Death Of a Salesman-2

Today's discussion of Arthur Miller's play offered a chance for me to think about some of it's themes from perspectives I hadn't initially considered. Here is a short entry about some of the thoughts I had during, and following class.

I liked that Nathan brought Marxism and/or Marxist Literary criticism into the discussion of what Miller was trying to convey ideologically. The ultimate value of a Marxist critique is that it aims to look at widely accepted systems and beliefs in a work of literature, framing them in a way that exposes, and then analyzes their true values by means of subtraction. What is not said by the author is just as important as what is said. The most essential themes are hidden behind culturally accepted ideals or images, awaiting a deep reading to give them clarity. This form of analysis is perfect for Arthur Miller's play, since as Professor Cassel noted in class (to paraphrase): "Everything has meaning in Miller's work, and nothing any character says can be taken for granted." With this philosophy in mind, I began thinking about Death Of a Salesman from an economic/religious i.e. semi-Marxist standpoint. A few scenes stuck out to me in a different way when considering them from within this new context:

There are obvious entries to thinking in a way that reveals large and small scale oppression peppered throughout the work. Howard, Willy's boss, is a great example, ignoring Willy's pleading, and years of service in order to hire a new "more profitable" salesman. Willy was once controlled by Howard's father and now...he is controlled by Howard, an oppression that stretches across two generations. This opression is built on fear and finances- on Willy's fear of losing his source of income, and Howard's fear of losing money from his bottom line.
Before losing his job, Willy espouses his love for Chevrolet cars, only to denounce them a page later. Was it simply the carburetor making him angry? Or perhaps something more akin to the feeling of helplessness in the face of a towering corporation ? Miller clearly had the American economy on his mind when writing the play, centering a most of it's conflict around a search for the almighty dollar. In a few brief points in the play however, religious ideas and imagery are evoked and rejected, albeit in a more subtle fashion . The scene in which Willy is trying to fix something in the kitchen is a good example, in which Willy denies his worth as a carpenter to Linda and his children. The reader could view this as either an embarrassment about his past working of low level jobs, or read it in a religious context: Jesus was a carpenter, and at that time in the American religious climate, Catholicism and it's value system reigned supreme. In denying this moment of potentially divine recognition (from the audience or reader's view), Willy certainly seems to be rejecting the idea of religion on the whole, as though he knows he is the only being that can ever truly save himself. What is widely accepted is not necessarily right, religious or economically, seems to be Miller's take on mainstream American culture.
Miller was indeed on McCarthy's Hollywood Blacklist. This means little to nothing in the overall importance of the work or it's themes. To me, Marxism is just another way of reading or thinking. In my opinion, it is an ideology that has valuable uses, applicable to both culture and literature. To ignore or denounce Marxism because of what you "think" it may be is to lose out on a host of opportunities for deep thinking and reading. Thanks for bringing it up today, facetious or not, Nathan.

Two other points to consider: Why does Willy keep mentioning the "ceiling" he is building? What about his being "boxed in"? I would write more, but I have to walk the dog.