Monday, August 17, 2015

What is the function of the intermingling of present and past, and of illusion and reality in the play?The intermingling of present and past,...

Arthur Miller probably did this so the audience can better
understand the complexity and instability of Willy Loman's life.  Through his
flashbacks, we can witness his growing ineffectiveness as a salesman, Biff's discovery
of his adulterous affair, and others.  It seems that these episodes have had severe
negative consequences in Willy's life, so it helps us understand the depth of his
despair.  We can almost understand, though not necessarily condone, his arguments with
his family, his boss, and others.


Willy seems to be quite
emotionally unstable as well, and perhaps this is why Miller included episodes of Willy
imagining things and/or people are in his presence-it could be an attempt to help us see
what is going through his mind, such as his thoughts and motivations,
etc. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Comment on the setting and character of "The Fall of the House of Usher."How does setting act as a character?

Excellent observation, as it identifies how the settings of Poe's stories reflect the characters of their protagonists. Whet...