Death of Salesman

Name : Anisa Latif Iftitah
NIM : A320080018
Drama Assignment

DEATH OF SALESMAN
By Arthur Miller
I. Structeral element of “The Death of the Salesman” drama which is contains of narrative and technical element.
A. Narrative Element.
1. Character and Characterization.
a) The major character:
The major character are consists of Willy Loman, a salesman who has treveled for more than 30 years up and down the New England coast. Biff Loman - A 34 year old son of Willy who has been searching for himself while working on farms in the west to the dismay of his father. Happy Loman - The younger brother of Biff who tries in all he can to please his father and attempts to continue his father’s dream after he dies and Linda Loman - The wife of Willy.
b) The minor character:
The minor characters are : Charley as Willy’s neighbour who offered him a job, Howard Wagner as the bos of the company who refused Willy, Ben as his older brother, Bernard, Jenny, Miss Francis, Letta, Miss Forsythe, and stanley.
2. Setting
a) Setting of place
The setting of the “Death of the Salesman“ took place in and around the Brooklyn house of Willy Loman in New York surrounded by apartments. Restaurant - Restaurant where Stanley works where the Lomans were supposed to have dinner at the end of the play. The hotel - The hotel where Willy stays while in New England for his business trips.
b) Setting of time
The drama is occur within a 24-hours period, from Monday night to late Tuesday evening around 1949.

3. Plot
The story is started when Willy iwas getting older and less energic. His sons Biff and Happy return to their home to visit their father. Linda asked Biff to stay together with them. This family has economic problem in which Willy was refused by his boss, and Biff also hasn’t find a new job. Willy has idea to sacrifice himself by crashing his car so that his family could get some assurance money to help their economy.

4. Theme
The theme of this drama is what occured behind the death of the salesman that influence by Willy’s mind, in which the story explains that money was become a motive due to the death of the salesman.

B. Technical element.
1. Mice-en-scene.
a.) The set for this play looks deceptively simple but actually complicated enough. The walls of the set are constructed out of a fabric called Cinenet which is very lightweight and very delicate. In fact, if it is torn, it cannot be mended but must be completely re-built. To create the desired urban look for the walls, the Cinenet has been painted to look like bricks. Low-pile carpeting has been installed over sub-flooring to create the deck, and tracks in the sub-flooring are used for moving the pair of mansions on and off the stage. Two wagons are used in the show – one is Willy and Linda's bedroom and reconfigured to be the Chop House; the other is the boys' bedroom and later adapted for the hotel.
b.) The props consist of furniture pieces such as the bed for the master bedroom suite, the twin beds for Biff and Happy and the kitchen chairs were purchased. The kitchen set was purchased at a local antique store, but the stove and refrigerator were from stock and were painted to match the kitchen set. Because the walls of the set are scrim, there are no pictures or any set decoration on them.
2. Costume.
Linda Loman’s costumes, in particular, change considerably. The 1934 look is fresher, perkier while the look in 1949 becomes more somber with subdued, softer colors. Three of the suits for the men were built using a light wool suiting fabric and two were pulled from stock. The trench coat for Uncle Ben was built using a light, cream-colored wool gabardine fabric. His suit coat was purchased, but the pants were built by the Costume Department. All the men’s hats were pulled from stock except for Uncle Ben’s, which was specially built to coordinate with the overall color scheme of his costume. A local knitter made the letter sweater for Biff.

II. The conclusion: the drama tells about man and society.