Author's Argument - Death of A Salesman by Arthur Miller

In Arthur Miller's American play "Death of A Salesman" (1949), the author delivers a story about a poor spirited  salesman who struggles with his finances along with his son Biff, and whose modern family is not Brady Bunch charming. The author first articulates the first scenes by introducing the main characters, the salesman is Willy, husband to Linda and father to Happy and Biff. Through dialogue of the characters, the audience learns that Willy is not a a gifted salesman, Biff is having difficulties with being what his father calls "successful" and the relationship between this father and his sons is fragile.
Next, the author depicts the 1940's in American history - a time when the U.S. economy survived the Great Depression and stood in World War II. Through monologue of  Willy speaking, who tells his boss Howard- who fires him this day-  about sales, the author depicts the average American salesman who suffers with the impossibility of the American Dream. Willy also has multiple flashbacks, where he has illusions to past events of business trips and the old relationship with his son Biff- who used to love him more before he discovered Willy's unfaithfulness to Linda. Miller continues using the metaphor of life as the jungle, as Willy's brother Ben calls it.
 The metaphor once again depicts the time setting as American's whole-heartedly believe like Ben that "The jungle is dark but full of diamonds." (Act II). Willy's hopelessness of ever becoming as prosperous as his brother Ben - who traveled to Africa in search of gold and became rich and famous affects him tragically, as he commits suicide- leaving his son Ben his life-insurance. Arthur Miller's purpose for this play may to depict the themes of the American Dream, American modern families, human nature, and self destruction in a new bold, honest light in order to expose the false hopes of Americans and human flaws as husbands, fathers, family members and even business men and women. Miller seems to target Americans in the late 1900's and early 20th century and following because the setting takes place in the U.S. and reveals American views.

Vocab.
1. ignoramus - (n) an utterly ignorant person
2. agonized - (adj) characterized by suffering or expressing agony
3. fob - (v) archaic
4. poised - (adj) marked by easy composure of manner of bearing
5. trepidation - (n) a nervous or fearful feeling of uncertain agitation

Tone: tragic and frank.

Rhetorical Strategies:

1. Parody or Characterization : " HAPPY :Yeah, that was my first time - I think. Boy, there was a pig! They laugh, almost crudely. You taught me everything I know about women. Don't forget that. " (21)

2.  Imagery: " Happy in pajamas has come down the stairs; Willy suddenly becomes aware of Happy's presence. " (41)

3. Oxymoron: "LINDA: It was so thrilling to see them leaving together. I can't get over the shaving lotion in this house!" (71)

4. Foreshadowing or Hyperbole: " WILLY, moving to the right: Funny, y' know? After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive." (98)

5. Paradox: " HAPPY: Don't try, honey, try hard." (103)

Discussion Questions:

1. Despite his financial needs, why is Willy prideful in not taking the job offer from Charley - a man who seems like a savvy businessman?

2.  What purpose do the continuous flashbacks of Willy serve to the climax or resolution?

3. Another theme may be human flaws of stubbornness, pridefulness, foolishness and untrustworthiness; did the author hope to illuminate these flaws of human characteristics?

Memorable Quote:

" WILLY: I never in my life whistled in an elevator! And who in the business world thinks I'm crazy?" (61)

Death of a Salesman

The play "Death of a Salesman" written by Arthur Miller, was first published in 1949 and first performed in the Morosco Theatre (February 10, 1949). The setting seems to be in the late 1900's and because the play was written during World War II, after the Great Depression, one can imagine the  impact it had on the author who fashioned the play to depict a particular time period in American history. My opening impressions of the play are that business and finances will be a major theme, also modern life and perhaps family life. The play seems to be about family, business and issues regarding both. The salesman may be the father or son and the purpose of the play may lie in his death.

STIFF: The past, present, and future of our dead bodies.

In Mary Roach's science fiction book named "STIFF" (2003), she entertains her audience while also sharing with them the reality that is of our dead bodies, she does an excellent job teaching us about cadavers, and their many functions and talents!
In Chapter 7, Roach describes a French doctor's psycho experiment, this surgeon named Dr. Pierre Barbet crusified cadavers in order to discover how exactly it was that Jesus died. Through concrete imagery of Dr. Barbet's project on the cadavers, Roach is able to share with her audience rare (and creepy) uses for cadavers in order to make her audience laugh or perhaps creep them out!
Roach takes her audience to witness a live cadaver's heart and organ transplant surgery in Chapter 8 (my favorite chapter). In this chapter, she explains what  beating-heart cadavers are (which are bodies whose brain is dead only), gives history on live burials, and shares different opinions of where exactly the soul is located on human bodies. Through anecdotes, she is able to share with us many surgeon's and scientist opinions  on where the soul is, the brain or heart, or both; anecdotes serve as evidence to the audience.
"Just A Head" is the title of Chapter 9, it is about human brains and whether or not the soul is located there, Roach tells a story about Dr. Joseph Ignace Guillotin's experiments with the heads of humans and of the two-headed dog (literally). Through definition of quadriplegics, the audience understands what the author writes about, definition assists audience comprehending the topic in this chapter.
In Chapter 10, Roach explains medicinal cannibalism, and tells stories of humans eating humans. By including rhetorical questions, the author forces thoughts to be made by the audience, the author implies her opinions on cannibalism. Chapter 11 is about where cadavers are disposed, how they can become useful in compost bins and contribute to Earth's green and of the history of crematories. By parenthesis, the author is able to imply opinions, state funny remarks or add information to crematories and where dead bodies end up.
Finally in Chapter 12, Roach explains why she volunteers herself to become a cadaver, once her body dies. By writing in narrative form, Roach is able to take her audience wherever she goes, she is able to tell her own stories of her own experiences, she shows her audience what she learns in order to share that new information with us. Roach persuades everyone to donate their bodies, to be cadavers for medicine, for mechanics, for experiments, projects and other fabulous ideas.

Vocab.

1. gruff : (adj.) Brusque or stern in manner or appearance; Hoarse, harsh
2. aforementioned: (adj.) mentioned previously
3. resilient: (adj.) capable of regaining its original shape or position after bending, stretching, compression, or other deformation; elastic
4. haste: (n) Rapidity of action or motion
5. cauterizing: (v)  To burn or sear with a cautery
6. cardiopulmonary: (adj.) Of, relating to, or involving both the heart and the lungs
7. putrefaction: (n) Decomposition of organic matter, especially protein, by microorganisms, resulting in production of foul-smelling matter.
8. corroborating: (v)To strengthen or support with other evidence; make more certain.
9. acrid: (adj) Unpleasantly sharp, pungent, or bitter to the taste or smell.
10. proxy: (n) (pl)  A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute
11. amid: (prep) Surrounded by; in the middle of.
12. unequivocal: (adj) not ambiguous; plain
13. harangued : (n) A long pompous speech, especially one delivered before a gathering
14. postoperative: (adj) (Medicine) of, relating to, or occurring in the period following a surgical operation
15. morgue: (n) A place in which the bodies of persons found dead are kept until identified and claimed or until arrangements for burial have been made.
16. gurney: (n) A metal stretcher with wheeled legs, used for transporting patients.
17. spittle: (n)  a clear liquid secreted into the mouth by the salivary glands and mucous glands of the mouth; moistens the mouth and starts the digestion of starches
18. abscess: (n)  A localized collection of pus in part of the body, formed by tissue disintegration and surrounded by an inflamed area.
19. rheumatism: (n) Any of several pathological conditions of the muscles, tendons, joints, bones, or nerves, characterized by discomfort and disability.
20. emetic: (adj) An agent that causes vomiting.
21. jugular: (adj) Of, relating to, or located in the region of the neck or throat.
22. maladjusted: (adj) Poorly adjusted
23. delirium: (n) (pl)A temporary state of mental confusion and fluctuating consciousness resulting from high fever, intoxication, shock, or other causes. It is characterized by anxiety, disorientation, hallucinations, delusions, and incoherent speech.
24. incinerators : (n)One that incinerates, especially an apparatus, such as a furnace, for burning waste.
25. pulverized: (v)  To pound, crush, or grind to a powder or dust; To demolish.
26. lacerated: (v) To rip, cut, or tear.
27. affinity: (n) (pl) A natural attraction, liking, or feeling of kinship
28. concocted: (v) To prepare by mixing ingredients, as in cooking.
29. entity: (n) (pl)Something that exists as a particular and discrete unit
30. dilapidated: (adj) falling to pieces or in a state of disrepair; shabby


Tone: Euphemistic, bizarre, eccentric 


Rhetorical Strategies: 


1. Personification /Imagery: " Gurneys that ferry the living through hospital corridors move forward in an aura of purpose and push, flanked by caregivers with long strides and set faces, steadying IVs, pumping ambu bags, barreling into double doors." (167) 


2. Antithesis: " There was the woman who got the heart of a gay robber who was shot in the back, and suddenly began dressing in a more feminine manner and getting 'shooting pains' in her back." (190) 


3. Rhetorical Questions: " Did they themselves eat and enjoy the dumplings? Did they think all human cadavers should be recycled this way?" (239)


4. Hyperbole: " In both this instance and that of the three million urine-quaffing Chinese, I didn't know whether the reports were true, or instances of bald-faced Chinese-bashing." (234)


5. Simile: " We stand with one foot and shoulder forward, arranged in facing columns, like doo-wop backup singers in unusually drab costumes." (276) 


Questions to Consider: 


1. What might be the author's intentions in writing about the history of crematories?
2. Do you think the author's humor is meant to persuade the audience to donate them selves as cadavers? 
3.  What effect may this book have on people who are afraid to donate their bodies- becoming cadavers?


Memorable Quote: 


" It is astounding to me, and achingly sad, that with eight thousand people on the waiting list for  donated hearts and livers and kidneys, with sixteen a day dying there on that list, that more than half of the position H's family was in will say no, will choose to burn those organs or let them rot. " (195) 

The Cadaver: way better than a test dummy.

In STIFF writer Mary Roach explicitly and objectively describes the various ways scientist, surgeons, bio-chemical engineers, and even the U.S. army, using cadavers for research purposes. The author narrates moments of observations and conversations with many scientist working with  theses brave cadavers and through expository writing, engages her readers to the world of cadavers.

In chapter 4: "Dead Man Driving", Roach celebrates the achievements of cadavers by personification, she writes, " The dead's first contribution to safe driving was the non-face-gashing windshield." (88). 

In chapter 5, she articulates an investigation of cause of death, in which Dennis Shanahan- an injury analyst- works to solve the mystery of the Flight 800 which departed from JFK International Airport (1996) but never landed at its destination: Paris. Next, Roach continues and reflects on the history of science of injury analysis, which first started in 19954 when two British Comet airliners fell into the sea, never returning. An investigation then was conducted, led by Sir Harold E. Whittingham- director of medical services for the British Overseas Airways Corporation.  

In Chapter 6, Roach reveals other methods cadavers are used in experiments, some that are beneficial to the U.S. army. She states why the U.S. army took interest in using cadavers saying, " Incapacitation-or stopping power, as it is known in munitions circles- became the Holy Grail of ballistics research." (132) [perhaps alluding to the film: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) ]. She explains that La Garde (U.S. army) investigates the army's various guns and bullets ability to end the life of an enemy, using cadavers to discover how momentum of hanging bodies relates to stopping power of a human when shot at. 

Roach's purpose is to assert the various methods cadavers are used for the advancement of  science and other needs or benefits. She seems to have a young audience in mind because she is very humorous and makes the information understandable. 

Vocab.

1. mutilate: (n) to cut up or alter so as to make imperfect 

2. ballistic: (adj) being or characterized by repeated bouncing, suddenly excited,

3. attenuate: (adj) reduced in thickness, density, or force

4. verisimilitude: (n) and verisimilar (adj) - having the appearance of truth, depicting realism

5. lacerations: (n) the act of lacerating, a torn or ragged wound

6. munitions: (n) archaic

7. frangible: (adj) readily or easily broken 

8. calibers: (n) a degree of mental capacity or moral quality

9. effluvium: (n) offensive smell

10. chagrin: (n) distress caused by humiliation, disappointment, or failure

11. gauge: (n) dimension, size

12. viscera: (n) internal organ

13. scourge: (v) whip, one used to inflict pain or punishment

15. osteonecrosis: (n) necrosis of bone 

16. deleterious: (adj.) harmful often in a unexpected way

17. debilitating: (n) to impair the strength of a  human body 

18. patronizing:  (v) Treat with an apparent kindness that betrays a feeling of superiority

19. intracranial:  (adj.) situated within the cranium

20. fuselage: (n) central body portion of aircraft designed to accommodate 

21. culprit: (n) one accused or guilty of crime

22. deflection: (n) a turning aside or off course

 Just in case your taking Physics:

1. Amplitude: (n) the maximum departure of the value of an alternating current or wave from the average value; extent or range of quality 

2. Momentum: (n) property of a moving body , which has mass and velocity, a property of a moving body that determines the length of time before it rests when under constant force or moment

Rhetorical Strategies:

1. Antithesis: " You can't give a dead man a concussion, but you can check his skull for hairline cracks, and this is what researchers did." (88)

2. Personification: " Chest injuries are the other generous contributor to crash fatalities." (90)

3. Parallelism/ listing : "Child data aside, the blunt impact tolerance limits of the human body's vital pieces have long ago been worked out, and today's dead are being recruited mainly for impact studies of the body's outlying regions: ankles, knees, feet, shoulders." (95)

4. Fallacy* : " She doesn't look like an engineer. She has magazine-model skin and wide, white, radiant smile and thick, shiny brown hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. If Julia Roberts and Sandra Bullock had a child together, it would look like Deb Marth." (99) My thoughts: I love these actresses but what does she mean by that? So Deb is white, is that what makes her magazine-model skin beautiful? And, why can't an engineer be a beautiful woman? And to think this author is female..

5. Litotes: Understatement: " For the most part, it has been the lowly swine that has borne the burnt of munitions trauma research in the United States and Europe." (134) 

Questions to consider: 

1. In Chapter 4, what might have been the author's motives for writing so enthusiastically about ballistic gelatin? 

2. The author favors interrupting her passages with tiny stars which are supposed to direct the readers to continue reading  long often hilarious allusions, those located at the bottom of the pages, these are foot notes.. Why?

3. What is the significance of cadaver use in today's U.S. army? 

Memorable Quote:

" It is an unfortunate given of human trauma research that the things most likely to accidentally maim or kill people- things we most need to study and understand- are also the things most likely to mutilate research cadavers : car crashes, gunshots, explosions, sporting accidents." (152) 

" I see dead people." - *little white boy's voice* The Sixth Sense (1999)

Mary Roach is the very amusing and comical author of STIFF (2003), she narrates her very own learning  experience as an investigating journalist seeking the truths of cadavers- dead bodies used to practice medicine- and writes of her discoveries of the dead (literally). The author first justifies the practicing of surgery on the dead with a logical antithesis, explaining  it should not be the other way around - practicing with patients who are alive! She defends her argument with euphemism explaining that the dead (now cadavers) are treated with respect and even given proper memorial services like the one she witnessed at the University of California, San Francisco of Medical School (UCSF).
Chapter one is about Roach's experience at a surgery seminar, where she witnesses heads or pieces of cadavers and speaks on the value and usefulness they have. Roach makes humorous similes like the following : " This is why cadavers in photographs in pathology and forensics journals have black bars over their eyes, like women on the Dos and Dont's pages of Glamour. You have to assume that people don't want to be photographed dead.." (32) in order to provide a soft and funny tone, rather than a creepy one. She includes dialogues in her writing that are of her interviewing surgeon teachers who are all respectful of the dead, one who after finishing a surgical seminar sweetly said "May she rest in peace." (33).
 In Chapter two, Roach writes of her invitation to visit a  gross anatomy lab at UCSF Medical School and how exceptionally well the students are benefiting from the program.  She then continues with non- fictional stories of the history of surgeries (before anesthesia came along) and body snatching (from graves) used for fast cash, sold to be used for the practice of early medicine and tells of other awful crimes of anatomy in the 1800s.
Next in Chapter 3, Roach explains the process of human decay by paradox, in order to expose the reality that all human bodies (deceased) rot- its own bacteria eats the body. Roach describes her behind the scenes trip to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, a field research facility of human decay. And tells the history of mortuaries.
Her purpose is to bravely write about the dead and the science and history behind cadavers in order to  expose this secretive world to her audience.She seems to have a young, science interested audience in mind because she uses lots of satire and includes factual information regarding surgeries of the dead!

Vocab.

1. subcutaneous - under the skin
2. intermittently- (adj) coming and going, not continuous
3. catherizations- medical procedure to inspect the heart flow and heart
4. gratuitous- (adj.) un-called for, given free of charge
5. reciprocity- (n) the quality or state of being reciprocal (equal)
6. vernacular- (adj) using language native to a particular region rather than a foreign language


Tone: appealing, agreeable, honest, considerate


Rhetorical Strategies:

1. Anecdote: "Even cremation, when you get right down to it - as W.E.D. Evans, former Senior Lecturer in Morbid Anatomy at the University of London, did in his 1963 book The Chemistry of Death -isn't a pretty event: " (Page 83)

2. Allegory : " This is a book about notable achievements made while dead. There are people long forgotten for their contributions while alive, but immortalized in the pages of books and journals." (10)

3. Ambiguity (two or more possible meanings): " One woman confessed that her group had passed comment on the "extremely large genitalia" of their cadaver..... Even then, reverence, not mockery, colored the remark."(39)

4. Persona : " My end of the conversation takes place entirely in my head and consists of a single repeated line. You cut off heads. You cut off heads. You cut off heads. Meanwhile, I've missed the unveiling of the faces." (22)

5. Allusion/ Analogy: " Do you recall the Margaret Hamilton death scene in The Wizard of Oz? ( "I'm melting!") Putrefaction is more or less slowed-down version of this." (68)


Questions:

1. What could be the author's motives for writing the history of mortification?

2. What kinds of Satire is the author most fond of using?

3. Would you consider becoming a cadaver after death? (I would...!)



Memorable Quote:

" What she perhaps didn't realize is that the embalming fluid pumped into the veins expands the body's erectile tissues, with the result that male anatomy lab cadavers may be markedly better endowed in death than they were in life." (39)

Roger Chillingworth: Not officially, but ex-husband to Hester Prynne; Noted physician; brilliant scientist, and bestfriend to Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale- a young minister who is ill....and possibly could be holding a secret.. one that would change their relationship..

" Nevertheless, time went on; a kind of intimacy, as we have said, grew up between these two cultivated minds, which had as wide a field as the whole sphere of human thought and to meet upon; they discussed every topic of ethics and religion, of public affairs, and private character; they talked much, on both sides, of matters that seemed personal to themselves; and yet no secret, such as the physician fancied must exist there, ever stole out of the minister's consciousness into his companion's ear." (123) The Scarlet Letter 


In Chapter nine- The Leech- Hawthorne increases the plot of his novel by including one more relationship, this one between Roger Chillingworth- only mentioned a couple of times- husband of Hester Prynne whom she committed adultery against  and Mr. Dimmesdale- the young minister who defended Hester when the Governor and other religious leaders wished to take Pearl away from her. And so the relationship between Chillingworth and Dimmesdale is described as a strong one, with sincerity and brotherly love, both seem to appreciate each other's company respectfully and both enjoy each other's company; as it is great to engage in intellectual conversations and to spend time with another who thinks as one does.. This quote is significant because it contains vital foreshadowing hints, it is an eye-opener to future events and it gives the audience a clue about who may be Prynne's secret lover.. Also this passage succeeds in furthermore describing personality traits, belonging to Chillingworth and Dimmesdale, both whom are very similar.. The author uses Litotes, to deny the contrary which may be true... His purpose for doing so, may be to stir thoughts into his audience and to make the story more exciting.. Hawthorne in addition, uses Polysyndeton in order to conjoin sentences, and perhaps make a complex sentence on purpose so that the longer the sentence, the more thinking, the reader must use..


Questions:


1. Why do you think Roger Chillingworth seeks to have a relationship with Mr. Arthur Dimmesdale, or vise versa? 
2. Will Arthur Dimmesdale die because of his illness? What do you suggest has caused this illness?
3. Am I wrong, for making predictions early? Jumping to conclusions? 

Dangerous Child of the Heavenly Father

" The unlikeliest materials- a stick, a bunch of rags, a flower- were the puppets of Pearl's witchcraft, and, without undergoing any outward change, became spiritually adapted to whatever drama occupied the stage of her inner world." (96-97) The Scarlett Letter 


Nathaniel Hawthorne describes young Pearl  in such a fascinating edifice, that the audience  knows that this child is an extraordinary child, she is different, she will never fit in her society (as her own mother). Pearl-daughter of a puritan woman who has been condemned to a life of misery- will not fall into the Puritan world as the rest of the children her age; she was born out of a sin, so others will treat her different, and she will want to change her society's standards. This quote I chose to share, is significant because it defines Pearl as a creative, sweet, joyous and adventurous person. In this passage, Hawthorne also describes her hobbies of curiosity, and he mentions her doings are like witchcraft-which makes her stand out even more from their religious society. Pearl is not afraid of living, she wants to have fun as she is a child, and she does this by creating her own world. The author uses a long metaphor in this passage to describe Pearl, define her young personality, in order to show us that she is a beautiful child, that Hester Prynne is beautiful, because she is her mother.  

Questions:

1. Why has Hawthorne chosen to describe young Pearl as such a beautiful, rare creature  in chapter 6?
2.  Why is Hester Prynne worried about Pearl's actions or doings? How will this affect her in her cruel society? Or why is Hester Prynne worried for Pearl's future?
3. Will Pearl rebel against the puritan laws in the future? (predict) And what may be her reasons for doing so?


Ms. Rozmiarek:  I will not be able to comment on my team member's blogs (as I will have no access to the internet) until I get back on January 7, 2010. Thanks in advanced.

HAPPY NEWYEARS TO ALL!!