Description
Book SynopsisArthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the third volume in the Dialogue series, covers six major and controversial topics dealing with Miller’s classic play. The topics include feminism and the role of women in the drama, the American Dream, business and capitalism, the significance of technology, the legacy that Willy leaves to Biff, and Miller’s use of symbolism. The authors of the essays include prominent Arthur Miller scholars such as Terry Otten and the late Steven Centola as well as young, emerging scholars. Some of the essays, particularly the ones written by the emerging scholars, tend to employ literary theory while the ones by the established scholars tend to illustrate the strengths of traditional criticism by interpreting the text closely. It is fascinating to see how scholars at different stages of their academic careers approach a given topic from distinct perspectives and sometimes diverse methodologies. The essays offer insightful and provocative readings of Death of a Salesman in a collection that will prove quite useful to scholars and students of Miller’s most famous play.
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface from the General Editor Essay Topics for Dialogue: Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Eric J. STERLING: Introduction Terry OTTEN: Linda Loman: “Attention must be paid” L. Bailey MCDANIEL: Domestic Tragedies: The Feminist Dilemma in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Steven CENTOLA: Arthur Miller: Guardian of the Dream of America Michelle NASS: Refocusing America’s Dream Juan Ignacio GUIJARRO-GONZÁLEZ and Ramón ESPEJO: Capitalist America in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman: A Re-consideration Linda URANGA: Willy Loman and the Legacy of Capitalism Paula Marantz COHEN: The Dynamo, the Salesman, and the Playwright Craig N. OWENS: Mystifying the Machine: Staged and Unstaged Technologies in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Michael J. MEYER: In His Father’s Image: Biff Loman’s Struggle with Inherited Traits in Death of a Salesman Deborah Cosier SOLOMON: The Emergence of Hope in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman Luc GILLEMAN: “A little boat looking for a harbor”: Sexual Symbolism in Arthur Millers’s Death of a Salesman Samantha BATTEN: Compensatory Symbolism in Miller’s Death of a Salesman About the authors Abstracts Index
