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Dissimilar Words In Death Of A Salesman

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The American Dream was a simple idea yet it caused many problems throughout families as it was interpreted differently. In the beginning of the Great Depression, the optimistic view of everyone being equal no matter their economic status became heavily popular. Nonetheless, some people, such as Willy Loman, believed that popularity was more important than money. His contrasting beliefs called for hardships that ultimately led to a strain on himself and his family. Miller's use of dissimilar phrases provides the opportunity to show characters conquering adversity. In the play Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller developed the characters Willy, Linda, and Biff Loman through word choice in the dialogue and stage directions.
Willy Loman developed …show more content…

Linda is a housewife who was always stepped on by her whole family including Willy and her sons. In one scene, Linda is seen to be sewing stockings, however, Willy gets angry and snatches them from her. Instead of saying anything back to him, the stage directions say “Linda puts the stockings in her pocket” (Miller 39). Rather than fighting back with him, she simply hides the stockings so Willy would not get more infuriated. Since Miller includes the stage directions of her actions instead of dialogue, it shows how she deals with his hot-headed actions frequently. Linda is constantly silenced and has no voice until she finally stands up for herself. While discussing Willy Loman and his issues, Biff says to Linda, “Stop making excuses for him! He always, always wiped the floor with you” (Miller 55). Instead of Linda backing down, she snapped back at Biff saying “Then make Charley your father, Biff. You can’t do that, can you?” (Miller 56). Linda finds passion in her words and begins to stick up for her actions. Miller uses dialogue to show Linda developing and becoming more than just a housewife. She was cutting off Biff and Happy when they spoke symbolizing her power in the house. Through dialogue and stage directions, Miller was able to transform Linda’s character into a strong, independent

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