27 September 2004
Sold Out: Willy Loman
Arthur Miller’s tragic play entitled Death of a Salesman can be analyzed more in depth by watching its theatrical production rather than reading the actual text. With the poignant enacted scenes and the heartfelt emotions of the characters, including those of Willy Loman’s, the movie can better justify the quality of the play than the book has. Irrefutably, the movie for Death of a Salesman displays the imperative, emphatic effects of accentuated language, actions, and tones that help to convey the deeper nuance behind Miller’s choice words.
Through the filming techniques that the director uses, the movie aids in the emphasis on Willy Loman’s obsession with structure. The director first removes the ceiling from the top of Willy’s home to show how small of a man he is compared to the world. When Willy manages to put up a ceiling, it illustrates the need for structure and also the enclosed life under it. Another slight detail that is overlooked when the play is read is Willy’s desire to tie up the swing between the two elm trees. This signifies Willy as the bonding point or the joint of the relationships within his family from one member to the next. Without him, the family may collapse in structure but the quarrels would end along with it. Even the minute side conversations become clearer and one can even notice how Willy mentions the problems of heartburn and weak bones to Charley. This is symbolic to Willy’s firmness on structure, because the two represent personal pain and stability respectively. Sometimes, Willy must sacrifice one for the other. Ultimately, he sacrifices himself, or his heart, in order to maintain structure, because his death actually brings the remainder of the family together.
Furthermore, the family’s amount of hope and faith are more accurately measured with the help of the film. With the planting and growth symbols actually demonstrated by expressing the care Willy takes for his hopeless garden, the acts that would usually go unnoticed become noticeable in the movie. For instance, Willy has been attempting to grow plants in his yard for so long, signifying his inevitable failure in materialistic success. The hope that the plants will cultivate is there, but the plants just simply do not grow under the environment and circumstances that they are in. Another plant symbol is seen at the end of the film that one may not detect in the book itself. Happy tries to give Linda flowers, but she throws them on the floor. Oddly enough, Biff picks up the remains, or in other words, aims to save the remaining pieces of what is left of his family. However, Willy is still the optimistic one who tries to preserve the flowers in a vase of water. This optimism comes into play through the words and beliefs of the characters. Willy is basically willing to work until the unpromising success comes to him, because he cannot “leave a job” until he finishes. In addition, there is a parallel between the relationships of Linda with Willy and Willy with Biff. Linda is reluctant to accept the fact that Willy is trying to kill himself. Similarly, Willy refuses to believe that Biff is a failure. However, Linda has unconditional love for Willy, and the parallel remains to say that Willy has an awkward type of unconditional love for Biff.
Underlying the hope of Willy Loman, the uncertainties and hopelessness subconsciously begin to corrupt his mind. From just the definite tone Willy uses in the film with certain statements, one can notice a reflection of Willy’s life in his utilities. He says that “all of a sudden, everything falls apart,” regarding his drains and fixtures, but it also refers to his life. Moreover, he mentions one time while standing outside that he has to “break a neck to see a star in the sky” which serves as a pun. It actually means that he has to work hard in order to see a chance at success, in which Willy does not bother to pursue due to his ego. His ego is also a tragic flaw in Biff. When Willy continues to yell at Biff about an order in the hotel room with the other woman there, Biff refuses to take his order, which is the main reason why Biff has no real career going for him too. Willy has dug a hole for Biff and himself by indulging in a false reputation of greatness.
Finally, Willy has grown too little too late in a span of sixty years which makes him inapt for society’s fast-growing pace. He is constantly comparing old versus the new or past versus the present. Even the comments about his old Chevy of how wonderful it was when it was new compared to its poor present condition show that the old Chevy will not function well without mending, but the Chevy, when it was new, was once a great machine. Miller is trying to imply that Willy needs to speed up to the modern tactics of business in order to tackle on such a big dream. He also reminds himself of the past successes rather paving the way to his own present success. Since Willy’s role models have all luckily prospered in the past, he is confined in a world surrounded by ancient and fluky beliefs. The old concept of brawns and beauty over brains does not work anymore, but since it had once worked, Willy is stuck in the old-fashioned mindset that one will do well if he is well-liked.
With all considered, the Death of a Salesman film has broadened my understanding and interpretation by just capturing Willy’s life through the lens. The stimulating visual impression it gives furthers Miller’s concepts by heightening the depth of the text. These amazing aspects of a different form of media really bring life to this play.