Death of Salesman PDF

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Questions addressing the film editing in the Death of a Salesman...

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Questions on form: CHARACTERS & SETTING 1. Name and describe the major characters: a. Willy: The salesman who is around his 60’s. He comes off as an insecure, self-conscious man. Throughout the film, he continues to rely on others for support and loses the ability to distinguish between the present and his memories of the past. b. Linda: Willy’s wife. She constantly supports Willy while he continues to talk about the future. c. Harold: Willy’s and Linda’s younger son who tends to live in the shadow of Biff. He works an assistant at a company. d. Biff: The eldest son who is in his 30’s, a football superstar and dropped out of summer school. 2. Describe Willy’s relationship to his wife? To his sons? a. Willy and his wife: Linda continues to suffer through his dreams. Throughout the film, she is taken in by Willy’s hopes and quickly snaps back, being more realistic than Willy. She continues so support him while he does not give her the same treatment. b. Willy and Biff: While Biff was in high school, Willy influenced Biff to be a popular high school football star. Throughout the film, Biff seems to represent the tragic and vulnerable side of Willy. His natural instinct is to abandon the dreams that Willy has to be the “American family.” Although, he never lives up to Willy’s expectations. c. Willy and Harold: Harold is represents the ambitious side of Willy. He works at a department store and continuously sleeps with the girlfriends of those who are ranked higher than him at work. d. Describe the setting of the narrative (where/when it takes place) i. Willy returns to his home in Brooklyn, it starts off at night in their home. 3. Describe the set of the film (how the setting appears on screen) a. The setting feels a bit off as its filmed on a set. A lot of the shots seem super crammed with a bunch of furniture all over the place. Also you can tell they’re on a set because the backgrounds look extra fake.The audience does not have to wait while a new set is introduced or an old one torn down, but instead moves directly and instantaneously into the next scene. TECHNICAL ASPECTS 1. Describe the lighting of the film, noting any significant aspects that stand out and where they take place. a. Lighting effects and various colors provide the audience with signals regarding theme and mood. The Lomans’ fragile home is cast in the blue sky, while the large apartment buildings that crowd and smother the Lomans' home are shown in a darker orange shade. The playwright uses these contrasting colors to suggest that the Lomans are somehow separate and distant from the rest of their environment. Thus, he creates an early sympathy for his characters. Miller also uses lighting effects such as leaves to cast impressions over the stage. The leaves come and go and support both the dreamlike quality and theme of nature versus man-made environment. 2. Describe the camera angles and/or lighting and how they are applied to the different characters. How does the camera angle and lighting help reinforce who the character is? a. Throughout the film, whenever Willy has his episodes, the background gets super dark and as soon as it snaps out the backgrounds are brighter and look less upsetting. In my opinion, I feel as if the lighting and background seemed a bit darker when Harold was speaking since he was depicted as living in Biff’s shadow. I feel like the lightning characterizes each character for how important and accepted they are in the film. WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE? What is the “inciting incident” and why? a. For instance,Willy talks to his boss about his job and ends up being fired. The common suspense question at the beginning of this scene is "Will Willy be allowed to work in New York?" Because of the outcome of this scene, the common suspense question is answered no, and the outcome regenerates the Motivating Question, "What's wrong – with Willy?" 2. What seems to be the main conflict of the film? How does Arthur Miller build tension and drama? What is the climax

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Willy’s mental issues are getting worse; he is caught up with Biff’s inability to find success in business. Linda informs her sons that Willy has been trying to commit suicide and tells Biff that his father’s life is in his hands. Biff needs to get a job or take the blame for his father’s actions. b. The suspense, is that we’ve heard this suicide comment before, so we’re not sure if he’ll actually go through with it. This suspense is heightened by the fact that Willy’s family is in bed thinking everything’s fine, which we usually in movies or plays insinuate horrible things are coming soon. c. Biff realizes he and his entire family have been living a lie. Also, a huge blow-out argument between Biff and his father. This is followed by shouting and crying, and Willy finds out that Biff really does love him. 3. Are there any reversals or unexpected techniques used? Where are they used a. In order to achieve the difference between the present and thoughts of Willy, Miller achieves this effect by manipulating the space and boundaries of the rooms. When action takes place in the present, characters observe wall boundaries and enter and exit through the doors. During Willy's recollections of the past, characters do not observe wall boundaries, and the action generally takes place in the area at the front of the stage, rather than inside the house. As a result, the audience can distinguish present events from Willy's memories PERSONAL MEANING (50 pts) 1. What are the values that are critiqued or questioned? a. Betrayal: Willy is obsessed with he fact that Biff betrayed him because he did not follow through the ambitions he had se tup for him. Willy believes that he has every right to expect Biff to fulfill the promise innate in him. He takes this “betrayal” and associated it with being an insult. 2. Are there points in the film, either through character, situations, relationships, value, or experiences that you can connect with? a. Yes, this exact dynamic going on between father and son. I had a cousin who wanted to pursue business, yet her parents wanted her to follow in their footsteps and become a surgeon. She did not see eye-to-eye with them and continued to do what made her happy. Eventually, her parents became furious with her and “disowned” her. As soon as she graduated, she was kicked out of the house and to this day, her parents don’t speak to her. 3. How does Arthur Miller’s narrative on the “common man” and his portrayal of the Loman family reflect the American society of the times (late 1940-1950s) and its potential, pitfalls, and ongoing struggles? a. Death of a Salesman is centered around one man trying to reach the American dream and taking his family along for the ride. The Loman's lives from beginning to end is a troubling story based on trying to become successful, or at least happy. In that time period, many people were content, but many others felt ill at ease because of the speed at which the world was changing. The rate at which the world was changing, caught up to people and many couldn’t handle it....