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ARTHUR MILLER - Coggle Diagram
ARTHUR MILLER
DEATH OF A SALESMAN
STRUCTURE
2 acts + requiem
notice:
freedom of choice in the structure --> vs. shakespearian theatre: 5 acts
requiem = linked to religion --> the protagonist dies
:warning: plot vs. stories --> a lot of flashback and reveries (importance of music): the story begins at the end of the plot when Wiklly is already aged and
according to Miller Willy's reverie are not flashback technically speaking beacuse Willy is mentally instable and he overlaps past and present
THEMES
the american dream turns into the american nightmare --> conceived as dangerous for american system
:silhouettes: remember same theme as the last of my solid gold watches
THE PRESENCE OF BRANDS' NAMES
effect of realism
symbol of status
CHARACTERS
Willy Loman
his wife Linda
his sons Biff and Happy
his neighbour Charley
his neighbour's son: Bernanrd
others (es. his brother Ben + his chief Howard)
UNCLE BEN
Willy's counterpart or foil = character at odd with him
--> Ben is
cosmopolitan --> travel to Alaska
rich
successfull
dishonest
:red_flag: another foil is Bernard for Biff
BIFF
he is one of Willy's sons but he hasn't a good relationship with his father who is unhappy of his life (never made it to college, no fix job)
his father is actually the possible cause of his failure --> he decided not to take his remedial courses due to he shock of realisig that his father was cheating on his mother
he is now a cleptomanian = he steals useless things as a compensation for what he has missed
ADAPTATIONS: famous play = rich afterlife
cinema
tv
graphic novel
radio...
KEY WORD: condensation (+adding)
adaptations entails changes --> theatre = realm of as if vs cinema
CINEMA: 3 famous cinematic adaptations
1949: Lazlo Benedek
1st cinematic adaptation in black and white
least accurate if compared to the text
1966: Alex Segal
tv film (CBS)
most accurate
1985: Schlondorf
starring Dustin Hoffman --> physique du role
between the two as accuracy
most popular
born for TV than made it to the big screen
THEATRE
premiere in NY in 1949
particular theatre adaptatiion at the university of Yale in 2009 by James Bundy set in a black environment
SOURCES
the only sorce mentioned by Miller is his uncle's life
BUT we can find this recurring theme in other sources
The last of my solid gold watches - T. Williams
Death of a travelling salesman - Eudora Welty
THE GREEK THEATRE AS A MODEL
due to his university studies
the title: death = greek tragedy --> death of a great man
respect of the unity of time and space --> if we exlude the flashbacks the story ciovers a span of time of 24h and is mainly set in Willy's house
SET: Brooklyn in the late 40s = a neighbourhood in NY named from the Brooklyn bridge
populous
popular: middle-class + working class
--> we understand that Brooklyn is changing because Willy would like to have the old green B. back
STYLE:
naturalistic approach
the situation, set and charatcters are believable
respect of the unity of time
respect of the unity of space
:warning: in his interview Miler defines the play as a mix of naturalism and expressionism but actually the mere presence of flashbacks don't turn it into an expressionist work
the role of stage directions
in D. of a S. stage directions doesn't simply fullfill their role of giving directions for the representation of the text, they are real pieces of prose
A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE
SET: Red Hook - Brooklyn --> popular (working class) neighbourhood + italoamerican presence
MILLER AND THE ITALIAN LANGUAGE
predominance of english although the set is full of italian character
es: names, toponymes, although they're all italians they speack english perfectly
vs. "andimo, andiamo" immigration officers
:warning: NOTA le possibili traduzioni
CHARACTERS:
Mr Alfieri
Eddie Carbone
his wife Beatrice
his niece Katherine
bea's cousins: Marco and Rodolfo
others
EDDIE
Eddie is a longshoreman of italian origins
He is a generous man
nevertheless he has a morbid passion for his niece
although he is presenetd as a man with a pure heart, his passion will prevail and he will betray his community not to let Kate go away from him
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ROFOLPHO AND EDDIE
since eddie can't accept rodolpho's relationship with kate he convinces himself that
Rodolpho is homosexual --> he has "strange" habits for a man: he sings, he can dance, he cooks, he makes dresses...
he only wants to marry kate to have the american passport
ALFIERI
a lawyer in red hooks
he is not only a character, he plays the function of the chorus = he comments what is happening
:warning: compared to Death of a salesman there is more expressionism (Brecht)
THEMES
eddie's morbid passion --> a patriarcal society
social reality of red hook --> immigrants life
betrayal --> justice: can law always ensure justice?
THE ROLE OF BETRAYAL
Eddie's betrayal is also a reference to McCarthism --> people who were suspected to be communist tended to spill out names to save themselves
:red_flag: Miller claims he has never done hat vs elia kazan
ADAPTATIONS
Sindeny Lumets' french cinematic adaptation 'Vue du pont'
De Baggi's italian radiophonical adaptation 'Uno sguardo dal ponte'
Luchino Visconti italian cinematic adaptation ' Rocco e i suoi fratelli' --> Miller 's text is not its only source (il ponte della ghisolfa)
SIDNEY LUMET
condensation: Alfieri is only a character
compensation: there are scene that are only told in the play that are shown in the film
reorganization of scenes
noir atmosphere
docuntarism
the end: Lumet's make Eddie commit suicide with a hook to redeem himself
SOURCES
an anecdote someone told the author
greek theatre
the presence of the chorus
the tragedy: betrayal + death
the structure: the beginning is already an anticipation of the end (foreshadowing)
collaboration with Elia Kazan:
the hook (unproduced screenplay)
on the waterfront
THE TITLE: the view from the bridge is that of newyorkers on the red hook neighbourhood (social insight)
PREMIERE
we can cite 2 different premieres:
1955 - NY
1956 - London (director: Peter Brook)
Someone prefer to consider London's premiere as the "true" premiere because the text was changed between the first and the second
BIO
born in 1915 in NY
family: jewish upper-middle class --> economical problems after '29 crisis but no bankrupt
degree at the university of Michigan
1st marriage with Marylin
2nd marriage with Ingre Morath (potographer)
two sons --> second born Daniel had down syndrome = institutionalized + no relationship with his father
left-wing political tendencies = problems with HUAC
died in 2003
TECHNIQUE: naturalistic approach
FAMOUS PLAYS
All my sons
Death of a salesman
the crucible
A view from the bridge
previous works such as 'no villain' or 'the man who had all te luck' but not so famous
:warning: NOT ONLY A PLAYWRITER
prose
critical essays
screenwriter
radio drama
THEMES:
social issues
couple life
personal alienation