Death of a Salesman is a modern domestic tragedy by Arthur Miller, written in 1948 and first performed in 1949. In America it was regarded by John Gassner as “one of the finest dramas in the whole range of American theatre.” (1) The play is a scornful critique of the American Dream and the idillic materialistic nature of American society in the 1940’s. In the play suffering can be seen through the thoughts and opinions of the protagonist Willy Loman, we can see this in Millers use of stage directions, language and time-shifts. Suffering can also be seen in Raymond Carver’s “Short Cuts” which contains stories such as “So Much Water So Close To Home”, “Neighbours” and “They’re Not Your Husband”. Carver’s work was heavily influenced by his upbringing and focuses and blue-collar workers, like his mother and father. Although Miller’s writing style is poetic and metaphorical shown in the opening stage directions “A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon.” This shows a romanticised pastoral idyll as well as a metaphorical stage setting. Carver’s style has been referred to as “minimalistic” and “cinematic” as seen in “Will You Please Be Quiet, Please?” whilst describing Marian’s aura on their honeymoon “her hair was long and hung down in front over her shoulders, and she was looking away from him, staring at something in the distance.” Graham Clarke said Carver is “the quintessential minimalist, seemingly reducing to an absolute spareness both his subject matter and the treatment of it” (2) showing that like Carver’s mentor Hemingway, his minimalism is of the highest quality when sparse of descriptions. We can see both writers present suffering as a result of others as on overriding theme. We can see that suffering embarrassment because of others can cause ultimate suffering in a relationship this is shown by Biff and Happy to their father, Willy in Sam’s Chop House. This is shown by Happy stating “No, that’s not my father. He’s just a guy.” We can see by Willy having a mental breakdown and flashback in the middle of a public restaurant that Happy is embarrassed. In the 1940’s as the mass of people were still unaware of mental illness and society shamed people who were affected which could explain the reason for why Happy and Biff left. Carver also presents the idea of suffering due to embarrassment in “They’re Not Your Husband” in which Earl, Doreen’s husband strongly suggests for her to lose weight after overhearing two men comment on her “some jokers like their quim fat.” “Not me” “Not me, neither.” This embarrassment of being associated with Doreen in Earl’s eyes is an extension of himself. The opinions of the men about his wife are reflecting also on him. Earl also see’s the veins in Doreen’s legs which suggests discomfort with her. This leads to Earl wanting rapid weight loss even though it is affecting Doreen and leading her to endless fatigue seen in “Doreen spent more time in bed now…she napped in the afternoons before going to work.” Never is Earl concerned about the welfare and health of his wife which emphasises his primary objective is for her to be an object to show off which is shown when he repeatedly searches for validation from others when he repeats “what do you think?”.

Suffering due to others can also be seen in Death of a Salesman and Neighbours in the constant desire to have more material, consumer products, which is shown to be the ultimate want because of The American Dream which had changed from a pastoral idyll to paramount consumerism . We can see this in Death of a Salesman by the repetitive use of company names such as “Chevrolet”, “Hastings” and “Studebaker.” Willy referring to these with the company names shows the importance of having these products and material wealth is in this society.
We can see this when Willy goes to meet his boss, Howard, who is gloating about his new tape recorder “the most terrific machine I ever saw in my life” and sternly advises Willy to buy one. Willy agrees “I think i’ll get one myself” which shows the pressures of the time to increase your consumer wealth, Willy knows he is unable to afford a new machine but says he will buy one despite still owing money on other appliances. This shows suffering for Willy as he is trying to progress at the same rate with successful business men which causes more delusion for himself. We can see the same suffering due to craving more consumer goods in Neighbours in which The Millers’ use the excuse of looking after the neighbours cat to escape their own reality and search and explore others, more lavish and luxuriant life. We can see these excuses throughout the story exchanged between Bill and Arlene when asked why Arlene took so long she says “Nothing. Playing with Kitty.” We can see the excitement and yearning for more material goods when Bill starts taking the Stone’ personal belongings which are useless to him, for example Harriet Stones’ medicine shown by “he found a pot of pills… and slipped it in his pocket.” “Slipped” suggests it to be secretive.

Jealousy is also a form of suffering seen in both Death of a Salesman and Neighbours. For Willy, jealousy comes from the lack of success he has, compared to others such as Charley and of his dead brother, Ben. We can see this jealousy clearly through Willy’s flashbacks as he begs Ben to tell his tale of success in Africa and Alaska. We can see Willy admiring Ben through the stage directions [longingly] and [hanging on his words]. Ben symbolises the American Dream, and the success brought with it which is why Willy appeals to Ben for help. “Ben! I’ve been waiting for you so long! What’s the answer? How did you do it?” We can also see Willy to be unconditionally jealous of the success of Charley and his son Bernard we can see this in scene Willy asks Charley for money to help pays his bills. Willy thinks to be a good business man you need to be “well liked” and a “good man”. Willy is jealous of Charley because he doesn’t understand how he has got to be so successful from being contradictory to everything Willy believes in. This is shown by “why must everyone like you?” which is a clear divide in opinion. Jealousy is also extremely prevalent in Neighbours. The jealousy stems from the Millers’ being able to access the Stones’ house. In their neighbours absence the Millers thought to live a fuller and more exciting life, which they believe the Stones’ had which was full of dining, entreating and travelling. In their neighbours absence they spend excessive amounts of time in the house, trying on clothes and drinking their alcohol. Throughout the story the Millers’ become tiresome and disgusted of their own lives because they keep escaping their own reality into the Stones’ reality. This can be particularly seen when Bill starts trying on Jim and Harriet’s clothes and looking for a reflection. This could be symbolic of looking in the mirror and hoping to see a reflection of Bill or Harriet, this could be hinted at in the line “He looked at himself in the mirror and then closed his eyes and then looked again.” This could show the jealousy of the Stones’ which is making Bill suffer in his own life, now not being happy with his real self.

Dishonesty in a relationship causes suffering throughout both Death of a Salesman and So Much Water So Close to Home. In Death of a Salesman we can see the lying between Willy and his family throughout the play about the money he is making and the success he has. All members, especially Linda know this, but say nothing to protect Willy. Willy’s dishonesty to Biff and Happy is shown when he lies about meeting the mayor of Providence, he does this in order for Biff and Happy to admire him as a great and important man, rather than his reality of being a below average salesman. Willy’s lies get him trapped in a false pretence that he has created for himself which makes him unable to confront his reality and subsequently breaks up his family. Willy also lies about being a major contribution in the New England company, we see this in ‘I never have to wait in line to see a buyer. Willy Loam is here!” That’s all they ned to know, and I go straight through.” This quote shows how unable Willy is to face reality. The consequences of Willy’s constant lying to his son’s is that perhaps Biff and Happy’s lives are revolving around Willy’s lies. We can see mirrors of Willy’s dishonesties and his son’s. Willy with the woman in the hotel room in “stay in the bathroom here, and don’t come out. I think there is a law in Massachusetts about it.” The dishonesty with his wife can be mirrored with Happy’s lack of respect for women. We can also see dishonesty and withholding the truth in So Much Water So Close To Home, we can see the relationship begin to be questioned by Claire, because her husband, Stuart withheld that he came across a dead body on his fishing trip, this leads to disconnection and isolation in the relationship. The opening scene Claire is staring at her husband, Dean. “what are you staring at me for?” this shows that there is a distance between them. It shows that Claire is trying to re-evaluate Stuart as she no longer recognises him because she see’s him as insensitive and cold, after how he treated the dead body. The lack of communication between Claire and Dean because of this shows isolation we can see this in the scene on the way to the beach where neither talk to each other. This shows both individuals suffering isolation.

References
(1) wikipedia Death of a salesman, reception Death of a Salesman in America
(2) Studies in Short Fiction; Newberry; Winter 1994; Trussler, Michael

Bibliography

wikipedia Death of a salesman
Studies in Short Fiction; Newberry; Winter 1994; Trussler, Michael