Theatre 120 Response 2: Death of a Salesman

Arthur Miller’s “Death of a Salesman” is a very complex and interesting play. I really enjoyed reading it for a lot of different reasons, but one of the most relevant components that contribute to the complexity of this play is the concept of time. It comes up in many different ways directly and indirectly. Of course, there are the very obvious changes in time when Willy’s perspective switches from the present to the past. I thought this was a very interesting dynamic of the dialogue and plot. It was strange to get used to the fact that the reader is not really given any sort of exposition in the beginning of the play. And although at the beginning I didn’t think I would like it, I ended up enjoying it. It was kind of like the entire story was unfolding before your eyes and you’re given clues and background information throughout the story instead of at the beginning. It was like discovering little secrets! Additionally, it helped develop Willy as a character and helps the reader understand why he is the way that he is. I also enjoyed learning about the scenery today in class. I think that the scenery used in the stage production of “Death of a Salesman” was ingenious! It was very cool how they used the production element of lighting to set almost the entire scene for the actors. Although it really isn’t something that is thought of for scenery, it was a simplistic and fantastically easy design that worked perfectly with how Miller wanted this story to be portrayed.