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Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and A Requiem (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)

by Arthur Miller (Author) "A melody is heard, played upon a flute ..." (more)
4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
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Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and A Requiem (Penguin Modern Classics) + York Notes Advanced on "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller + Death Of A Salesman [1985] [DVD]
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Product details

  • Paperback: 112 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (30 Mar 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0141182741
  • ISBN-13: 978-0141182742
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 1 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,352 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #2 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Drama > By Period > 20th Century
    #2 in  Books > Music, Stage & Screen > Performing Arts > Plays & Drama > 20th Century
    #6 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > History & Criticism > Drama & Dramatists

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Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
Arthur Miller's 1949 Death of a Salesman has sold 11 million copies, and Willy Loman didn't make all those sales on a smile and a shoeshine. This play is the genuine article--it's got the goods on the human condition, all packed into a day in the life of one self-deluded, self-promoting, self-defeating soul. It's a sturdy bridge between kitchen-sink realism and spectral abstraction, the facts of particular hard times and universal themes. As Christopher Bigsby's mildly interesting afterword in this 50th-anniversary edition points out (as does Miller in his memoir, Timebends), Willy is closely based on the playwright's sad, absurd salesman uncle, Manny. But of course Miller made Manny into Everyman, and gave him the name of the crime commissioner, Lohmann, in Fritz Lang's angst-ridden 1932 Nazi parable, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse.

The tragedy of Loman the all--American dreamer and loser--works eternally, on the page as on the stage. A lot of plays made history around 1949, but none have stepped out of history into the classic canon as Salesman has. Great as it was, Tennessee Williams' work can't be revived as vividly as this play still is, all over the world. (This edition has edifying pictures of Lee J. Cobb's 1949 and Brian Dennehy's 1999 performances.) It connects Aristotle, The Great Gatsby, On the Waterfront, David Mamet, and the archetypal American movie antihero. It even transcends its author's tragic flaw of pious preachiness (which undoes his snoozy The Crucible, unfortunately his most-produced play).

No doubt you've seen Willy Loman's story at least once. It's still worth reading.--Tim Appelo, Amazon.com --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
In the spring of 1948 Arthur Miller retreated to a log cabin in Connecticut with the first two lines of a new play already fixed in his mind. He emerged six weeks later with the final script of Death of a Salesman - a painful examination of American life and consumerism. Opening on Broadway the following year, Miller's extraordinary masterpiece changed the course of modern theatre. In creating Willy Loman, his destructively insecure anti-hero, Miller himself defined his aim as being 'to set forth what happens when a man does not have a grip on the forces of life.'

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A melody is heard, played upon a flute. Read the first page
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Death of a Salesman: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and A Requiem (Penguin Modern Classics)
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Customer Reviews

13 Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The American Dream, 17 May 2000
By A Customer
Death of a Salesman is a trdgedy of the common man. It is mainly concerned with the fulfillment of the American Dream, but it also shows aspects of family life and commercilalism. Willy Loman is a failed salesman, who forces his dreams onto his two sons, Biff and Happy. Biff had a promising future but after an incident, refused to take part in the American dream, and chooses to 'Bum around' on farms 'out West'. His Brother Happy is the assistant to one of the assistant buyers, but sees himself as a great success. Miller concentrates on how the characters lie to themselves about who and what they are, and this is ultimatly the downfall of Willy, Happy and possibly Biff. The play is an important lesson for all. Although written in the forties, it is still increadibly relavent today in this age of consumerism and the tremedous desire for success. I have recently read this play, and it has changed my whole perspective on life, aspects of the play are constantly mirrored in every day life, and I am sure one of the characters will be relavent to you. This play - contraversial in the forties and fifties leading to Miller being charged with anti-American activities - should be read by all, putting your feet firmly on the ground.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Life and Times of Willy Loman, 5 May 2003
By Michael Crane - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman," while confusing when just read through the text alone, is an awesomely crafted play that takes drama to the next level. Now being interested in plays, I decided it was time to read this one, being that this is considered a classic by many (which I could easily see why). Reading this play makes me want to write plays. Reading something like this makes me believe that I can some up with something great too. I am glad that I finally took the time to read it.

The story is about a broken-hearted salesman, Willy Loman. He is a man no longer living in the real world but is mostly trapped in his own delusional world. He can't let go of the past no matter how hard he tries, and it's eating him up inside. He wants to believe that his family is a shoe-in for greatness, no matter how lonely and sad his wife is, or how much of a player/swinger his youngest son is, or how confused and anti-business his oldest son is. You put all of this together and you get a glimpse of an American tragedy that is so powerful and sad that it makes you think these things happen all the time. From Page 1 you know it's not going to end on a happy note, but you decide to take the path anyways. And a path worth taking it is.

I admit that I was confused at certain points, because through the text alone it is very hard to separate Willy's reality from his imagination. There are places where Willy departs from reality and goes back to the past and it makes it very hard for us to figure out what is going on if we're only reading it. When I saw the movie version after reading this, I was able to appreciate the play more. I understood what confused me and I was able to figure out what was happening. Despite some confusing moments it is still a tremendous play that is very involving from start to finish. You are able to sympathize with the main character, and with the rest of the characters as well. You know a writer has done the job right when you are able to feel or care for every single character (or at least almost all of them, being there will be a few minor characters you're really not supposed to care for that much. This is something that always happens in the world of fiction and is to be expected). Arthur Miller did an amazing job of writing such a realistic and emotionally driven play. The characters were realistic as well as the dialogue.

"Death of a Salesman" is more than just simply a stunning play; it is a beautiful portrait of a family dealing with hardships and troubles. As soon as I began the play I was unable to put it down until it was finished. If you want to read a great play and are interested in great works of drama, this is the one for you.

(Note: If you are confused by the play, see the movie afterwards. It really helps.)

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15 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars Editing Errors make Penguin's edition a Waste of $, 30 Jun 2003
By R from Melbourne (Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews
Penguin's edition contains a series of distracting and confusing typos, as well as extremely poor printing quality where d's look like a's, for most of the time. Penguin should be ashamed to do this to Miller's classic. The quality of Penguin's edition is so bad that I returned it to the shop.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Shockingly simple
My father had directed a TV drama based on this book so I have known this book/text for a long time but I have always avoided reading it. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Ogun Eratalay

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Play from a Great Playwright
This is a great play and well worth reading. It is still relevant today as we see the relentless machine of consumerism and the pressure on human life this brings. Read more
Published 3 months ago by I. M. Knight

4.0 out of 5 stars A very relatable play
Having studied this play for GCSE, I can safely say it was one of the better texts, although the characters are not easy to relate to the reader can identify with many of their... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Ms. R. J. Collis

5.0 out of 5 stars wonderfully crafted, wonderfully moving
I suppose this iconic American play is depressing, in a way, as some other reviewers have said. So's 'Hamlet'. Read more
Published on 20 April 2007 by Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane

2.0 out of 5 stars the most depressing play ever
i am currently studying death of a saleman for A2 english lierature and i try to keep an open mind about plays until i have watched the play acted out on stage. Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2007 by sam

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Dream
Death of a Salesman is a trdgedy of the common man. It is mainly concerned with the fulfillment of the American Dream, but it also shows aspects of family life and commercilalism... Read more
Published on 17 May 2000

5.0 out of 5 stars depressing genius
This play is so depressing, for me at least, because of the universal truths so clearly expressed in what IS a tragedy of the western world. Read more
Published on 15 Dec 1999

3.0 out of 5 stars This book gets better the more depth you go into it.
I'm learning about this play for English A-level coursework. When I had just finished reading it, I didn't like it. Read more
Published on 9 Nov 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars This play is well worth seeing
Death of a salesman is the story of the tragic figure Willy Loman. Willy fights for success for himself and his son Biff. Read more
Published on 3 May 1999

1.0 out of 5 stars creativly bankrupt
the story line lack cohesion, whilst the characters are no more than one dimensional pale immitations of irrelivent and wholey unsubstantiated individuals. Read more
Published on 23 Feb 1999

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