Death Of A Salesman Research Paper

In 1949, the renowned play-write, Arthur Miller, published the iconic American play, Death of a Salesman (“Issue 35 Arthur Miller – Death of a Salesman”). Death of a Salesman was largely popular in the United States and won both a Tony and Pulitzer Prize (“Issue 35 Arthur Miller – Death of a Salesman”). After being so well received in the United States, the play was produced numerous times abroad. In Germany, specifically, Death of a Salesman was produced beginning in the year of 1950. With the country in ruins because of World War II, the reception of the play is highly intriguing, and therefore, will be the central focus of this paper. The play, Death of a Salesman, is centered on the Loman’s, an average, middle-class, American family.

It was common for viewers to describe the play as “excellent”, just as one critic described the production in the Hebbel Theatre in Berlin (Koller). Additionally, it was noted that at a production in Berlin, ‘“the first-night audience – many had tears in their eyes –sat for a long moment in awed silence, and then acclaimed the play in swelling applause that did not cease until the actors had appeared and reappeared on the stage for twenty-two curtain class”’ (Murphy 107). Similarly, a critic in Duesseldorf loved the play, mentioning how well it was received by the crying audience (‘“Salesman’ Opens In 2 German Cities”). This shows just how well many Germans received the play, for the audiences’ tears represent the connection they felt towards Willy Loman’s struggle to obtain success. Just as Willy struggled, after World War II, the entire country of Germany struggled to get back on its

One critic said that Death of a Salesman was nothing extraordinary and simply a ‘“weak play”’ (‘“Salesman’ Opens In 2 German Cities”). Furthermore, this critic said that the play was not a tragedy, for Willy was just ‘“a silly man with illusions”’ (‘“Salesman’ Opens In 2 German Cities”). Unlike Americans who view Willy as a man struggling to achieve success, this German critic viewed him as “silly”. This is important for it exhibits the fact that some Germans viewed Willy’s dream of being financially stable as irrational, likely because Germany had not seen days of financial stability since well before World War II. Additionally, it was common for play reviewers to identify three issues with the production. These issues were: “the question of its tragic nature, the question of Willy’s significance as a hero, and the question of the play’s cultural relevance to countries that do not fetishize business success in the way America does” (Murphy 107). It was likely difficult for Germany to view Willy’s death as a tragedy, for the country had just witnessed so much destruction that one death likely seemed merely irrelevant. Additionally, because Germany was not consumed in ensuring the utmost success of businesses, rather they were concerned with revitalizing and rebuilding their entire economy, so some Germans may have found the play difficult to relate