Death of a Salesman ACT II

Language:
Though the language of the play dates it slightly the overall themes are still reliable today. Miller has a gift for language in that every character's words count. no matter how slight they may seem. A good example of this is in when Willy is talking to Howard in his office. Howard is overjoyed about a new gadget he has acquired he tells Willy that he just has to get one, several times mentioning his maid in the process. In his sales pitch of the machine one of his points was that Willy could just have his maid switch it on so he could listen to Jack Benny anytime he wanted. This may not seem like a big deal but Howard would obviously know of Willy's financial situation and that a maid isn't an option for him. Its almost showing the uncaring thought and misunderstanding that Howard has for Willy.

Argument:
Willy Loman's fight for the American dream takes a tragic turn for the worse in this act. In the loss of his job and Biff's realizations everything the Willy knew to be true (or fantasized about being truth) was myth. With this information brought into the open Willy feels that the best thing for all would be for him to end his own life so that his sons (Biff in particular) would have a greater chance at succeeding.

Structure:
The structure of the play is sometimes difficult to follow in that one is never completely positive when Willy is in a flashback or not. His random tendencies to break out of the current day is disturbing. In this act however it was far easier to follow then in the first act due to having watched some of the film in class prior to reading it. Death of a Salesman was meant to be seen therefore the film version brings much clarity to the text.