The Analysis of Symbols in The Death of A Salaesman by Arthur Miller

THE ANALYSIS OF SYMBOLS IN THE DEATH OF A SALESMAN

BY ARTHUR MILLER

A THESIS

BY

HANIDA DWI ARDANI

REG NO : 050705043

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATERA

FACULTY OF LETTERS

ENGLISH DEPARTEMENT

MEDAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1 The Background of the analysis……… 1

1.2 The Problems of the analysis……… 3

1.3 The Object of the analysis……….... 3

1.4 The Scope of the analysis………. 4

1.5 The Research of the analysis……….. 4

1.6 The Significance of the study……… 4

1.7 Review of The Related Literature………. 5

CHAPTER II PLAY AND SYMBOLS

2.1 Definition of play……… 7

2.1.1Kinds of play………16

2.1.1.1 tragedy………..16

2.1.1.2 comedy……….18

2.1.1.3 tragic comedy………...19

2.2 Definition of symbols ………20

2.2.1 Kinds of symbols……….22

2.2.1.1 Conventional symbols………..22

2.2.1.2 Personal symbols………..23

CHAPTER III THE ANALYSIS OF SYMBOLS IN ARTHUR

MILLER’S THE DEATH OF A SALESMAN

3.1 Symbol of diamond………25

3.2 Symbol of jungle………28

3.3 Symbol of seeds……….30

3.4 Symbol of music………....32

3.6 Symbol of lighting……….35 3.7 Symbol of stockings………..36 3.8 Symbol of mythic figures………..38

CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

4.1 Conclusion………40 4.2 Suggestion……….41

APPENDIX

SUMMARY OF THE PLAY

ARTHUR MILLER’S BIOGRAPHY HIS LITERARY WORKS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to thank and praise to Allah SWT, who has blessed me in this life especiallyin writing this thesis.

I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all of people in Faculty of Letters, University of North Sumatra:

1. Drs. Syaifuddin, M.A. Ph.D, as the Dean of Faculty of Letters, University of North Sumatra.

2. Dra. Swesana Mardia Lubis, M.Hum as the Head of English Department, Faculty of Letters, University of North Sumatra, who has paid attention, guided and supported me in finishing my study.

3. Drs. Yulianus Harefa, Med TESOL, as the Secretary of English Department, Faculty of Letters, University of North Sumatra, who has paid attention, guided and supported me in finishing my study.

4. Drs. Sahri Saja, M.A as my Supervisor who has given advices, suggestion, guidance, and helps me in writing this thesis.

5. Drs. Parlindungan Purba, M.Hum as my Co-Supervisor who has given advices, suggestion, guidance, and helps me in writing this thesis.

6. All lectures who have guided and given valuable knowledge and advices during the years of my study.

And for my lovely people in my life:

1. My beloved parents: Papi and Mami thanks for your love, support, prayer and everything.

2. My Brother Aan, my sister in law kak Ayu, my sister Nisa, Jihan and Dina thank for your love, support and prayers.

3. My lovely beibh Agus Heriansyah thanks a lot for your love, support, attention, prayers and everything.

4. My lovely friend , especially my best friend , Ira and Duma, thanks guys for your support and friendship.

5. My speciall thank for all mu friends 05, Kieki, Ai,Ijal, Yuyu, Adly, Ayu, Decy, Wiwin, Fresty, Emak, sembol( Lili), Iwa, gusti, abun ( dedi rizki), wawan, noni, 06 and 03 thanks guys for your friendship and happiness, love you guys.

Medan, April 2009

Hanida Dwi Ardani 050705043

ABSTRACT

Simbol adalah pemaknaan terhadap sesuatu dengan bentuk lain. Di dalam skripsi ini saya menganalisis simbol – simbol yang ditemukan dalam drama yang ditulis oleh Arthur Miller “ Death of a Salesman” . Dalam drama “ Death of a Salesman “ memiliki banyak simbol yang digunakan untuk mempertegas makna dari drama melalui teks yang ada. Simbol bisa berupa perhiasan “ diamond “ yang mempresentasikan keinginan. Kehidupan disimbolkan dalam bentuk hutan “ jungle “ yang mempresentasikan penuh misteri dan gelap. Hidup manusia yang selalu berkembang yang dilambangkan dalam bentuk makanan “ cheese” . Manusia juga mampu melakukan penghianatan yang disimbolkan melalui pakaian “ stocking”. “Music” adalah simbol yang kita gunakan untuk menggambarkan suasana hati kita. Cahaya “ lighting” kita gunakan sebagai bentuk untuk menggambarkan atmosfer keadaan hidup kita. Dalam kehidupan kita juga menggunakan “ mythic figure “ sebagai sesuatu yang dapat mempengaruhi hidup kita. Di dalam menafsirkan simbol – simbol tersebut, saya menggunakan metode descriptive dan interpretive karena dalam menganalisis simbol – simbol tersebut saya membutuhkan deskripsi akan simbol – simbol tersebut, penafsiran maupun interpretasikan simbol – simbol tersebut.

ABSTRACT

Simbol adalah pemaknaan terhadap sesuatu dengan bentuk lain. Di dalam skripsi ini saya menganalisis simbol – simbol yang ditemukan dalam drama yang ditulis oleh Arthur Miller “ Death of a Salesman” . Dalam drama “ Death of a Salesman “ memiliki banyak simbol yang digunakan untuk mempertegas makna dari drama melalui teks yang ada. Simbol bisa berupa perhiasan “ diamond “ yang mempresentasikan keinginan. Kehidupan disimbolkan dalam bentuk hutan “ jungle “ yang mempresentasikan penuh misteri dan gelap. Hidup manusia yang selalu berkembang yang dilambangkan dalam bentuk makanan “ cheese” . Manusia juga mampu melakukan penghianatan yang disimbolkan melalui pakaian “ stocking”. “Music” adalah simbol yang kita gunakan untuk menggambarkan suasana hati kita. Cahaya “ lighting” kita gunakan sebagai bentuk untuk menggambarkan atmosfer keadaan hidup kita. Dalam kehidupan kita juga menggunakan “ mythic figure “ sebagai sesuatu yang dapat mempengaruhi hidup kita. Di dalam menafsirkan simbol – simbol tersebut, saya menggunakan metode descriptive dan interpretive karena dalam menganalisis simbol – simbol tersebut saya membutuhkan deskripsi akan simbol – simbol tersebut, penafsiran maupun interpretasikan simbol – simbol tersebut.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION

1.1Background of the analysis.

Taylor ( 1981:1) says that, literature like other arts, is essentially an imaginative act, that is an act of the writer’s imagination in selecting, ordering, and interpreting life experience. The use of imagination is important and has been shown in the literary extracts already considered. The choice and relationship of words is directed by the fact that the writer is not attempting a straight forward factual exposition of his subject matter. He is creating his own sort of reality, making up characters, places, and conditions on his own terms ( Chapman, 1982:26).

Both definitions show that literature can be the interpretation of experience, life experience, everything felt, seen, heard or even read by an author can be put into a literary work by using the author’s creative imagination.

Literature is divided into three major genres of literature, they are drama, prose and poetry in which each genre has its own characteristic. Taylor ( 1981:101) explains that drama as re-create action immediately and physically on a stage in front of an audience. The title of the play is Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.

Arthur Miller Death of a Salesman is a story of a man , Willy Loman, whose struggling efforts to live the American dream are unsuccessful. Willy’s efforts to have it all and live the life of a salesman, like his hero David Singleman, unfortunately are not enough pushing his dreams further away from reality. Death of a Salesman is a true and intelligent criticism of the American Dream. Willy Loman's dreams are unattainable, thus

pointing out that the American dream can be insurmountable for many people. The Loman's displays of dishonesty and immorality prove that the American Dream can often diminish any respectable values an individual may have. Possessing the finest of everything and placing great importance on looks and begins to create a materialistic world where success and wealth are of the utmost importance. The Loman family's longing to achieve the American Dream presents a clear image that allows insight into the imperfections and phoniness of the dream itself.

The writer decide to analyze symbols in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller because there are many symbols found in the play that makes it mysterious, unique, and interesting to be analyzed. symbols are abstract idea and not easy to understand the real meaning of symbol, symbol is important in literary work as transferring meaning hidden behind the words and to share ideas feelings the authors and also the author inderictly expressed his idea by using symbols. Symbols are all we have to communicate with one another , something hidden to share our ideas and feelings. Symbols are object, character or colour used to represent abstract ideas or concept. A symbol may be defined as any object that suggest a larger meaning than itself or as applied specially to literature a symbol may be an objector even action that embodies the nature of class off things or an abstract idea.

Kasim (1998: 55) says that para penganut aliran simbolis adalah menciptakan karya – karya yang berisikan buah pikiran yang tersembunyi , yang samar – samar, yang merupakan gambaran perasaan manusia yang tidak diungkapkan secar terus terang, sehingga semuanya ini akan mendorong kemampuan dan daya pikir para pembaca karya- karya mereka untuk memahami dan sekaligus menikmati karya – karya tersebut.

Peck and Martin (1984:72) explains that a symbol are only used when a writer wants to express an apprehension of something in his mind which is not directly

observable in the everyday world. This definition mean that the writer has to use a symbol because he can only convey his non – rational apprehension of something by using object and words from the familiar word. In analyzing symbol need deep understanding . Symbol is not expressed directly by the author but it is expressed by the object, figures, characters and colours where it represent abstract ideas or concept.

1.2The Problems of the analysis

In doing a research , it is important to decide the problems that are going to analyze to avoid the ambiguity of the research and to assist the writer to get the clear description on the object of the study. Deciding statement the problem would help the writer in collecting data for the analysis.

1. What kinds of symbols are found in the play? 2. What is the meaning of each symbol?

1.3The object of the analysis

Objective of a study is a statement about the activities and objects that are going to analyze based on the problem of the analysis. This research hold on to this objective in doing the research . In this research , the writer conclude that there are objective based on statement of the problems that has been decide:

1. To find out the kinds of the symbol found in the play. 2. To explain the meaning of each symbol.

In research it is important for the writer to limit the analysis to concentrate on the specific object that has been chosen in order to get the best result from it. This would help the writer to avoid over complicating the issues and analysis. This research limits the discussion only on analyzing the symbols found in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miler.

1.5The Research of the Method

In analyzing Death of a Salesman’s symbols, this research apply two methods. The first is descriptive method. First read the play, try to understand the play and describe the symbols in the play. The second is interpretive method. After describe the symbols, the writer try to interpreted the meaning of the symbols.

In doing the analysis, the writer apply library research by collecting the references that support and related to the analysis from library and also find suitable references from the internet to complete the analysis.

1.6The Significance of the Study

This research really expected that it can achieve some significance for the readers as follows:

1. To help the readers more understand the story by explaining the symbols. 2. To help the readers familiarize with Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

1.7Review of The Related Literature

In this research , the uses a number of books which are concerned with the discussion are:

1. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature, by Wilfred L. Guerin, et al talked about some critical approaches in literature such as traditional approach, the formalistic approach, the psychological approach, mythological and archetypal approaches, the exponential approach, and other approaches.

2. Theory of Literature, by Rene Wellek and Austin Warren (1956). In this classic book, Wellek and Warren talked about two kinds of approach in analyzing a literary work. The first approach is extrinsic approach that is an approach that is an approach which relates the literary work to the other subject. Secondly, intrinsic approach, that is an approach which emphasizes on the elements of the literature itself.

3. Understanding the Elements of Literature, by Richard Taylor (1981), explain three major genres ( drama, prose and poetry), which are defined and discussed in detail. Critical process in the appreciation and interpretation of literature are high lighted through the book.

4. An Introduction of Literary Studies, by Razali Kasim (2006). In this book, he talked about symbol; meaning and kinds of symbol in two kinds are conventional and private symbols.

5. Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams Totem and Taboo, Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality and Other Works a Critical Commentary, by Robert N. Pasotti this book consists of some interpretation of dreams, clinical period, cultural period, theory of art.

CHAPTER II PLAY AND SYMBOLS 2.1 Definition of play

Kasim (1999: 79) explains that the word drama derives from Greek word ‘ dran’ which means ‘ to do, to act’. It has a long history. The oldest dramatic performance known in human history was Abydos Play. It was performed in Egypt in approximately 4000 B.C intended to worship their god, Osiris. The rise of dramatic performance in ancient Greece was also related to religion. It show us that drama means that to do, to act which has long story and in Egypt it means that as performed of thank and honor to the god and in Greece the performed also related to their religion.

Drama has undergone evolution. In ancient Greek time there was chorus that stood for people in general. There were a lot of flashback told by characters because the story was limited to only 24 hours and the setting was in one place ( three unities). In the further development later there was no chorus and three unities, but the stories were still about aristocratic or noble families.

Taylor ( 1981:101) explains that drama as re-create action immediately and physically on a stage in front of an audience. It means that drama as re-creating action of imagination as interpretation of literary text in front of audiences.The immediate and physical re – creation of action before an audience introduces certain limitations as well as offering creative possibilities.

Drama is a type of literature usually written to be performed. People often make a distinction between drama, which concerns the written text, or script, for the performance, an

most honored and influential works of literature around the world have been dramas. They begin with the classical Greek tragedies of and continue with the plays of such major dramatists a a the Western tradition (accessed at

Most types of literature, including novels, short stories, and poems, are written to be read, usually in silence by a solitary reader. Although works of drama, called plays, are also often read in this manner, they are created primarily to be presented in public by a group of performers, each of whom pretends to be one of the characters in the story the play is telling. Older plays, such as those written by the Greeks or Shakespeare, consist almost entirely of the words spoken by these characters (the dialogue). More recent plays usually contain non spoken material (the stage directions) that tells the actors when to enter or leave the performance space, gives suggestions about how to speak their dialogue (their lines), and describes their costumes or their physical surroundings on stage (the setting). (accessed at

The explanation above tell us about novel and short stories are the modern or living narrative fiction. They often share constructional features, subject matter and themes derived from the epic, romance, satire, and allegory. It is normally a prose work of quite some length and complexity which attempts to reflect and express something of the quality of human experience or conduct. Its subject matter may be token from patterns

of lie as we know it, or set in an exotic and imaginative time o place. The work may create the illusion of actual reality or frankly admit the artificiality of its fictional world in order to direct our attention to an imaginative relationship between the subject matter or theme of the work and the real world in which we actually live. The novel o manners which investigates social behaviour and ethics is another recognisable form of this period as is the novel concerned with education of a young man or woman.. The short stories is similar to the novel in all characteristics except that it limits itself to a single, complete episode and makes up in compression and intensity for what it lacks in scope and breadth of vision. The short stories is an outgrowth of the modern concern for the examination of artistic materials and forms. In it we see the basic unit or building block of the novel isolated for examination. Drama derives its most characteristic features from the effectiveness of stage presentation, a factor which does not depend on language, while the distinguishing features of poetry are rhythmic movement and musical devices. The above explanation show us that drama is type of literature concern with text to be performed in front of audience, drama give big influence for some author in Europe, whereas some author has characteristic of their drama, for example Shakespeare his works tells about tragedy, revenge, and death. As we know that drama has text, dialogue, potentially may work for theatrical situation. Drama has diagram of pyramidal construction such as introduction, rising action, climax, falling action and conclusion. People in Ancient Greek had no guidance such as holy books, so they created or took the moral lessons from the dramatic performances. Greek drama was religious in nature, in the story of dramatic performances, there was God of wilderness and fertility. Drama at the time tell about high class.

The ancient Greek philosopher study of drama, divided the elements of drama into plot, character, thought, language, and spectacle. Aristotle considered plot—the basic story and how it is told—the most important of these, and this is indeed typically the case. However, almost all dramas use all of these elements to some extent, telling a story by means of the interactions of characters, who express their thoughts through language within a particular visual setting. The balance of these elements, however, varies from play to play. During some periods and in some traditions many or most plays emphasize some element other than plot. Aristotle’s explained that tragedy purges the audience of fear and pity.

Language is almost always an important element in drama, and it is occasionally the dominant element. This is the case in the poetic dramas of English romantic authors of the early 19th century and in much of what is called high comedy or comedy of manners, which dates back to the 17th century in England. The latter tradition emphasizes nuances of social class and behavior and typically makes prominent use of witty dialogue, puns, and other verbal acrobatics (Accessed at 8:47:12 PM)

Language or dialogue is the most important element drama whereas dialogue serves for major functions such as to give information, this function which provides the readers or audiences with specific information about a dramatic situation and the events that have led to it. Dialogue to reveal character which gives information about characters is really an extension of expository dialogue. Dialogue to advance the structure and

develop the plot, to elevate the language which this function deals with the attempt to present the finest expression primarily for the sake of elevated language.

Accessed at emphasized spectacle include opera, modern musical comedy, 19th-century melodrama, and court spectacles known as masques that originated in England during the 16th century. Spectacle can include lavish costumes, elaborate sets or stage machinery, and other elements that serve to enrich an audience’s visual experience of a play.

A type of play which is accompanied with music, the two elements music and story are equally important. If farce is often associated with comedy, melodrama with tragedy. It treats serious subject, commonly romantic and sensational.

Accessed at subdivisions of drama are Even today the smiling and weeping masks worn by Greek actors in comedy and tragedy symbolize the two branches of drama. Traditionally, a tragedy is dominated by a serious tone, concerns kings and princes, deals with profound issues, and usually concludes with the death of the leading character. A comedy typically deals with common people, is dominated by a light tone that encourages laughter (or at least amusement or entertainment), and ends happily, often with the uniting of a pair of young lovers.

Tragedy on the hand, presents a world in which a different kind of occurs and the return to normally is based on punishment or expiation for the original inversion of values, a sin against society or against supernatural. Tragedy act upon their natures, ultimately destroying them . Comedy is generally concerned with situation the relationship of those happenings to normal patterns of surprising us and exciting laughter at the ridiculousness of human situations.

Accessed at other forms of drama appeared, and dramatists modified the two traditional forms. Shakespeare divided his plays into comedies, tragedies, and histories, the latter presenting national history in dramatic form. He also departed from classic practice by putting important comic scenes into his tragedies. In Italy, certain critics and dramatists began mixing elements and aspects of the two traditional kinds of theater to create a third kind, called tragicomedy. The mixture of moods would become much more common in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Drama was the main literary forms of Renaissance, all literature were influenced by medieval as well as classical models, although each work was a new creation and shared the characteristics of its own age. From this developed appeared new creation is tragicomedy which combained of tragic and comedy.

Accessed at and tragedy remained central, but writers subdivided each type and developed new

combined forms as well. Tragedy remained the genre used most often to explore the profound philosophic questions of good and evil and humankind’s place in the universe, while comedy emphasized people in their social aspects and personal relationships. This split made comedy the more appropriate form for social commentary and criticism as well as for simple amusement. Comedy emphasizing wit and style among the upper classes became known as high comedy or comedy of manners, as opposed to low comedy or farce. Low comedy traditionally gains its effects from physical humor that can even turn violent at times and from crude verbal jokes, rather than from verbal wit or nuances of social behavior. Greece. The equivalent form of tragedy with a wide popular appeal, call emerged as a recognized type of theater in the 19th century (though some modern critics characterize certain plays by Euripides as melodramas). Like farce, melodrama is associated with physical action. In the 18th century, as interest grew in the exploration of the emotions, sentimental comedy developed. It stressed feelings rather than laughter and encouraged audience sympathy with the characters and their trials. Other new forms included tragedies that dealt with class characters and serious plays about middle-class life, often called simply dramas. In the 20th century such middle-middle-class drama replaced tragedy as the major serious form of theatrical writing.

Tragedy and comedy in every centuries has characteristic at the time. In classic time tragedy talked about philosophic, religious. Comedy talked about satire of high class and social class. After a period that comedy and tragedy continue to expand, form - old form have been left and continue to be developed so that yield new masterpiece and new story so that more interesting. From this growth bear new type that is melodrama, what is

much the same to its story with tragedy, where its cherry about sorrow which is laying open to through word expression - acting and word. The story not only talked about high class also social, middle and low class. Drama always develop so it make drama so interested and the story never same in every time.

Drama has served a wide variety of functions at different times and in different places. Roman writer literature in general and drama in particular, said it was designed 'to delight and to instruct.' Sometimes the purpose of drama has been considered to be primarily the first of these, sometimes the second, but generally at least some degree of both has been present.

Accessed at Renaissance drama was closely associated with major religious and civic observances and served to support both. As a result, plays emphasized instruction. The Renaissance saw examples of theater that were almost purely instructional at schools and universities, along with examples that were almost pure entertainment in the popular theaters at fairs and marketplaces, and a great variety of combinations of the two. Subsequent popular drama stressed entertainment, from presentations in farce and folk theaters of the 18th century to the offerings of major commercial theaters today. Much of the more serious, literary drama from the 18th century on has sought to encourage its audiences to become better informed and more thoughtful about a range of political, social, and moral issues. It is important to remember that drama is also an art form, and can offer in addition to relaxing entertainment the often more demanding experience of aesthetic pleasure. In the

early 20th-century the art theater movement stressed this purpose in particular, by presenting dramas whose primary goal was neither conventional entertainment nor instruction but an aesthetic or artistic experience.

Classic tragedy requires a hero of high political and social status as well as of moral distinction who is placed in a situation which acts upon as undiscovered law in heroic tragedy is the effect of the situation on character and the investigation is generally more of the flaw occurs at the climax of the play and the hero descends to his inevitable end as the action develops towards the ultimate catastrophe.

Audiences attend plays from a mixture of motivations, including curiosity, pleasure-seeking, and a desire for knowledge or aesthetic experience. But all of these experiences are intensified by the public nature of drama. Because drama is a literary form designed for public presentation, writing about drama has often explored how drama relates to society. Some theorists have argued that, as an art reflecting social concerns for a group audience, drama is particularly suited to stimulate social change. Other theorists have argued that the group orientation of drama means that to succeed drama can never seriously challenge the audience’s general assumptions. Even though critics disagree about drama's revolutionary potential, most would agree that a central purpose of drama has always been to provide a means for a society to reflect upon itself and its beliefs.

Audiences is very important in drama because drama performance in front of audience to give appreciate. Audiences is judge to give assessment for drama good or bad the performed.

2.1.1Kinds of play

Most of the world’s great plays written before the twentieth century may be regarded as one of two kinds: tragedy or comedy. Roughly speaking, tragedy dramatizes the conflict between the vitality of the single life and the laws or limits of life ( the tragic hero reaches his heights, going beyond the experiences of other men, at the cost of his life), and comedy dramatizes the vitality of the laws of social life ( the good life is seen to reside in the shedding of an individualism that isolates , in favor of a union with a genial and enlightened society). A third kind of drama, somewhat desperately called tragicomedy, is harder to epitomize, but most of the tragicomedies of our century use extravagant comic scenes to depict an absurd, senseless world.

2.1.1.1 Tragedy

The word’ tragedy’ derives from two Greek words’ trago’ and ‘ oide’. Trago means goat and oide means song. In Greek term ‘ goat song’ means the death just as the sacrifice of goats, totems of primitive people or the worshippers of the god dressed in goatskin, done in ancient rituals. In Latin, it is called ‘ tragodia’ whereas in Old French called ‘ tragedie’.

Tragedy is defined as play in which the protagonists fall to disaster through the combination of personal failings and circumstances. The story of a tragedy must be ended with disaster or the characters undergo a sad event or an unfortunate aspect of something. It also describe the chief characters, misfortune and errors and in the ending with calamity, destruction even death that which cause extreme grief.

The simplest definition of tragedy is that it is a play that ends with deaths of the main character. The concept of tragedy was related to the belief of ancient Greek people. The Greeks had no holy book that might have guided their life. They were forced to rely on their own intellect for a solution of goon and evil, no revelation. In their search for controlling principles by which to conduct their life, they developed moral and religious codes derived from strict legal codes. The controlling principles were harmony, balance, proportion, and justness.

The central personage of Greek tragedy was warrior hero. He was the embodiment of the old ideal ‘ arete’ , a prowess or strength that had brought him glory and fame an made him a leader. He appeared as one who had achieved everything in his life , both fortune was apparently revealed as hollow, the hero was brought to suffering and ruin. He was trapped in a situation in which any action taken by the hero would be morally unacceptable. He attempted to fight, because he didn’t want to give up , but his attempt ended failure.

The above explanation show us some important points out Greek tragedy such as, the hero is person who never gives up. He will fight, although he realize that his opponent is stronger and more powerful and that he will finally be defeated. The Greek hero always feels responsible for what he has done. He never tries to escape from his responsibility. The Greek hero or heroine meets his or her fate with such dignity and determination.

2.1.1.2 Comedy

Accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comedy_(drama)3/10/2009 8:47:12 PM explained that the word "comedy" is derived from thκωμῳδία, which is a compound either ofκώμη (village) and ᾠδή (singing): it is possible that κῶμος itself is derived from κώμη, and originally meant a village revel. The adjective "comic" (Greek κωμικός), which strictly means that which relates to comedy is, in modern usage, generally confined to the sense of "laughter-provoking". The word came into modern usage through the Latin comoedia and Italian commedia and has, over time, passed through various shades of meaning.

Greeks and Romans confined the word "comedy" to descriptions of stage-plays with happy endings. In the with happy endings and a lighter tone. In this sense poem, La Divina Commedia. As time progressed, the word came more and more to be associated with any sort of performance intended to cause laughter.

Comedy is often linked and contrasted with tragedy. Aristotle in his book The Poetics ( in Albert Cook, 1963:59) points out that comedy is inferior to tragedy, comedy imitates human life very badly. But in the further development some very talented writers, such as George Bernard Shaw, wrote comedies that were widly accepted by the reading public. He made use comedy to criticize English society.

Much comedy contains variations on the elements of surprise, incongruity, conflict, repetitiveness, and there are also adult comedy, and the effect of

expectations, but there are many recogni use ironic comedy to portray persons or social institutions as ridiculous or corrupt, thus alienating their audience from the object of humor.

(usually upper class society) and uses humor to parody or satirize the behavior and mannerisms of its members. romance in humorous terms, and focuses on the foibles of those who are falling in love.

2.1.1.3 Tragic comedy

Accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragicomedy3/10/2009 8:47:54 PM explained that Tragicomedy is and tragicomedy referred to a serious

A play dealing with a tragic story which ends unhappily, but which contains certain elements of comedy and the remote possibilities of a happy ending.

There is no complete formal definition of tragicomedy from the classical age. It appears that serious action with a happy ending) in mind when, i dual ending. In this respect, a number of Greek and Roman plays, for instanc may be called tragicomedies, though without any definite attributes outside of plot. The term itself originates with play's bringing gods into a predominantly bourgeois play.

2.2 Definition of Symbols

Accessed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolism3/10/2009 8:41:40 PM explained that Symbolism is the applied use of particular meanings.

The term "symbolism" is limited to use in contrast to defining the general directions of a linear be viewed in relation, and where changes in context may impl individual and collective definitions of symbols. "Symbolism" may refer to a way of choosing representative symbols in line with abstract rather than literal allowing for the broader interpretation of a carri representations allow. A huma

The interpretation of abstract symbols has had an important role i creations of mind, but rather are distinct capacities within the mind to hold a distinct piece of information. In the mind, the symbol can fi of other symbols, can be organized in any number of ways, and can hold the connected meanings between symbols as symbols in themselves. Jung and Freud diverged on the issue of common cognitive symbol systems and whether they could exist only within the individual mind or among other minds; whether any cognitive symbolism was defined by innate symbolism or by the influence of the environment around them. In literature, "symbolism" may refer to the use of abstract concepts, as a way to obfuscate any literal

interpretation, or to allow for the broader applicability of the prose to meanings beyond what may be literally described. Many writers, in fact most or all authors of fiction, make symbolic use of concepts and objects as rhetorical devices central to the meaning of their works.

Etymologically, the word of symbol derived from Greek word “ symbolon” as a noun means sign, mark, or token and the related verb symballein means to put together. A symbol may be defined as any object that suggest a larger meaning than itself or as applied especially to literature a symbol may be any object or even action that embodies the nature of a class of things or an abstract idea.

An author or poet may make a symbols in the title, character, setting and natural objects, man made objects. The character, setting, natural objects, and the title or called a symbol if the interpretation of a symbol has relation with the total meaning of a literary work.

The writer will write many definitions of symbol below:

“ Symbol is something used for or regarded as representing something else. More specially, a symbol is a word, phrase, or other expression having a complex at associated meaning, in this sense a symbol is viewed as having values different from those at whatever is being symbolized.” ( Hary Shaw,1976:266)

“ A symbol, in the broadest sense of the term, is anything which signifies something else: in this sense all word are symbol. As commonly used in criticism , however, “ symbol” is applied only to a word or phrase signifying an object which itself has significance : that is the object referred to has a range of meaning beyond itself.” ( M.H.Abrams,1981:92)

“ Symbol is an object, which stands for something else. In a poem, it is a word, which, while signifying something specific, also signifies something beyond itself. There is the differences between image and symbol we have to infer the meaning and associations. According them, the symbol is used when writer wants to express an apprehension of something in his mind, which is not directly observable in everyday world. The writer has to use a symbol because he can only convey his non rational apprehension of something by using objects and words the familiar word.” ( John Peck and Martin Coyle, 1984:71)

“ A symbol is a word that stands for or points to reality beyond itself. The words can be used to describe about symbol are represents, suggests, evokes, and expresses.” ( Richard Gill,1985:30)

“ Symbol is a thing that suggest more that its literal meaning in literary text. He devides symbol into two kinds. They are conventional and Private symbol.”( Mario Klarer,1976:140)

2.2.1 Kinds of Symbols

According to Kasim (1999: 68) there are two main types of symbols , namely Conventional or Universal symbol and Private or Personal symbol.

2.2.1.1 Conventional Symbols

Conventional symbol is symbol, which made through consensus, and its meaning has recognized by a society . Traditional symbol are the object, which have become symbols through the years of use. Some images become symbols through their use in

religion and folklore. It is called traditional symbol. The cross, for example , was once part of the image of crucifixion , later has become the symbol of Christianity . Symbols which evolve out of religion or folklore , or out natural imagery, such as the tide ( which symbolizes, among other things, time and eternity), become symbols by the consensus of a large number of people who frequently come in contact with particular associations of the image which produce symbols. The following objects have been considered bearing conventional symbols for centuries, some of which are reflected in religious practice and can also be found mythical story and literature, they are crescent and star are the symbol of Moslem, water are the symbol of purification and redemption, garden are the symbol of paradise, desert are the symbol of spiritual aridity, morning are the symbol of hope, red are the symbol of spirit, passion, green are the symbol of growth, hope, wing are the symbol of inspiration, relief. There are, of course a lot more of objects that might bear traditional symbols, and the examples are by no means exhaustive.

2.2.1.2 Personal Symbols

Some authors do not use commonly accepted symbols ( conventional symbols), but create their own symbols. The problem with non – traditional symbols is that readers do not inherently understand them. Since that symbol can work only when there is a consensus of meaning between the author and readers, the author must present or create his own symbol using the context of the literary work to make the symbol clear. Non – traditional symbols are sometimes called personal symbols. He or she must be both efficient and effective. He or she must do something to give valuable to symbol. He or she gives us a little pieces information that serve as clues or pointers for symbols. E.g. In

Day September by Faulkner, dust is the symbol of spiritual drought, in the Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams, wing field photograph of the symbol of Amanda’s youth when she was in Blue Mountain.

From the describe symbol, it can be concluded that symbol is the person, natural, and man – made objects, word, phrase, setting, character, which are used to represents abstract ideas and feeling and symbol classified into two, they are conventional and private symbol.

CHAPTER III

THE ANALYSIS OF SYMBOLS IN ARTHUR MILLER’S THE

DEATH OF A SALESMAN

3.1 Symbols of Diamonds

Willy Loman is an insecure, self-deluded traveling salesman. Willy believes wholeheartedly in the American Dream of easy success and wealth, but he never achieves it. Nor do his sons fulfill his hope that they will succeed where he has failed. When Willy's illusions begin to fail under the pressing realities of his life, his mental health begins to unravel. The overwhelming tensions caused by this disparity, as well as those caused by the societal imperatives that drive Willy, form the essential conflict of Death of a Salesman. Despite his desperate searching through his past, Willy does not achieve the self-realization or self-knowledge typical of the tragic hero. The quasi-resolution that his suicide offers him represents only a partial discovery of the truth. While he achieves a professional understanding of himself and the fundamental nature of the sales profession, Willy fails to realize his personal failure and betrayal of his soul and family through the meticulously constructed artifice of his life. He cannot grasp the true personal, emotional, spiritual understanding of himself as a literal “loman” or “low man.” Willy is too driven by his own “willy”-ness or perverse “willfulness” to recognize the slanted reality that his desperate mind has forged. Still, many critics, focusing on Willy's entrenchment in a quagmire of lies, delusions, and self-deceptions, ignore the significant accomplishment of his partial self-realization. Willy's failure to recognize the anguished love offered to him by his family is crucial to the climax of his torturous day, and the play presents this incapacity as the real tragedy. Despite this failure, Willy makes the most extreme

sacrifice in his attempt to leave an inheritance that will allow Biff to fulfill the American Dream.

To Willy, diamonds represent tangible wealth and, hence, both validation of one's labor (and life) and the ability to pass material goods on to one's offspring, two things that Willy desperately craves. Correlatively, diamonds, the discovery of which made Ben a fortune, symbolize Willy's failure as a salesman. Despite Willy's belief in the American Dream, a belief unwavering to the extent that he passed up the opportunity to go with Ben to Alaska, the Dream's promise of financial security has eluded Willy. Ben - Willy's wealthy older brother. Ben has recently died and appears only in Willy's “daydreams.” Willy regards Ben as a symbol of the success that he so desperately craves for himself and his sons.

There are several connections to the concept of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman. One can be found on act 1 page 1319 when the principal character Willy Loman expresses his jealousy towards the successes of his brother Ben. Ben knew what he wanted,

Willy : “He started with the clothes on his back, walked into the jungle and came out enormously rich at the age of twenty-one owning several diamond mines”. Willy continues: “That man

was a genius, that man was success incarnate!”(Death of a Salesman 1319)

Another example of a man’s success, and therefore also of the American Dream, is found on page 1323. Willy’s imaginary memory of Ben describes their who traveled with his whole selling his inventions and he also became rich. On page 1340 Willy remembers one occasion when his son Biff was playing at Ebbets Field. There was this glow around him

and people cheered his name when he came out. He was a star then and this kind of personal success is also a typical example of the American Dream, Willy himself experienced a personal success in his work. At the end of the play, act 2 page 1362,

Ben :” The jungle is dark but full of diamonds, Willy”. ." ( Death of a Salesman .p. 1362)

The jungle metaphor is continually bought to the reader's attention throughout the novel. Like Ben, Willy hopes to strike it rich in the business world of New England. Yet Willy never finds the diamonds (success), and he leaves life without fortune or fame. In many ways, the jungle also represents the American Dream ideal that Miller often criticized.

The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds”—turns Willy's suicide into a metaphorical moral struggle, a final skewed ambition to realize his full commercial and material capacity. His final act, according to Ben, is “not like an appointment at all” but like a “diamond . . . rough and hard to the touch.” In the absence of any real degree of self-knowledge or truth, Willy is able to achieve a tangible result. In some respect, Willy does experience a sort of revelation, as he finally comes to understand that the product he sells is himself. Through the imaginary advice of Ben, Willy ends up fully believing his earlier assertion to Charley that “after all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.”

Ben:” One must go in to fetch a diamond out”. ( Death of a Salesman )

Ben encourages Willy to enter the “jungle” finally and retrieve this elusive diamond that is, to kill himself for insurance money in order to make his life meaningful.

Ben's final mantra of “The jungle is dark, but full of diamonds” in Act II turns Willy's suicide into a moral struggle and a matter of commerce. His final act, according to Ben.

Ben :“not like an appointment at all” but like a “diamond … rough and hard to the touch.” (Death of a Salesman .p.1362).

As opposed to the fruitless, emotionally ruinous meetings that Willy has had with Howard Wagner and Charley, his death, Ben suggests, will actually yield something concrete for Willy and his family. Willy latches onto this appealing idea, relieved to be able finally to prove himself a success in business. Additionally, he is certain that with the $20,000 from his life insurance policy, Biff will at last fulfill the expectations that he, Willy, has long held for him. The diamond stands as a tangible reminder of the material success that Willy's salesman job could not offer him and the missed opportunity of material success with Ben. In selling himself for the metaphorical diamond of $20,000, Willy bears out his earlier assertion to Charley that “after all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive.”

3.2 Symbol of jungle

The term jungle appears in the play as well. In act 1, when Uncle Ben came to Willy’s house,

Ben :“ Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the

jungle, and when I was twenty one I walked out. And

The jungle is symbolic of life. Willy excited that Ben is there to give advice to his sons, forces Biff and Happy to listen to their Uncle Ben , hoping that they will learn his business technique and strikes it rich themselves. In this way, Willy sees the potential success of his sons as the only remaining hope of being successful himself. The jungle can be associated with wildness, brutality and human behavior.

This ideal , however, proves to be unattainable by Willy and his sons when Willy’s desperate struggle for success and happiness is never achieved. This realization is foreshadowed when Ben knocks Biff down with his umbrella, saying ,

Ben : “ Never fight air with a stranger, boy. You’ll

never get out o the jungle that way .”( Death of a

Salesman. p. 1323).

The jungle, or woods, represents the chaotic yet rewarding nature of life. Ben tells Willy,

Ben: "the jungle is dark but full of diamonds."

( Death of a Salesman .p 1362).

So like Ben, Willy hopes to strike it rich in the business world of New England. Yet Willy never finds the diamonds (success/happiness), and he leaves life without fortune or fame. In many ways, the jungle also represents the twentieth century free market economy (and the American Dream ideal) that Miller often criticized.

Ben also tells to Willy,

Ben : “ It’s dark there, but full of diamonds”

( Death of a Salesman. p.1363),

it means that Ben hopes Willy can to strike in his life, in his business to get his success,

3.3 Symbol of seeds

Seeds represent for Willy the opportunity to prove the worth of his labor, both as a salesman and a father. Act 2 page 1333,

Willy : “There’s no question, no question at all. Gee, on the way home tonight I’d like to buy some seeds” ( Death of a Salesman. p. )

. His desperate, nocturnal attempt to grow vegetables signifies his shame about barely being able to put food on the table and having nothing to leave his children when he passes. Willy feels that he has worked hard but fears that he will not be able to help his offspring any more than his own abandoning father helped him. The seeds also symbolize Willy's sense of failure with Biff. Despite the American Dream's formula for success, which Willy considers infallible, Willy's efforts to cultivate and nurture Biff went awry. Realizing that his all-American football star has turned into a lazy bum, Willy takes Biff's failure and lack of ambition as a reflection of his abilities as a father.

Miller uses these motifs throughout his play to symbolize Willy's need and desire for success. They also represent the legacy that Willy never leaves with his family.

Though Willy attempts to plant his garden near the end of the play, this is too little too late. His life has already been a failure and he has left nothing remarkable by which to be remembered.

The idea of planting a garden is a major symbol in the play. Willy is always discussing the idea of planting a garden, in Act I he says,

"The grass don't grow anymore, you can't raise a

carrot in the backyard."(Death of a Salesman.p. )

At the end of the play, one of his last acts in life is his futile attempt at planting seeds in the backyard of his fenced-in house.

Willy : I’ve got to get some seeds. I’ve got to get

some seeds, right away. Nothing’s planted. I don’t

have a thing in the round.” ( Death of a Salesman. p. 1357)

The garden is symbolic of Willy needing to leave something behind for people to remember him by. Something that people will think about and remember him as a great man. Willy never achieved success in life, and he also never planted his garden. (He does in the end of the play, but it is assumed that will not grow.). The garden functions as a last-ditch substitute for Willy's failed career and Biff's dissipated ambition. Willy realizes, at least metaphorically, that he has no tangible proof of his life's work. While he is planting the seeds and conversing with Ben, he worries that “a man can't go out the

way he came in,” that he has to “add up to something.” His preoccupation with material evidence of success belies his very profession, which necessitates the ability to sell one's own, intangible image. The seeds symbolize Willy's failure in other ways as well. The fact that Willy uses gardening as a metaphor for success and failure indicates that he subconsciously acknowledges that his chosen profession is a poor choice, given his natural inclinations.

3.4 Symbols of music

From the beginning of the play, music is used to set atmosphere an may be thought of as and closes the production might be imagined as sounding forlorn and gently tragic, in the beginning setting the stage for the Loman family's tragedy, and in the end mourning for suggests happier times by its cheerfulness, and Ben's theme music reinforces both his position as Willy's idol and the aura of success that surrounds him.

Sound is also used to enhance the audience's understanding of the characters. For example, in the impression of what Willy is thinking. The audience hears scrambled pieces of sound, often voices calling Willy's name. The effect is unsettling and creates pathos.

A similar effect is achieved through tone of voice of the play to creates the atmosphere of the memories with an enthusiastic tone of voice, and later in the play illustrates Willy's position through a desperate tone. While such elements as tone of voice

and acting techniques are not technically "special effects", they are nevertheless used to create an effect on the audience and thus are related.

Sound in Death of a Salesman is used to promote understanding of the characters and events in the play, to set atmosphere and tone of scenes (particularly of memories), to characterize especially in the case of Ben and to create pathos.

3.5 Symbols of cheese

every The reference to with the base content of the My IB symbolism, claimed that "No

In that Please note that it won't make play.

Linda: ”Willy, dear, I got a new kind of American type cheese today. It’s whipped.

Willy: Why do you get American when I like Swiss Linda: I just thought you’d like a change

Willy : I don’t want a change ! I want Swiss cheese. Why am I always being contradicted?.

Linda : I thought it would be a surprise” (Death of a Salesman .p.1306)

Willy is flustered. So to put him at ease, Linda suggest he eat delicious cheese. Now, Willy be happy with cheese, you would guess. But Willy is angry. It’s from the U.S !. When Willy wants cheese that is called “ Swiss” by name. It’s much like his wish that his life stay the same. His affront to the fancy new cheese in the place. Reminds us of hoe Willy can’t keep up pace with a world that is changing, and sales are not found. And Willy is old, and cannot drive around.

When he balks that the cheese is whipped, and not flat, it’s once again Miller reminding us that Willy is lost in this update state. His old time stance is too little, too late. So, Willy is asking us: “ why switch the cheese? If it’s not broke, why fix it whenever you please?”

These cheese here’s a symbol of progress, it’s clear. It’s a common such symbol, but not around here. But for people who analyze dreams all their life. The symbolic change found within cheese is quite rife. Cheese, after all, requires much change to wield, since it’s made up of milk that has erstwhile congealed.

Now that fact brings us to the topic of milk, which fits the motif, as it’s of dairy ilk. The question of why Willy thinks milk is better when urged to consume some American cheddar. Ties into the baser events of the play, his hopeless success is just too far away.

Willy’s world has been update, we’ve seen. But Willy still seeks the American dream. The milk, like his dream, has intangible nature. His desire to escape from his low social stature. Is not solid like cheese, but is still what is sought expressed through the symbol of milk he has bought.

The milk, unlike cheese contains no solid base like how Willy aspires to transcend the rat race. Now life offers will change but still he won’t tread through the strange new unknown, staying passive instead. So the cheese symbolizes a world full of change which Willy avoids cause he finds it too strange, and if you thought cheese symbols were beyond belief, their repeated occurrence makes cheese a motif. And when Linda says

Linda :”cheese is on the middle shelf “

( Death of a Salesman. p 1308 ).

It could be cheese import centralizing itself.

3.6 Symbols of lighting

Lighting in Death of a Salesman often illustrates of Willy's memories, leaves cover the stage, creating a pastoral and seemingly happy atmosphere. In stark contrast, the scenes in the restaurant and the hotel room are characterized by a red glow. (If one wished to pun, one might suggest this is reminiscent of the lighting is used in this way, defining the atmosphere in which the characters exist, in the absence of settings and props to do so.

Lighting is also used to indicate the location on the stage in which relevant action is occurring. When Willy moves into his memories, a different type of light or location of light indicates the difference between his location on th different from that of those around him. For example, light is used to express Willy's memories about the woman while Linda remains sitting in the kitchen of the house. We are not confused about Linda's involvement or lack thereof in the scene, because light indicates that the action occurs where she is not.

in a subtle manner that serves more to accentuate certain character traits that are expressed elsewhere. In the film version, the character Happy is nearly always half-lit, implying that his life revolves about the half of his life that is splendour of his past success, instead of th

3.7 Symbols of Stockings

These represent Willy's adultery as well as the "phoniness" of Willy's existence. Though Willy says he's doing all he can for his family, he actually gives Linda's stockings to his prostitute.

Willy's strange obsession with the condition of Linda's stockings foreshadows his later flashback to Biff's discovery of him and The Woman in their Boston hotel room.

Act 1 page 1318,

The woman :“ You just kill me, Willy. He suddenly grabs her and kisses her roughly. You kill me. And thanks or the stockings. I love a lot of stockings. Well, good night.

Willy : Good night. And keep your pores open ! The woman : Oh, Willy !

(The woman bursts out laughing, and Linda’s laughter blends in. The woman disappears into the dark. Now the area at the kitchen table brightens. Linda is sitting where she was at the kitchen table, but now is mending a pair of her silk stockings.)

Linda : You are Willy. The handsomest man. You’ve got no reason to feel that –

Willy, (coming out of the woman’s dimming area and going over to Linda ): I’ll make it all up to you Linda, I’ll –

Linda : There’s nothing to make up dear. You’re doing fine , better than-

Willy, noticing her mending : What’s that? Linda : Just mending my stockings. They’re so expensive

Willy,( angrily, taking them from her): “I won’t have you mending stockings in this house! Now throw them out!”

Linda pus the stockings in her pocket.

Willy : Will you stop mending stockings? At least while I’m in the house. It gets me nervous. I can’t

tell you. Please. ( Death of a Salesman .p. 1334) Biff : You – you gave her mama’s stocking !His tears break through and be rises to go.

(Willy, grabbing for Biff). Willy : “I gave you an order !”

Biff:” Don’t touch me, you liar!.”

The teenage Biff accuses Willy of giving away Linda's stockings to The Woman. Stockings assume a metaphorical weight as the symbol of betrayal and sexual infidelity. New stockings are important for both Willy's pride in being financially successful and thus able to provide for his family and for Willy's ability to ease his guilt about, and suppress the memory of, his betrayal of Linda and Biff. . Willy assumes that Biff's betrayal stems from Biff's discovery of Willy's affair with The Woman a betrayal of Linda's love. Whereas Willy feels that Biff has betrayed him, Biff feels that Willy, a “phony little fake,” has betrayed him with his unending stream of ego-stroking lies.

3.8 Symbol of Mythic Figures

Willy's tendency to mythologize people contributes to his deluded understanding of the world. He speaks of Dave Singleman as a legend and imagines that his death must have been beautifully noble. Willy compares Biff and Happy to the mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he believes that his sons are pinnacles of “personal attractiveness” and power through “well liked”-ness; to him, they seem the very incarnation of the American Dream.

Willy :” oh yeah, my father lived many years in Alaska. He was an adventurous man. We’ve got quite a little streak of slf-reliance in our family. I thought I’d go out with my older brother and try to locate him, and maybe settle in the North with the old man. And I was almost

decide to go, when I met a salesman in the Parker House. His name was Dave Singleman. And he was eighty our years old, and he’d drummed merchandised in thirty one states. And old Dave, he’d go up o his room, you understand, put on his green velvet slippers. I’ll never forget……… Do you know? When he died and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Heaven, and Hartford, going into Boston when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral. Things were sad on a lotta trains for months after that. In those days there was personality in it, Howard. There was respect, and comradeship, and gratitude, in it. Today, it’s all cut and dried, and there’s no chance for bringing friendship to bear- or personality. You see that

I mean? They don’t know me any more.” . ( Death of a Salesman .p. 1337)

When Dave Singleman was mentioned, by Willy when he was trying to tell Howard what being a salesman used to be like, we only have Willy's evidence, as all we know, this man maybe maid up in Willy's head. But this man is a huge icon for Willy to look up to. This was because Dave was greatly valued, whereas Willy isn't, nor is he

loved as much. I think that this marks Willy's failure as a businessman. He hasn't realised the demands of the business world. Rather than the old way of Dave Singleman's time. Howard isn't interested in the story of Dave. To have a successful business, it has to be efficient, sometimes having to be ruthless. Now people buy products, not for dreams or personalities. .

Willy said, ' There was respect, and comradeship, and gratitude in it. Today, it's all cut and dried, and there's no chance for bringing friendship to bear - or personality.'

In my opinion, Howard Wagner treats Will harshly, because Willy has been very loyal to the business, and has had no reward for his length of service.

Willy's mythologizing proves quite nearsighted, however. Willy fails to realize the hopelessness of Singleman's lonely, on-the-job, on-the-road death. Trying to achieve what he considers to be Singleman's heroic status, Willy commits himself to a pathetic death and meaningless legacy (even if Willy's life insurance policy ends up paying off, Biff wants nothing to do with Willy's ambition for him). Similarly, neither Biff nor Happy ends up leading an ideal, godlike life; while Happy does believe in the American Dream, it seems likely that he will end up no better off than the decidedly ungodlike Willy.

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION

4.1 Conclusions

Symbols is means something with other form. Symbol can be explained with word, phrase, character, object and other to submit meaning from existing text.

In the play Death of a Salesman, symbol is the most important role throughout the play because it is very important in literary works as transferring meaning hidden behind the words and to share ideas feelings the playwright and also the playwright inderectly expressed his idea by using symbol.

In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller there are so many symbols found in the play that makes it mysterious, unique and interesting to be analyzed. After analyzing the symbol used by the playwright as interpreted by Willy, Biff, Happy, Linda and Uncle ben, the writer concludes there are some symbols used in. They are symbols of diamond means success and wealth, jungle means life, seed means opportunity, music means to set atmosphere and tone, lighting means illustrates atmosphere and mood, cheese means progress, stockings means betrayal of love and mythic figure means contibutes to understanding of the world.

Symbol in the play Death of a Salesman as media of language used by the playwright to tell something. Arthur Miller used so many symbols in his play in the Death of a Salesman. Diamond and jungle occur the most dominatly in the play,. Arthur Miller explained that if Willy can pass the jungle or challenge of his life he can reach diamond or success in his life and for his family.

4.2 Suggestions

A literary work must be analyzed and interpreted, so we can understand and get the meaning of the literary work. This elements can be analyzed and interpreted such as theme, point of view, setting, characters, etc.

The writer of this thesis fully hopes that this thesis will be useful especially for her and readers in general, and get knowledge after reading it. As the analysis focus only on symbols used by the playwright as interpreted by Willy Loman as the main character of Death of a Salesman. It is wise if the writer also suggests to any other reader or people who are interested in analyzing and reading Arthur Miller and his literary works.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Becker, Udo. 1998. Lexicon der symbole. Freinburg:herder/spectrum.

Bradly. Scully. 1967. (Ed.) The American Tradition in Literature, New York : W.W Norton and Company.

Ferber. Michael. 1999. A dictionary of Literary Symbols. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Freud, Sigmund. 1977. The Interpretation of Dreams. New York : Monarch Press. Guerin, L Wilfred ,et all.1979. A Handbook of Critical Approaches To Literature

Second Edition. New York : Harper and Row Publishers.

Horton,W Rod and Herbet W Edwards.1952 American Literary Thought. New York

Appelton century crofts. Kasim, Razali. 1999. Aliran – Aliran Sastra. Medan: Usu Press.

Miller, Arthur.2002. Death of Salesman edited . George Perkins and Barbara Perkinsin “The American Tradition in Literature”. New York. Mc Graw Hill

Peck, John and Martin Coyle. 1984. Literary Terms and Criticism. London. Macmillan Education Ltd.

Taylor, Richard.1981. Understanding the Element of Literary. London : Macmillan Press ltd.

Wellek, Rene and Austin Warren.1956. The Theory of Literary. New York. A Harvest Book , Harcourt, Brace, and World , Inc.

APPENDIX

SUMMARY OF THE PLAY Act 1, Scene 1

Miller begins his play with a bedtime dialogue between Willy and his wife, Linda. Willy, an aging salesman, has just returned late from a business trip. Linda is very concerned, asking her husband if he had a car accident. Willy tiredly explains that indeed he did have a close call with his car, veering off the road on two occasions while enjoying the scenery. Though at first Linda thinks that it's a problem with the vehicle, eventually she attributes Willy's driving problems to his exhausted mind. When Willy explains that he's just been on vacation, she asserts, "But you didn't rest your mind. Your mind is overactive, and the mind is what counts, dear."

Miller uses this scene to show Willy's confusion. The aging salesman is unable to assess his situation or come to any rational conclusion as to what to do to remedy his failures. He blames his financial problems in part on Howard, the new owner of Willy's company and son of the former owner. According to Willy, Howard doesn't appreciate his ability the way his father did. Despite these setbacks, however, he still believes in his ability and value as a salesman. When explaining why they can't leave the crowded city to live in New York, Willy tells his wife, "I'm the New England man. I'm vital in New England."

Willy's second major problem addressed in this scene is his troubled relationship with his son, Biff. It seems Biff, who is grown up but now at home again for an extended visit after spending several years out west, hasn't found financial success or even a decent

paying job. Willy (who wishes for the success of his sons in part because he hasn't found success himself) blames Biff's laziness for these problems. Yet only a few lines later, Willy contradicts himself, maintaining that Biff is a very hard worker. "There's one thing about Biff-he's not lazy," the old man says.

Throughout the scene, Linda appears very apologetic for Biff, hoping to smooth things over with Willy and get him to sleep. Linda is seen as a very conciliatory person, not wanting to upset anyone. Later, this attitude will enable Willy to continue his downward spiral.

Act 1, Scene 2

While Willy and Linda are talking downstairs, Biff and his brother Happy listen from the loft where they sleep. The two grown men discuss their past failures. Biff says that he can't find a job that both pays well and is satisfying, while Happy similarly admits that he doesn't like his job as a business clerk. Both brothers day-dream for a time about going out west and making a living together on a cattle ranch. "Men built like we are should be working out in the open," Biff asserts.

Happy too, but Biff especially, feels guilty that he's not lived up to his father's expectations. "I'm thirty-four years old, I oughta be makin' my future. That's when I come running home. And now, I get here, and I don't know what to do with myself. I've always made a point of not wasting my life, and every time I come back here I know that all I've done is to waste my life," the older brother admits.

Though Happy initially seems to agree with Biff's sentiments that money-grubbing isn't what life is all about, the younger brother later contradicts himself when he reveals his desire to emulate his rich boss. He asserts, "when he walks into the store the waves part in front of him." Happy goes on to brag about his sexual encounters with various women, including his bosses' fiancés. Yet even this doesn't satisfy him. Later, the reader will learn that Happy takes after his father in this regard. The conversation ends with a reference to Bill Oliver, an employer of Biff in the past. Biff hopes that this businessman will lend him a few thousand dollars to buy his ranch out west.

Soon they hear Willy from downstairs, talking to himself as usual. He's actually speaking to Biff-the Biff of ten or more years ago. This is one of the first signs that Willy is living in the past.

Act 1, Scene 3

This scene begins with a flashback to when Biff and Happy are in high school. They are busy polishing the family car as Willy rambles on as usual. Soon in becomes obvious that Happy is trying very hard to please his father, though Biff seems to receive all of Willy's attention. "I'm losing weight, you notice, Pop?" he asks his father. Yet Willy doesn't notice, choosing to talk to Biff instead.

When Willy learns that Biff has stolen a football from the high school, Willy shrugs it off, saying, "Coach'll probably congratulate you on your initiative." It seems nothing can get in the way of Willy's belief in Biff's success. This incident is just a further example of Willy's illusions about his sons. These illusions are continued when

Willy later tells his boys that he's a great, successful businessman who one day will be rich like Uncle Charley. Yet unlike Charley, Willy intends to be "well liked." He brags about having friends all over the East Coast. "I can park my car in any street in New England, and the cops protect it like their own," he exaggerates. It seems the idea of being liked is crucial to Willy's notion of success.

Yet these illusions begin to be disproved when Bernard, a neighbor and son of Charley, enters the scene, warning Willy that Biff won't graduate from high school if he doesn't study math. It soon becomes apparent that Biff is only a football hero, not a good student at all. Yet again, Willy shrugs off this shortcoming, telling his sons that personality is more important than smarts. He explains, "the man who makes an appearance in the business world, the man who creates personal interest, is the man who gets ahead. Be liked and you will never want."

Later, Miller flash-forwards to the present. The reader learns that the Loman family is deeply in debt and that Willy is only getting paid by commission because he has lost most of his ability as a salesman.

Willy's mind also seems to be going. Though near the beginning of his conversation with Linda he says that his Chevrolet is the best car ever built, moments later he contradicts himself, saying, "they ought to prohibit the manufacture of that car!" These contradictions continue, as Willy laments over the fact that he is not well liked, despite the fact that moments before he tells his sons that he is very well liked. Yet Linda tries to reassure her failing husband, telling him that he is successful and handsome. This statement causes Willy's mind to drift away to a time when he was with a prostitute on

the road. This short scene ends with Willy giving "The Woman" a pair of stockings as a present. Though Willy certainly can't afford to buy these gifts, he does so anyway. Here again, Willy shows himself to be anyone but a strong role model for his sons. Later, when the scene returns to the present and Willy finds Linda mending some stockings, he feels very guilty.

Finally, Willy returns to his illusions-this time, of his rich brother, Ben. Throughout the play, Miller uses Ben to represent the pinnacle of capitalist potential and the benchmark for Willy's success as a businessman. According to Willy, Ben has made a fortune mining diamonds in Africa. "The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, the age of twenty-one, and he's rich!" Thus, Willy's illusions continue. Many critics believe that Ben is simply a figment of Willy's imagination-not a real person at all.

Act 1, Scene 4

Amidst Willy's late-night yelling, Charley, a neighbor and friend of the family, enters from outside, wondering what all the commotion is about. He starts a card game with Willy in order to settle him down. Out of friendship, he offers Willy a job after hearing about his problems as a salesman. Willy is quick to take offense at this offer, saying that he already has a good job.

Later, when Willy brings up the subject of Biff, Charley advises Willy to give up on his son. "When a deposit bottle is broken you don't get your nickel back," Charley

asserts. Yet Willy is not willing to let go of his illusions about his sons' potential for success.

Soon, Willy begins to confuse Charley with his brother, Ben. This leads to a flashback of sorts to a scene with Willy and Ben. It seems Ben and his father left to make their fortunes sometime in Willy's early childhood, leaving Willy and his mother behind. It's obvious that Willy idealizes Ben because he has "made it" in the world. Willy is remorseful that he didn't take his brother up on his offer to run his business in Alaska. That was an opportunity of a lifetime, Willy admits.

Yet Ben has little time to spend with his little brother. Willy, excited that Ben is there to give advice to his sons, forces Biff and Happy to listen to their Uncle Ben, hoping that they will learn his business techniques and strike it rich themselves. In this way, Willy sees the potential success of his sons as the only remaining hope of being successful himself. It all seems quite simple to Ben. He tells Biff and Happy, "Why, boys, when I was seventeen I walked into the jungle, and when I was twenty-one I walked out. And by God I was rich." This ideal, however, proves to be unattainable by Willy and his sons when Willy's desperate struggle for success and happiness is never achieved. This realization is foreshadowed when Ben knocks Biff down with his umbrella, saying, "Never fight fair with a stranger, boy. You'll never get out of the jungle that way."

But Willy is left with a glimmer of hope when Ben tells him that he's taught his boys well. Again, though, Ben seems more a figment of Willy's imagination than anything else. His word goes a long way with Willy, but no one else.

Act 1, Scene 5

Now, Linda steps in to persuade Willy to go to bed. Unfortunately for her, Willy is still daydreaming about Ben, sauntering into the yard and street in his slippers, continuing to talk to himself. Biff and Happy are surprised and embarrassed by their father's behavior, reproaching their mother for not telling them about how Willy acts. Biff even asserts that Willy has no character. But Linda defends her husband, telling Biff that he is partly to blame for Willy's insanity. She gives Biff an ultimatum, saying, "Either he's your father and you pay him that respect, or else you're not to come here." Here, Linda, always Willy's arch supporter, feels that her husband has suffered unjustly. Not only has the sales company taken away his salary after years of hard work (he has to borrow money from Charley every week), now even Biff has deserted him.

Yet Biff seems to know something that the reader doesn't. To explain why he and his father don't get along, he calls his father a fake, saying that "he doesn't like anybody around who knows." This crushes Linda even more, who divulges to the boys that Willy has been trying to commit suicide. Apparently his car "accidents" were not accidents after all. Linda places the burden of Willy's future on Biff's shoulders, saying, "Biff, his life is in your hands!"

Act 1, Scene 6

Biff begins this scene with a pledge to his mother that he will "apply himself" and make something of his life so that Willy can rest easy. Willy enters, however, having

overheard Biff saying that people laugh at him. The failing salesman goes on the counteroffensive, telling Biff, "You never grew up." This is an ironic statement, since Willy is often the one who lives in the past and idealizes his sons (Biff in particular) for their successes in high school.

Soon, however, the tension is lifted when Happy comes up with the idea that he and Biff can go into business together, selling sporting goods by playing sports themselves. Here, Happy connects Willy's devotion to business success with Biff's love of the outdoors and physical activities. Willy immediately loves the idea, and his fantasy world of illusions continues. Here, Willy's manic-depressive personality comes especially to light. He can feel as though the world is falling in on him one moment, and then be instantly transformed when he hears something that feeds his illusional belief in his boys' success.

Later, Biff and Happy say goodnight to Willy. As the three men speak about Biff's interview with Bill Oliver (a businessman who can supposedly help their sporting goods business venture), Linda chimes in, only to have Willy rudely tell her to shut up. This happens several times before Biff finally stands up for his mother. Willy feels reproached by Biff when he defends her, and the good feelings of the moment are spoiled. Linda shrugs it off, however, and soon Willy forgets that he's angry at Biff. As Biff leaves, he tells his son, "You got all kinds of greatness.." Once again, Willy is back to his world of illusion, where personality triumphs over substance. He advises Biff on how to make a good impression, saying, "personality always wins the day." He tells Biff to demand fifteen thousand dollars from Oliver, saying, "start big and you'll end big."

Obviously this notion contradicts the traditional business belief that one has to work his way up the corporate ladder. Willy seems to think that a Loman can start at the top (despite his lack of success, which proves the contrary)-just another example of Willy's inability to see reality.

Act 2, Scene 1

This scene is one of the happiest in the entire play. Linda is serving Willy breakfast in the kitchen as they discuss their plans for the day. Biff and Happy have already left to talk to Oliver about their business ventures and have planned to meet Willy later that day for dinner in a fancy restaurant. Willy is very exited about his sons' prospects as well as his own. Today he has finally resolved to ask his boss, Howard, for a job in New York, instead of having to work on the road. This newfound hope likewise fills Linda with happiness, now that joy is again abundant in the hearts of her family.

In this scene, the garden metaphor is once again referenced. To Willy, success requires fulfillment of the traditional American Dream paradigm, or in Willy's case, illusion. Like his brother Ben who conquers the wilderness, Willy feels that he must live on the frontier, building a house and planting a garden for his family, if he wants to be successful. He tells Linda, "Before it's all over we're gonna get a little place out in the country, and I'll raise some vegetables, a couple of chickens." Unfortunately, times have changed and his dream is no longer possible in twentieth century New England. Willy is simply an old salesman who has lost his hold of reality, having never lived up to his own expectations.

groups, Miller was cited for contempt of Congress, but the ruling was reversed by the courts in 1958.

Miller – "the man who had all the luck" – married Marilyn Monroe in 1956; they divorced in 1961. At that time Marilyn was beyond saving. She died in 1962.

In the late 1950s Miller wrote nothing for the theatre. His screenplay MISFITS was written with a role for his wife. The film was directed by John Huston, starring Mongomery Clift, Clark Gable, and Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn was always late getting to the set and used heavily drugs. The marriage was already breaking, and Miller was feeling lonely. John Huston wrote in his book of memoir, An Open Book, (1980): "One evening I was about to drive away from the location – miles out in the desert – when I saw Arthur standing alone. Marilyn and her friends hadn't offered him a ride back; they'd just left him. If I hadn't happened to see him, he would have been stranded out there. My sympathies were more and more with him." Later Miller said that there "should have been more long shots to remind us constantly how isolated there people were, physically and morally." Miller's last play, FINISHING THE PICTURE, produced in 2004, depicted the making of Misfits.

Miller was politically active throughout his life. In 1965 he was elected president of P.E.N., the international literary organization. At the 1968 Democratic Party Convention he was a delegate for Eugene McCarthy. In 1964 Miller returned to stage after a nine-year absence with the play AFTER THE FALL, a strongly autobiographical work, which dealt with the questions of guilt and innocence. The play also united Kazan

consider that Maggie, the self-destructive central character, was modelled on Monroe, though Miller denied this. A year after his divorce, Miller married the Austrian photographer Inge Morath (1923-2002), with whom he co-operated on two books about China and Russia. After Inge Morath died, Miller plannd to marry Agnes Barley, a 34-year-old artist. In 1985 Miller went to Turkey with the playwright Harold Pinter. Their journey was arranged by PEN in conjunction with the Helsinki Watch Committee. One of their guides in Istanbul was Orhan Pamuk.

In the 1990s Miller wrote such plays as THE RIDE DOWN MOUNT MORGAN (prod. 1991) and THE LAST YANKEE (prod. 1993), but in an interview he stated that "It happens to be a very bad historical moment for playwriting, because the theater is getting more and more difficult to find actors for, since television pays so much and the movies even more than that. If you're young, you'll probably be writing about young people, and that's easier -- you can find young actors -- but you can't readily find mature actors." ('We're Probably in an Art That Is -- Not Dying' , The New York Times, January 17, 1993) In 2002 Miller was honored with Spain's prestigious Principe de Asturias Prize for Literature, making him the first U.S. recipient of the award. Miller died of heart failure at home in Roxbury, Connecticut, on February 10, 2005.

HIS LITERARY WORKS

Fiction

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• The Grass Still Grows (play, 1938, based on They Too Arise) • The Great Disobedience (play, 1938)

• Listen My Children (play, with Norman Rosten, 1939) • The Golden Years (play, 1940)

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• The Pussycat and the Plumber Who Was a Man (radio play, 1941) • William Ireland’s Confession (radio play, 1941)

• Jed Chandler Harris (radio play, 1941) • Captain Paul (radio play, 1941)

• The Battle of the Ovens (radio play, 1942) • Thunder from the Mountains (radio play, 1942) • I Was Married in Bataan (radio play, 1942) • Toward a Farther Star (radio play, 1942) • The Eagle’s Nest (radio play, 1942) • The Four Freedoms (radio play, 1942) • The Half-Bridge (play, 1943)

• Listen for the Sound of Wings (radio play, 1943) • Bernardine (radio play, 1944)

• I Love You (radio play, 1944)

• Grandpa and the Statue (radio play, 1944)

• The Philippines Never Surrendered (radio play, 1944)

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• The Story of Gus (radio play, 1947) • The Hook (film, 1947)

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the People)

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• The Misfits (short story, 1957)

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• I Don’t Need You Anymore (short stories, 1967)

• Fame (television play, 1970)

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• Playing for Time (stage version, 1985) • I Think About You a Great Deal (play, 1986)

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• Clara (play, 1987, also known as Danger: Memory)

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• Homely Girl (short story, 1992, published UK as Plain Girl: A Life 1995)

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Non-fiction

• Situation Normal (1944) is based on his experiences researching the war correspondence of

• In Russia (1969), the first of three books created with his photographer wife Inge Morath, offers Miller's impressions of

• In the Country (1977), with photographs by Morath and text by Miller, provides insight into how Miller spent his time in Roxbury, Connecticut and profiles of his various neighbors.

• Chinese Encounters (1979) is a travel journal with photographs by Morath. It depicts the Chinese society in the state of flux which followed the end of the and artists as they try to regain the sense of freedom and place they lost during

• Salesman in Beijing (1984) details Miller's experiences with the People's Theatre production of Death of a Salesman. He describes the idiosyncrasies, understandings, and insights encountered in directing a Chinese cast in a decidedly American play.

• Timebends: A Life, Methuen London (1987) Salesman, the book follows the structure of memory itself, each passage linked to and triggered by the one before.