Chapter 18 American Drama

1) The protagonist is initially unaware of the existence of the problem. As the film develops, the protagonist becomes conscious of the problem and becomes committed to fighting against it. 2) The protagonist is helped in this process by a mirror character who communicates the true nature of the problem and suggests ways of dealing with it. 3) The problem itself is often embodied in the figure of the antagonist. The protagonist finally confronts the problem, is victorious or defeated, and the film ends.
11
About American Beauty (1999)

It is much more that: ~ is also a controversial indictment (控诉) of the excesses of feminism, commercialism, and the “me-first” philosophy, /a statement to the enduring power of beauty to raise the spirit from its lethargy (昏睡、无生 气), and --- /ultimately --- a story of the soul rebounding (弹回) from its self-imposed misery and stagnation (停滞). One of the chief attractions of the film is its engagement with a host of controversial contemporary issues concerning the concept of masculinity in the post-feminist and postindustrial society.

Independence was a war between Great Britain and the 13 British colonies。
1.The main leader and thinker of The great Awakening（大觉 醒运动）。 2.Status: a puritan writer, theologian（神学家）, colonial American preacher（牧师） ment: born for religion and died for science
Jonathan Edwards 乔纳森· 爱德华兹 (1703-1758)
3.Main works:
On Freedom of the Will 《自由意志论》 A Treatise Concerning Religious Affections 《宗教情 操论》 The Nature of True Virtue 《论真美德的性质》 The Religious Affections 《信仰的深情》
The Declaration of Independence
独立宣言
Philip Freneau 菲利普· 弗伦诺 （1752-1832） • Father of the American Poetry
• Poet of the American Revolution
Main works:
• The Rising Glory of America蒸蒸日上的美洲；1772 • The British Prison Ship《英国囚船》 1781 • To the Memory of the Brave Americans 《纪念美国勇士》 1781 • The Wild Honey Suckle《野忍冬花》 1786 • The Indian Burying Ground《印第安人殡葬地》 1788 • The Dying Indian: Tomo Chequi《奄奄一息的印第安人：托 姆· 柴吉》1784 • The House of Night 《夜之屋》 （1786 ）

论《推销员之死》的人物塑造摘要：《推销员之死》是美国当代著名戏剧家阿瑟·密勒的伟大著作，在1949年于纽约首映日起，随即在整个每个戏剧圈内引起了巨大的轰动。

密勒也因此剧接连获得纽约戏剧家评论奖和普利策奖等诸多奖项，也由此与田纳西·威廉姆斯和尤金·奥尼尔并肩齐名成为美国二十世纪最杰出的戏剧家。

《推销员之死》无疑是阿瑟·密勒戏剧创作生涯中巅峰代表作，可是早前对《推销员之死》的研究多数关注于小人物是否能成为悲剧主人公上，鲜少有人问津密勒的家庭背景。

而本文恰是以密勒的家庭为视角剖析《推销员之死》中的主要重要人物。

本文仔细审视了作者的家庭背景和当时美国的社会背景，尤其是1929年美国经济大萧条时候的社会背景，以此能够准确剖析人物的构建关系。

本文详尽介绍了作者的家庭背景和时代背景，全面分析了威利·洛曼的人物形象塑造后发现这个主人公是由多个人物形象糅合而成的，包括了不少或虚构或真实的人物故事。

此外分析主人公妻子琳达和彼夫、哈皮，他的两个儿子，得知所有剧中人物的塑造都受到了作者家庭和美国社会的影响，不仅改变了作者对艺术的认知，在剧中人物身上也可窥见一斑。

关键词：阿瑟·密勒；推销员之死；犹太身份；人物；类型An Analysis of the Creation of the Characters in Death of a SalesmanAbstract: Death of the Salesman was acknowledged as the greatest work of Arthur Miller, the most outstanding American playwright. It shocked the American theater when it made a debut in New York in 1949. Because of this play, Arthur Miller not only won the Pulitzer and the New York Drama Critic’s Award, but also since that he had been acknowledged as one of three most outstanding dramatists in America, along with Tennessee Williams and Eugene O’Neill.There is no doubt that Death of the Salesman is the work at the summit of his art creation. Most critics viewed this play on whether a common man can become a tragic hero, but a few explored Arthur Miller’s family background. But this thesis analyzes the main characters from the angle of the family of the author. And it critically looks at the author’s family background and the social situation at that time, especially the great recession in America in order to analyze precisely author’s building of the main characters.This thesis thoroughly introduces the backgrounds of author’s family and the American society, meanwhile, it comprehensively analyze the main characters’ creation. Then it finds out the hero is created by mixing many images, containing both fictions and realities. Besides it studies the wife Linda, two sons, Biff and Happy. Then it discovers a close link between Miller’s family, American society and the building of those characters. These backgrounds influenced author’s cognition with art, which also can be seen on these characters.Key words: Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman,Jewish identity, characters, type An Analysis of the Creation of the Characters in Death of a SalesmanChapter One Arthur Miller and His Death of A SalesmanArthur Miller is acknowledged by the world as a social dramatist and a moralist. Death of a Salesman’s great success helped Arthur Miller to reach the pinnacle of his art career. There is no doubt that Willy Loman, the character derives from an old Jewish salesman for whom Miller felt sympathy in the 1930s. Miller noticed that man’s action in the past accounts for his condition at present from this aging salesman. Therefore, Miller had started to hold things together and to view how things connected.Death of a Salesman is not set during the Depression, but the economic disaster casts a shadow on it and its hero Willy Loman who is frustrated by his failure. Arthur Miller describes Willy Loman as a radical who totally absorbs everything which the society imposes on him without considering the other coin of the system, the danger side. To be a radical is his fate to become a victim when during the Depression. While unluckily, the similarity permeates every corner in the society. And Loman is not the only person who is abnormal in modern commercial and industrial society but so do the majority of citizens in America.As an immigrant and Jewish family, it is inevitable that family background would be intertwined with nation dream. Moreover, these characters reflected some observation in Miller’s Jewish-American experience.This thesis intends to analyze the construction of some of the main characters in Death of a Salesman. This thesis adopts the method of character presentation bycollecting writing materials both fro m author’s life experience and his observation of modern capitalistic American society.Chapter Two An Anlaysis of Willy LomanWilly Loman is one of millions of American who are deceived by a hollow dream that being liked is normally equal to being a successful person. While unfortunately, Will Loman fails to achieve material success under this hollow dream imposed on America. Eventually, Willy Loman loses himself and confuses the whole life, and he tries to find his problems by looking back on his old time. The Death of a Salesman talks about a story which shows Willy’s last twenty-four hours.2.1 Molding Willy Loman from Miller’s FamilyThrough Willy’s sixty-three years, readers can associate Willy’s life with “Miller’s personal life” easily. Willy Loman reflects Arthur Miller’s observation of his contemporaries and his life experiences.2.2 A Character Modeled on Miller’s fatherWilly Loman is similar to Miller’s father to some degree. Miller’s grandfather dreamed to be wealthy inspired by the American dream at his middle age, he came to America alone without taking his family, because he can’t afford any more tickets. So Miller’s father was left behind in his hometown until ticket came to him when several months passed by. The same incident happens to Willy and his elder brother Ben in 1890. Moreover, the setting of Loman’s broken house resembles the Miller’s shabby house where they had to move in due to the impact of the Great Depression. Moreover, “carpentry, he said, was his oldest hobby-he had started a t the age of five” (Carlisle and Styron 85). He also “built a ten-by-twelve studio near my first house in Connecticut where I intended to write a play about a salesman in 1948. ” (Miller,Timebends 121)Willy Loman also likes hand works. Biff once says, “there’s more of him in that front stoop than in all the sales he ever made, ” Furthermore, it’s a significant connection between that Miller proclaimed that he hated to live in a hotel and the job of traveling salesman which Miller always knew well. These examples directly prove that the source of Death of a Salesman is Arthur Miller’s life experience.2.3 A Model Derived from Manny NewmanManny Newman, Miller’s uncle, and also a salesman, is the most important person who leaded Miller to create Death of a Sa lesman. Roudane argues that “it was Manny Newman, especially, who entranced Miller for years, and whose contradictions shaped Miller’s conception of Willy Loman and his family” (Roudane, “Poetics of Arthur Miller” 68) Manny Newman was exactly a model to pi cture the hero, Willy Loman. He said, in his autobiography, Timebends, “Manny Newman was cute and ugly, a Pan risen out the earth, a bantam with a lisp, a lumpy. ”To the point of psychological statuses, Willy and Manny both like to compete, especially with their families. Miller described that Manny who liked competing at all times, at all things, and at every moment. Even from Miller’s childhood, Manny started to compare his two sons with Miller and Miller’s brother. Manny always viewed the Miller and Mil ler’s brother as his sons’ competitors. In the similar way, Willy sees Charley and his son, Bernard, as lifelong enemies from his sense of inferiority, and Willy always insults kind Charley in order to demonstrate that he is smarter than Charley.Willy tries his best to make himself look more talented and more intelligent than Charley, but he always insults himself firstly. Another obvious proof which can be found in his slogan also shows Willy’ sense of competition: A man who is incapable of handling tools can’t be called a man. So Willy of cause slights Charley because he can’t work with his hands. Moreover, Willy taunts Bernard and describes him as “anemic” . Willy competes at all things, and all times. He is duplicated from Manny.Compared to Willy, Manny was described by Miller as an isolated and ridiculous person whose inner sadness brought to unpredictable manipulation fact and his absurd behavior. Willy’s manipulations, lies, exaggerations and absurdities of facts are deeply influenced by the characte ristics of his job. Put differently, Willy totally accepts “the theory” of “sale” and the superficial values inculcated by salesmanship have a debilitating effect upon his character” (Spindler 205). As a salesman, Willy has no choice but to exaggerate the values of products. In addition, the salesman has to cheat, and to lie just for persuading the customers to purchase their products; and all thesebad qualities exists on Willy. ultimately, these bad qualities reformed Willy’ s personalities; then, duplicity, self- cheating and fantasy become his nature because what is most important to persuade his buyers is the personal attractiveness. For this reason, he always educates his sons “the relation between success and personality” (Schlueter 145)Besides, this hollow dream accounts for Willy’s tragedy. Arthur Miller mentioned that both his uncles, Lee Balsam and Manny Newman were salesmen. And Miller pictured one of Manny’ friends, who had the same profession that was a traveling salesman had the characteristics of “a kind of intrepid valor that withstood the inevitable putdowns, the scoreless attempt to sell” (Miller, Timebends 123).Willy, like Manny, is a sad man. Before Willy steps on the stage, we can see that Willy is extremely exhausted. The great sadness arises from his dread that he would leave his two beloved sons nothing and the pressure from his sale job that he can no longer deal with well and he complains about himself.Miller didn’t know the reason of Manny’s suicide until one day he confronted Man ny’s son, Abby. Abby told that his father wanted to leave them-two boys a business. Then Miller realized a fact that weather Manny struggled or suicide is for his two boys. And Willy Loman lives his life based on this identical course.Suddenly, Miller fou nd it meaningful in Manny’s life. He wished to leave his sons a family business so that his son can work together. Although Manny was dishonest and liked boasting on everything, he struggled on the goal of business because of love for his sons.As those me ntioned above, the character, Willy is modeled on Miller’s uncle, Manny.Chapter three An Analysis of Other Main Characters3.1 Linda, A Character Built from Miller’s MotherLinda, wife of Willy Loman, is a model of a devoted, loving, selfless and dependen t wife. Linda stands by her husband’s side no matter what he suffers. Willy finds his wife as his foundation and support. And Jeffrey D.Mason points out in his “Paper Dolls”, “is for Willy, as a flag for a nation, the emblem of ideals thatinspire action”(107). Moreover, Jan Balakian states, “Without her family, Linda would have no purpose; her identity is her family” (123).3.1.1 Linda, A Supportive and Patient WifeWe can find out that “Linda is there to support Willy in the begin of the stage direction, to participate vicariously in his dreams without being a subject in her own right without having a vision that is distinct from his false one” (Balakian 118), She is dependent and yielding Linda shares Willy’s hollow dream, but she “lacks the temperament to utter and follow to their end” (Salesman 131)In Linda’s long suffering marriage, she has never denied Willy’s ideas or decision, and she knows his husband would never allow her to do so. So she used to give up her own opinion. While she wants to assist her husband, there is limited thing she can do. Thence, Linda only can do the sustaining job from her good heart. “the illusion because that is the only way Willy can be sustained”(Roudane, “An Interview” 370). Linda is so inevitable for Willy. Arthur Mi ller once in his interview mentioned that he can’t imagine another woman can influence Willy like linda has made on.3.1.2 A Woman Molded on Miller’s Own MotherIn a long suffering marriage, Linda, the submissive wife has only one concentration---Willy. Li nda is depicted on Miller’s mother, Augusta Barnett. Miller has mentioned about his mother that she was devoted to her husband and adored him very much. His mother was a teacher in old time, but under the customs, she was forced to quit her job after she married Isadore Miller.Linda as well as Augusta Barnett is traditional Jewish women, for these two women, family duties are always their top priority. Lois Gordon has suggested, “Linda, as the eternal wife and mother, the fixed point of affection both given and received, the woman who suffers and endures, is, in ways the earth mother who embodied the play’s ultimate moral values---love”(232). Linda and Miller’s mother are passive and subordinated wives who provide endless support for their husbands and families.All in all, the character, Linda, is rooted in the image of Augusta Barnett, ArthurMiller described her as a very kind and warm Jewish mother. And Linda is also a very traditional Jewish woman. She inspires her husband in her adoring and in her “vi tal lies” (Roudane, “An Interview with Arthur Miller” 370) to sustain Willy’s illusion. Linda is a so dutiful and nice wife, and she sacrifices all to love and assist Willy and tries her best to hold her family together.3.2 Biff, An Autobiographic Character of Young MillerBiff, the elder son in this family, is thirty-four-year old already, lingering in the west without a satisfied job. At his teens, he possesses the personal charm because he was a sport start and a school hero. As Phelp suggested, he is “an outstanding success in all areas except academics; a gifted athlete, he is popular with both sexes, admired by friends and family, and destined---seemingly---for greatness” (10) Biff is really outstanding in high school.3.2.1 Undergoing The Same SufferingAfter graduating from high school, Biff wastes lots of his time on looking for a fitting job. But he few satisfies on what he have taken. He had at least changed twenty different job but without a good ending.Although he tries desperately to live his life at the level of his father’s expectation towards to him. But he fails over and over again. Finally, he lost himself in New York.Miller suffered awful experience just same as Biff’s experience in business world, in seeking an enjoyable job after graduation. Miller changed many jobs such as a delivery boy for a bakery, a salesman in his father’s factory, a steamfitter in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a waiter, a singer in the Brooklyn radio station, a warehouse clerk, a truck driver, and a radio playwright for the local station. And Miller comments on the jobs he had taken “hating” just like Biff’s reaction toward his jobs.Miller was Jewish, and because of that, he was thought by most people of being supposed to be good at doing business,but he didn’t do it well just like Biff ’dilemma in business field.3.2.2 Refusing to Follow Their Father’s FootstepWilly as well as Miller’s father wishes his sons to follow his footsteps. They tryto teach their sons in accordance with their expectation, Biff comes back home from New York, immediately is Willy eager to persuade his son to take a salesman job. Bigsby indicated in his book “there is something very recognizable in Willy’ s desire to pass something to his sons. Miller’s own father had immigrant’s desire to see his children make their mark.” (Bigsby, Modern American Drama 88-89). But the sons doesn’t like their father’s “goodness”. Biff left for the west and Miller thought that it is requirement for a playwright to refuse the business world, if he wants to be writer.In addition, Biff finds out his father’s affair. He changes his view toward to his father who he admire and regard him as a “a liar” and a “phony little fake”. Walter Wager has indicated “the shock which shatter Miller’s dramatic cosmos always begins with the father’s inability to enact the role of moral authority the son assigns to him”(139). Many critics have connected Oliver’s fountain pen and the collapse of the ideal father to explain how Biff achieves his self-realization from psychoanalysis. Arthur Miller suggested that “on the psychological front the play spawned a small hill of doctoral these explaining its Freudian symbolism, and there were innumerable letters asking if I were aware that the fountain pen which Biff steals is a phallic symbol” (Introduction 28).Moreover, Kay Stanton explained the way that Biff obtains his self-realization and self-assertion through omitting his father in psychological term. She suggests that Biff’s behavior (stolen fountain pen) is“a preparation for and rehea rsal of the theft of his father’s Phallus, ” (139)That is to say, Biff is not his father’s puppet any more, and he start to become himself and know well about himself. Moreover, he become dare to deny his father’s word and his ideas on how to achieve material success in the business world, which has bothered him for a long time. Biff is the only person in his family who faces the truth of own life.Miller suffered the similar disillusionment like Biff does and his destruction was due to the bad situation o f family economy during the Depression. Miller’s father succeeded in business world. Miler was proud of and respected his father when he was a child. Miller said about his father, was “in his full power and she content with amixture of glories, her admiration making him proud and strong, his strength keeping her safe”(Miller, Timebends 18). But Miller’s father failed in the Depression.The collision was represented by the Depression between Miller and his father. Miller no longer treated his father as a super hero after the Great Depression. While Miller started to fancy Marxism which he thought as a revolution. The suffering experience during the Depression led him to the same situation of disillusion of the perfect father.As these mentioned above, the character, Biff, is rooted in the image of young Arthur Miller. Biff and Miller share the similar suffering. They abandon the school pursuit. Moreover, they refuse their father’s masks and reject to follow the father’s footsteps. They undergo the father-son disillusion, but later, they find their position in the world; to some degree both of them know themselves. Biff’ image is derived from real experience in Miller’s youth.3.3 Happy, A Character Shaped from Miller’s Brother KermitHappy, second son of Willy, is always ignored by his parents since he is a child, he has tried to obtain their attention. Happy tries hard to be favored in accordance with his father’s indoctrination of success. He completely agrees with his father’s idea about the connection between success and being popular and well-liked. But he never complete Willy’s self-recognition, then he lives in the way which Willy approve of.3.3.1 A Character Captured in His Father’s DreamsCompared to Biff, Happy follows Willy’s foostep. He was eager t o seek for success in the business field. He keeps his father’s duplicate in actions the thoughts. Happy is just a assistance, but he likes to boast his achievement on his job. Biff is stuck in his father’s illusive dream, Roudane indicates that “mirror er rors must be heaped upon large sins. Extending a terrible replicating process and ensuring that a tragic parental heritage will be passed on to all descendants”(Bigsby, “Poetic of Arthur Miller” 69)Lots of critics accepted the idea that Happy is totally captured in his father’ values. He “achieves the things Willy wants for his boys-a steady job, the social life of a popular single man ,a car, and his own expensive apartment” (William17).Unlike his elder brother, Biff, Happy put himself on the way pursuing he illusion that his father have imposed on him since he was a little boy. Moreover he either never gets self-recognition. He never knows who he is and it’s definite for him to repeat Willy’s fate.3.3.2 A Man Choosing to Follow His Father’s FootstepsBiff finally gives up on realizing his father’s illusion and turns to face the reality; hence he becomes a true man rather than a replica under the shadow of his father. He follows his father’s footstep to look for success in the business field. Their choi ce are simillar between the Loman brothers’ and the Miller Brothers’. Miller and kermit Miller, like Biff, refused his father’s dream of success in the business world. In contrast to Miller’s choice, Kermit, decided to follow his father’s step in the famil y business.Kermit was the elder brother in Miller’s family, and it is responsibility for he that family business which was a soon-to-fall business in the Great Depression. Miller wrote:“By the fall of 1932 it was no longer possible in our house to disgui se our fears. Producing even the fifty-dollar-a-month mortage payment was becoming a strain, and my brother had had to drop out of NYU to assist my father in another of his soon-to-fail coat business. ” (Miller,Timebends 108-109)Kermit as well as Happy fo llows their father’s footsteps to pursue the success in business world. In addition, they have the similar thoughts and actions.Miller chose the quite different paths from his elder brother, Kermit for his live. After graduating from senior high school, Miller satisfied himself by finding a enjoyable job in the auto-parts warehouse, and Miller described his brother’s reaction, “Kermit, always romantic about business, thought I had taken a fabulous step forward in being employed by such a fine company” (Timebends 217) Moreover, Miller’s father started to support Miller to be a playwright since Miller won the Hopwood Award. But meanwhile Miller admitted his guilty that he had left behind all the family affair to Kermit.Miller didn’t follow his father’s illus ion; he rejected the business world like Biff; while, Kermit shouldered the family burden and made it to be lifetime career. Obviously,The character, Happy, is drawn on the image of Kermit, Miller’s elder brother.Chapter Four CONCLUSIONArthur Miller, one of the greatest playwright in 20th century. He viewed himself as a moral writer, which also an expectation on himself throughout his writing career. He wished his works created for some particular condition of incidents and periods. He uncovered the exquisite relationships which was easy to ignored to society. Arthur Miller, as a moral dramatist, had collected his writing materials both from his experience and his observation.These above chapters well presents that the main characters in Death of a salesm an are derived from Arthur Miller’s life experience and family members. But in the same time, there are still several question needed to be resolved: Dose Arthur Miller stand for the majority in American society? Can this play reflect the American universal values?Willy Loman’s life can be surely relevant to many people’s life who live at the same era. Willy Loman’s shortcoming is that he accept all the popular values in society. Willy Loman, as a salesman, made the most foolish thing is that he deeply believes in advertisement. Arthur Miller, like many salesman, cheats on customers by exaggerating the funciton of the production which he sales.Willy’s tragedy started when he obsessed with the hollow dream, the illusion. He chose the wrong dream and never correct it and he even was never aware of its error. He doesn’t work excellent in his career, and he is not a suitable person for business at all. He is good at manual work, but he entered the business field. There is only one person, Biff Loman realized that he is not suitable for the business world and chooses a another way for his life.In fact, Death of a Salesman is a great play. From its debut to now, it frequently arouse people’s emotional reactions. So that is why Death of a Salesman remains unshakable.References:[1]Bigsby, C.W.E. “Arthur Miller” A Critical introduction to twentieth-Century American Drama 2: Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee. (1984)[2]Carlisle, Olga & Rose Styron. The Art of the Theatre, An Inteview. Conversations with Arthur Miller. ED. Matthew C. Roudane. Jackson: University of Mississippi, 1987.85-111.[3] Mason, Jeffery D. Paper Dolls, Feminist Rereading of Modern American Drama. Rutherford:Farleigh Dickinson UP, 1989,103-15.[4]Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Rpt. In Arthur Miller’s Collected plays. New York:Viking Press, 1981,130-222.---.Introduction. Arthur Miller’s Collected Plays. New York:Viking Press, 1981.3-55.--- Timebends:A Life. London: Minerva,1978.[5]Phelps,H.C. The Fat Lcan Years of Biff and Bernard:An Overlooked Parallelism in Death of a Salesman. Contemporary Literature25.4(1995) :9-11.[6]Spindler, Michael. American Literature and Social Change:William Dean Howells to Arthur Miller. Bloomington:Indiana UP,1983.[7]William, Raymond, Arthur Miller:An Overview. Modern Critical View of Arthur Miller. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1987.7-16.。

Part V Alterna ve Narra ve Structures Part VI Subplot Chapter Four Style Part I The Shot: Composi on and Photographic Techniques Part II Se ng Part III Framing Part IV Sound and Ligh ng Part V Dialec cal Montage Part VI Symbols and Mo fs Chapter Five Critical Perspectives Part I The Defini on of Theme
）（ Part II The English Pa ent（1996 Synopsis，Genre，Characters，Narra ve，Style，Cri cal
Perspe ves）
（ ） Chapter Twelve Gangster Film The Godfather
Part I Ganster Film
二、教学时间安排
章序
标题
Unit 1 Unit 2 Unit 3 Unit 4 Unit 5 Unit 6 Unit 7
Unit 8 Unit 9 Unit 10 Unit 11 Unit 12
History and Genre Character and Performance Narra ve Style Cri cal Perspec ves Blockbuster Film（The Matrix） Comedy Film （Forrest Gump）
Perspe ves）
（ ） Chapter Fourteen Horror Film The Shining