Death of a Salesman

I am extremely excited because today my Theatre class begins Death of a Salesman. Since Arthur Miller's Pulitzer Prize-winning play is one of my all-time favorites, I cannot wait for my class to meet Willy Loman and his less-than-successful family. As characters they are enduring, and their struggle is poignant and affective. There is perhaps no better and more accessible play to portray the realities of the American Dream and to scrutinize the American family and the American landscape of the time.

What will become particular interesting is how my Theatre students will draw parallels between the characters in Long Day's Journey Into Night and those in Death of a Salesman. I'm particularly interested in observing their conclusions about the father figures in both plays and how they relate and differ.

I wonder if certain elements of Miller's characterization, especially of Willy, will become immediately evident, or if the students will discover, as I did upon first reading this play my Freshman year of high school, the triumph, tragedy and irony of Willy's existence. I cannot wait for the class to begin reading.