'Death of a Salesman': meant for you?
(Read article summary)If you've ever rued your job or made a mistake with your child, 'Death of a Salesman' is your play.
“He works for a company thirty-six years this March, opens up unheard-of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away.... For five weeks he’s been on straight commission, like a beginner, an unknown.”
That’s Willy Loman’s wife, Linda, enlightening and admonishing her irresponsible and inconsiderate sons. Their 63-year-old father, who has worked for the same company all those years, is about to be terminated. One termination leads to another.
Tragically, in addled desperation, Willy Loman drives himself to bequeath a death benefit to his irresolute sons. Dramatically, with the text of “Death of a Salesman,” Arthur Miller set up what might well be thought of as a literary inter vivos trust – and a gift in perpetuity – with millions of theater-goers and script-readers as beneficiaries.
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