NAME : IMAM NUR PRAYOGI
NIM : A320080182
CLASS : E
THE ANALYSIS OF DEATH OF A SALESMAN
A. CHARACTERS : 1. Biff Loman
2. Charlie, Bernard and Uncle Ben
3. Happy Loman
4. Linda Loman
5. Willy Loman
B. CHARACTERIZATION :
1. Biff Loman : Biff Loman is Willy's son. He was a star football player in high school.
2. Charlie, Bernard and uncle Ben
Charlie : Charlie is the Loman's next door neighbour. Charlie is Willy’s friend.
Bernard : Bernard is Charlie's goody-two-shoes son who was a childhood friends of Biff.
Uncle Ben : Ben is Willy's dead brother. Ben was a rich man who made it big in the diamond mines of Africa.
3. Happy Loman : Hap is the Loman's youngest son. He lives in an apartment in New York. Hap is of low moral character; constantly with another woman, trying to find his way in life, even though he is confident he's on the right track.
4. Linda Loman : Linda is Willy's wife and is the arbiter of peace in the family.
5. Willy Loman : Willly Loman is an elderly salesmen lost in false hopes and illusions.
C. PLOT
Willy Loman returns home after an unsuccessful business trip. Frustrated at his lack of success, his wife Linda suggests that he ask his boss Howard Wagner to allow him to work in his home city so he will not have to travel. Biff and his brother, Happy, who is also visiting, reminisce about their childhood together. Biff and Happy tell Willy that Biff plans to make a business proposition the next day in an effort to pacify their father. The next day Willy goes to ask his boss for a job in town while Biff goes to make a business proposition. Both fail, as Willy gets angry and ends up getting fired when the boss tells him to continue being a travelling salesman, while Biff makes a terrible impression during his business presentation and impulsively steals a fountain pen (an expensive symbol of status worth far more than a ball point pen). Willy then meets Bernard, who tells him that Biff originally wanted to do well in summer school, but something happened in Boston when Biff went to visit Willy there that changed his mind. Happy, Biff, and Willy meet for dinner at a restaurant, but Willy refuses to hear bad news from Biff. Biff and Happy leave their deranged father in the restaurant for a couple of young women, yet when they return home they find their mother knew they left Willy alone. Rather than listen to what Biff actually says, Willy realizes his son has forgiven him and thinks Biff will now pursue a career as a businessman. Willy decides to kill himself in an auto accident so that Biff can get enough money to start his business, yet at the funeral Biff retains his belief that he does not want to become a businessman. Happy, on the other hand, chooses to take the insurance money and follow in his father's footsteps.
D. SETTING
- The woods/jungle and diamonds
- The garden
- Moon, stars
E. THEME
Throughout the play the Lomans in general cannot distinguish between reality and illusion, particularly Willy. This is a major theme and source of conflict in the play. Willy cannot see who he and his sons are. He believes that they are great men who have what it takes to be successful and beat the business world. Unfortunately, he is mistaken. In reality, Willy and sons are not, and cannot, be successful. Certain lines in the play point to this character flaw that is present in Willy, Hap, and (for a time) Biff. For example, Willy believes that to be well liked is the means to being successful. This is an illusion that Willy lives in. Also, on the literal level, Willy very often lapses into a flashback and appears to be reliving conversations and situations that occurred years ago. This itself is an inability to see reality.
F. STYLE
- Grammatical Structure
Death of A Salesman drama use standard language and construction and language easy to understand.
- Figurative Language
Death of A Salesman drama not uses figurative language.
- Symbol and Imagery
Death of A Salesman drama not uses symbol and imagery because it is just drama script.
G. CONCLUSION
The play is divided into three main parts, Act I, Act II, and the Requiem. Each section takes place on a different day in present-day. Within Act I and Act II, the story is presented through the use of Willy's flashbacks. This use of flashback is fundamental to the structure and understanding of the play.
The story starts at present-day and Willy then lapses in and out of the past. Each flashback is somehow related the present. Very often, the contents of the flashback offer essential background knowledge for understanding why the present-day problems in the Loman family are occurring. For example, when Willy is thinking about Biff and Biff's problems, Willy is transported to the summer of Biff's senior year. The events that took place in the past expose for the reader the situations that have led up to the present-day boiling point in the Loman household.
