biff's return home, which upsets Willy. He says, "Not finding yourself at the age of thirty-four is a disgrace!…The trouble is he's lazy goddammit!" The conflict between Willy and Biff only intensifies as the play goes on, but it is mostly centered on the idea that Biff was the member of the family who was going to "make a name for himself" but failed to do so in the prime of his life. When Willy finally learns that Biff never really will succeed (at least in Willy's terms) after the deal with Bill Oliver falls apart, Willy truly hits rock bottom. In his final hours the audience sees his desperation and his limited attempts to leave a legacy behind.

In Willy's final meeting with Charley, he utters a phrase that sums up Willy's devotion to the doctrine of work ethic. "Funny, y'know? After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive."  In this statement, Willy sums up what his life was, and how much he has gained for all of that hard work – which is nothing, since he has just borrowed money from Charley to pay his insurance. Finally though, Willy's desperation to fulfill his dream is noted when Biff and Happy leave the restaurant. He says to Stanley the waiter, "Oh, I'd better hurry. I've got to get some seeds. I've got to get some seeds right away. Nothing's planted. I don't have a thing in the ground." By saying this, it points out that Willy feels as is he has left nothing, no imprint on society, which is something he has always dreamed.