Product Description

The original CliffsNotes study guides offer a look into critical elements and ideas within classic works of literature. The latest generation of titles in this series also feature glossaries and visual elements that complement the classic, familiar format.

CliffsNotes on Death of a Salesman shares an intimate glimpse into the dreams and disappointments of an American family.

Following the story of Willy Loman, an aging salesman who can′t accept change within himself and society, this study guide provides a character list, character map, and character analyses to explore the personalities within Arthur Miller′s masterful play. Other features that help you figure out this important work include

• Personal and career background of the author
• Introduction to and brief synopsis of the play
• Summaries and expert commentaries for each act and scene
• Essays that explore the play′s major themes and the author′s manipulation of time and space
• A review section that tests your knowledge and suggests essay topics and practice projects
• A Resource Center full of books, publications, films, and Internet resources

Classic literature or modern–day treasure — you′ll understand it all with expert information and insight from CliffsNotes study guides.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #46232 in Books
• Published on: 2000-11-28
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Arthur Miller's 1949 Death of a Salesman has sold 11 million copies, and Willy Loman didn't make all those sales on a smile and a shoeshine. This play is the genuine article--it's got the goods on the human condition, all packed into a day in the life of one self-deluded, self-promoting, self-defeating soul. It's a sturdy bridge between kitchen-sink realism and spectral abstraction, the facts of particular hard times and universal themes. As Christopher Bigsby's mildly interesting afterword in this 50th-anniversary edition points out (as does Miller in his memoir, Timebends), Willy is closely based on the playwright's sad, absurd salesman uncle, Manny. But of course Miller made Manny into Everyman, and gave him the name of the crime commissioner, Lohmann, in Fritz Lang's angst-ridden 1932 Nazi parable, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.

The tragedy of Loman the all--American dreamer and loser--works eternally, on the page as on the stage. A lot of plays made history around 1949, but none have stepped out of history into the classic canon as Salesman has. Great as it was, Tennessee Williams' work can't be revived as vividly as this play still is, all over the world. (This edition has edifying pictures of Lee J. Cobb's 1949 and Brian Dennehy's 1999 performances.) It connects Aristotle, The Great Gatsby, On the Waterfront, David Mamet, and the archetypal American movie antihero. It even transcends its author's tragic flaw of pious preachiness (which undoes his snoozy The Crucible, unfortunately his most-produced play).

No doubt you've seen Willy Loman's story at least once. It's still worth reading.--Tim Appelo, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Good grades aren't a dime a dozen, but your grades will soar when you rely on CliffsNotes on Death of a Salesman to guide you through Arthur Miller's famous play. Meet Willy Loman, the aging salesman, his sons Biff and Happy, and his wife Linda. Take an intimate glimpse into their failed attempt to capture the American dream. CliffsNotes takes you through the play with scene-by-scene plot summaries and commentaries, along with a character map and essays to help you understand the source of Willy's despair. Be prepared to examine the dreams and disappointments of your own life as you delve into Death of a Salesman.

From the Back Cover
Miller′s most famous play, it is the story of the American Dream gone awry when a small man is destroyed by society′s false values. Death of a Salesman won the Pulitzer Prize in 1949 and continues to shine on stages throughout the world even today.

This concise supplement to Arthur Miller′s Death of a Salesman helps students understand the overall structure of the play, actions and motivations of the characters, and the social and cultural perspectives of the author.

Customer Reviews

A very relatable play
Having studied this play for GCSE, I can safely say it was one of the better texts, although the characters are not easy to relate to the reader can identify with many of their traits and it is from this that the reader can sympathise with the characters and their situation.

wonderfully crafted, wonderfully moving
I suppose this iconic American play is depressing, in a way, as some other reviewers have said. So's 'Hamlet'. The old Greek view of tragedy was that it should purge the mind by means of pity and terror - there should be a catharsis - and whether we are looking at the Oedipus plays, or Shakespeare (King Lear'? Old man dies, so do all three of his daughters, his closest allies, etc., etc.) or this play, that is what we get. I think it's a measure of 'Death of a Salesman' that it can be considered at the same time as Shakespeare, but perhaps it comes closer to some of us because the hero is so recognisable - not a king, a prince or someone from an exotic time and place but a commission-only salesman down on his luck and chasing shadows. What cannot be disputed is that this is a beautifully crafted play full of memorable lines and with a group of well-delineated characters whose interplay really, really works. The haunting use of music and of Willy's flashbacks (its original title was 'In His Mind', or something like that, if I remember correctly) are its memorable trademarks. It has valid claims to being the greatest of twentieth-century plays in English, and if it is depressing, perhaps that's something we just have to put up with.

the most depressing play ever
i am currently studying death of a saleman for A2 english lierature and i try to keep an open mind about plays until i have watched the play acted out on stage. recently my class viewed the play and i was very dissappointed. not only is reading the play boring but watching the play acted out is equally as boring. i can understand that willy is meant to be sympathsied with but i just cannot bring myself to do it. he is the most unlikable charater i have ever come across and the fact that arthur miller wanted us to relate and sympathise with him sickens me. as for the play itself, nothing interesting happens, and its a long time watching willy abuse his family, i almost couldnt stand it. that charcter gives me a headache! to save time just read the title, it explains the only exciting moment in the play, when the main charcter dies, and even that is disappointing.