death of a salesman - parma city school district.pptVIP

* * Death of a Salesman Introduction ENG4C Ms. Alexander ARTHUR MILLER: The Playwright Arthur Miller was born in New York City on October 17, 1915. He wrote Death of a Salesman which won the Pulitzer Prize and transformed Miller into a national sensation. Many critics described Death of a Salesman as the first great American tragedy, and Miller gained eminence as a man who understood the deep essence of the United States. Miller continued… He published The Crucible in 1953, a searing indictment of the anti-Communist hysteria that pervaded 1950s America, which is set during the Salem Witch Trials of 1690. Miller is also famous for having been one of Marilyn Monroe’s husbands! He died in 2005. The Play Death of a Salesman, Miller’s most famous work, addresses the painful conflicts within one family, but it also tackles larger issues regarding American national values. The play examines the cost of blind faith in the American Dream, that success and status are rights, not earned privileges. (/lit) The Play continued… It is a play viewed by many as a scathing attack on the American Dream of achieving wealth and success without regard for principle or morals (/wiki/Death_of_a_Salesman). “The American Dream” The American Dream is a belief that in the United States of America, hard work and determination can lead to a better life, usually through the earning of money. These were values held by many early European settlers, and have been passed on to the newer generations. (/wiki/American_Dream) “The American Dream” cont’d Traditionally, Americans have sought to realise the American dream of success, fame and wealth through thrift and hard work. However, the industrialisation of the 19th and 20th centuries began to erode the dream, replacing it with a philosophy of get rich quick. A variety of seductive but elusive strategies have evolved, and today the three leading ways to instant wealth are large-prize television game shows, big-jackpot state