Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Death of a Salesman

This is an interesting text for me.

Despite being on my to-be-read list anyway, I decided to read this play for the purpose of comparing it to 'The Great Gatsby' for my English Literature A-Level exam this month. This was certainly a good idea with there being many parallel themes surrounding the failed pursuit of the American Dream. Furthermore, the resemblance between the final chapter of 'The Great Gatsby' and the requiem of 'The Death of a Salesman' are so similar that I implore anyone to read both texts and see for themselves.

With that being said, whilst I found the premise and ending of the play to be exceptional, I can't say that I enjoyed this text as much as I think I should. I attribute this to be in part down to the formatting of the text as a play. Whilst I can imagine that seeing a production of this text would be phenomenal, I found the sequencing of the narrative quite difficult to follow - reality and illusion, present and flashback all blending into one. This was likely intentional from Miller, trying to present a similar disorientation for the reader as that felt by the protagonist Willy Loman (due to his slow descent into madness). Nevertheless, I think as a play (or alternatively written in the format of a novella) the narrative may have been easier to follow, therefore allowing the reader/watcher to engage to a greater extent with proceedings.

To reiterate, this is not a criticism to rubbish the text as a whole - I feel very fortunate to have read this work by Miller and I think it is completely deserving of its place in the literary canon. However, this does not elevate the text beyond fault and I can't help but feel reader enjoyment would've been improved with a greater clarity in formatting.

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lovelymisanthrope's review

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dark emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I picked up a vintage copy of this book at a used bookstore because I have never read this classic play.
"Death of a Salesman" follows Willy Loman. Willy has been a salesman for 34 years, but now at sixty-years-old, he feels like he has been cast aside and has no usefulness left to contribute. He struggles with what to do with his life now, which is causing him to think about all of his past mistakes.
This play explores what it means to realize the "American dream" in a profound and moving way. Willy has worked hard his whole life and centered his life around his career, but did he do the right thing? Was it all worth it?
This story is not happy, and Willy teeters on the line of reality. The reader quickly learns that Willy is taking drastic action to change the course of his life.
I highly recommend this play, and I am intrigued to read more from Arthur Miller in the future.

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