The Quest for Identity in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

Authors

  • Himadri Sekhar Roy [Ph. D. Research Scholar (ICCR), University of Pune] Assistant Professor of English, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh

Keywords:

Identity Crisis, Death of a Salesman;, Willy Loman

Abstract

The paper deals with Miller’s technique of presenting characters like Willy in his famous drama,
Death of a Salesman. The dramatist has projected the story of the central character, Willy Loman
who always wants to find his identity through the play. His faith in the myth is tested by harsh
realities which he alternately faces and flees. He fights to hold on to his identity. This means
holding on to his faith, and, in the name of faith, Willy lies constantly: about the gross sales he
has made, about the reaction of businessmen to his personality, about his boys' success and
importance, about his own prospects. These lies echo, not the drab reality about him, but the
shining hope he has. Willy must have hope because it sustains him; when identity is at stake
there are matters more important than facts and aspects.

References

Babson, Roger. Making Good in Business. New York: Penguin Books, 1921.

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. New York: Viking Press, 1949.

Ong, W.J. Frontiers in American Catholicism. New York: Yale University Press, 1957.

Porter, Thomas E. Myth and Modem American Drama. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1979.

Downloads

Published

01.07.2009

How to Cite

Himadri Sekhar Roy. (2009). The Quest for Identity in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman. Journal of Teaching and Research in English Literature, 1(1), 18–21. Retrieved from https://journals.eltai.in/index.php/jtrel/article/view/45

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2009): July

Section

Research Articles

License

Articles are the intellectual property of the authors. The Journal of Teaching and Research in English Literature does not take ownership of the copyright of any published article. Authors retain the copyright to their articles and may republish these articles as part of a book or other materials. However, while republishing an article published in JTREL, the author must ensure that the following conditions have been met:

  • The source of the publication (the title, volume, number and URL of the Journal) should be acknowledged.
  • The article will remain published on the JTREL website (except on the occasion of a retraction of the article) and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
  • We do not allow the distribution and transmission of plagiaristic works based on the articles that appear in our journal.
  • Readers may not use the articles for commercial purposes unless they get the written permission of the author and publisher. To disseminate copies for commercial purposes, write to editor.JTREL@gmail.com