推销员之死

ArthurMillerⅠ.Introductiontotheauthor•oneofthemostdistinguishedcontemporaryAmericanplaywrights•borninManhattan,NewYorkCityin1915•hisfamilymovedtoBrooklynintheearlyl930sbecauseoftheGreatDepression•AftergraduatingfromHighSchool,heworkedasastockclerktoattendcollegeattheUniversityofMichigan•atcollege,hebegantowriteplays,severalofwhichwererewardedwithprizes•Upongraduatingfromcollegein1938,hereturnedhometoNewYork.•joinedtheFederalTheatreProject,anartsprogramsponsoredbytheUSgovernment•DuringtheWorldWarⅡ,heworkedasafittertowriteradioscripts.•Hemarriedthreetimesinhislife.Ⅱ.Hisworks•In1944TheManWhoHadAlltheLuck(wontheDramaCriticsCircleAward)•In1947AllMySons•In1949DeathofaSalesman(wontheDramaCriticsCircleAwardandthePulitzerPrize)•In1953TheCrucible•In1955AViewfromtheBridge•In1964AftertheFall•In1964IncidentatVichy•In1968ThePrice•In1972TheCreationoftheWorldandOtherBusiness•In1991TheRideDownMountMorgan•In1995BrokenGlassⅢ.DeathofaSalesman1.Plot•WillyLomanreturnshomeafteranunsuccessfulbusinesstrip.Frustratedathislackofsuccess,hiswifeLindasuggeststhatheaskedhisbossHowardWagnertoallowhimtoworkinhishomecitysohewillnothavetotravel.•威利在商务之旅失败后返回家里。遭受挫折使候他对成功缺乏信心,他的妻子琳达建议他问他的老板霍华德·瓦格纳能否让他在他家乡工作,这样他就不会经常外出了。•WillycomplainstoLindathattheirson,Biff,whocomeshomefortheholidays,hasyettomakegoodonhislife.DespiteBiff'spromiseasanathleteinhighschool,heflunkedsenioryearmath,madenoeffortinsummerschool,andneverwenttocollege.•威利向琳达抱怨他们的儿子,比夫,他回家度假,不好好把握他的人生。尽管比夫承诺在高中要作为一名运动员，但是高中最后一年数学不及格，暑期在学校里也没有努力，所以从没上过大学。•BiffandHappy,whoisalsovisiting,reminisceabouttheirchildhoodtogether.Theydiscusstheirfather'smentaldegeneration,whichtheyhavewitnessedbyhisconstantvacillationsandtalkingtohimself.Biffplanstomakeabusinesspropositionthenextdayinanefforttopacifytheirfather.•比夫和哈皮正在交谈,回忆他们童年在一起的时光。他们正在讨论他们的父亲,觉得他心理在退化,他经常自言自语。为了安抚他们的父亲比夫计划第二天做一个商业命题。•ThenextdayWillygoestoaskhisbossforajobintownwhileBiffgoestomakeabusinessproposition.Bothfail,asWillygetsangryandendsupgettingfiredwhileBiffmakesaterribleimpressionduringhisbusinesspresentationandimpulsivelystealsafountainpen.•第二天,威利去请求老板让他在镇里工作而比夫去洽谈业务。他们都失败了,威利怒气冲冲并结束了被炒鱿鱼的日子,而比夫在商业上留下了一种糟糕的印象并且一时冲动偷了支钢笔。•Afterthecontradictionandconflictagain,Biffforcefullysaysthatheisnolongerbeingafailureoutofspite:hesimplyknowsheisn‘tcutouttobeasuccessfulbusinessman.ThefeudculminateswithBiffhuggingWilly,tellinghisfatherheloveshim.RatherthanlistentowhatBiffactuallysays,WillyrealizeshissonhasforgivenhimandthinksBiffwillnowpursueacareerasabusinessman.•一次次的矛盾、冲突后，比夫出于恶意有力地说,他不再是一个失败：他只是知道他天生不是一个成功的生意人。当长期的不和最终达到高潮，比夫拥抱威利,告诉他父亲他爱他。不是听比夫实际上说什么,而是威利意识到他的儿子已经原谅了他,并认为比夫现在将追求自己的事业就是作为一名商人。•WillydecidestokillhimselfinanautoaccidentsothatBiffcangetenoughmoneytostarthisbusiness,yetatthefuneralBiffretainshisbeliefthathedoesnotwanttobecomeabusinessman.Happy,ontheotherhand,choosestotaketheinsurancemoneyandfollowinhisfather'sfootsteps.•威利决定在一场车祸中自杀,这样比夫能有足够的钱来开始他的事业,然而在葬礼上比夫保留他的信仰,他不想当个商人。另一方面,哈皮选择保险金,继承父业。2.Setting•Theactiontakesplaceinasuccessionofscenesthatflowfreelythroughtime.Someareinthepresent,someareintheobjectivepast,someareinthepastasWillyseesit,andsomescenesareentirelyinWilly’simagination.Itissometimesdifficulttotellwhichtimeperiodiswhich.•However,muchoftheactiontakesplaceinandaroundtheLomanhouse,describedasarelicofatimewhentheareawasfullofhomesandgardens.3.Structure•Theplayisdividedintotwoactsandarequiem,akindofritualelegyinwhicheachofthecharacterswholovedWillypaystributetohimindeath.Throughoutbothacts,thesettingshiftsfrompresenttopastandbacktothepresent.4.Conflict•betweenWillyandhimself:Willybelievesthatthebusinessworldwouldleadtosuccess,butitdidnotworkoutforhim.•betweenBiffandWilly:whatBiffwants(beaRanch-hand)andwhatWillywantshimtobe(abusinessman).5.Theme•TheAmericanDream•thebeliefthateveryAmericanhasthesameopportunitytoachievesuccess,whetheryoungorold,richorpoor.Inmodernsocietythissuccessisoftendeterminedbymaterialpossessionsandfinancialwealth.•WillyLomanisamantryingtorealizetheAmericanDream.However,hisfailuretoachieveitliesinhisinabilitytowaverfromhisbeliefinitspromises.•Willybelievestobesuccessfulonemustbewelllikedanddefinessuccessbypopularity.•Success•RealityandIllusion•AmajorthemeandsourceofconflictintheplayisWilly’sinabilitytodistinguishbetweenillusionandreality.