Death of a Salesman



     The Death of a Salesman movie was released in 1985. I don't think anything really influenced the movie. It would be helpful to define the "American Dream". This film is based off the play "Death of a Salesman". The film was received in a positive way. The film earned 10 Emmy nominations at the 38th Primetime Emmy Award ceremony and 4 Golden Globe nominations at the 43rd Golden Globe Awards ceremony. I thought the title meant something about a salesman dying. I expected death in the film. The film started off with Willy driving home from a exhausting trip. While he was driving, he almost had an car accident. I thought that the death of whoever the salesman was suppose to happen in the beginning of the movie. The first important scene was when Biff and Happy was reminiscing about there childhood and talking about their father's mental downfall because of his conversations that were among himself. They were more like flashbacks. He flashbacks often because he was trying to see where he went wrong with the "American Dream". The second important scene was when Biff got honest and destroyed his father's dream, and when Willy finally founds out that Biff really loves him. The third important scene was when Willy committed suicide by intentionally crashing his car because he thought that Biff was going to continue his legacy. The climax of the story was when Howard told Willy that he couldn't represent the company anymore and that he was fired. The main idea of the film was how Willy used to be a good salesman but he couldn't make the money anymore because the American Dream is not what it used to be.  The film didn't have any loose ends. Willy was developed by desperately searching through his past. His purpose was to see where he went wrong down through the years. He would slip into flashbacks. Biff was developed by trying to seek the truth about himself. His purpose was to acknowledge his failure and confront it. He was trying to tell his father how he was a failure. Happy was developed by the incarnation of Willy’s worst traits. I honestly don't think he had a purpose in the film because he lived in his brother's shadow. There were motifs in the film. The first one was mythic features. Willy always compared his sons to mythic Greek figures Adonis and Hercules because he thought they were attractive and well-liked. The second motif was The West, Alaska, and The jungle in Africa. Willy’s father found success in Alaska, his brother, Ben, became rich in Africa, and the West represented Biff's potential. I think the director's purpose was to put a "twist" on the American Dream. The themes were the American Dream, abandonment, and betrayal. The  director does use symbols in the film. The seeds represent the opportunity to prove the worth of Willy's labor. The diamonds to Willy represented wealth ,and the ability to pass material goods on to one’s offspring. But the discovery diamond symbolized Willy’s failure as a salesman. The stockings symbolized betrayal and sexual infidelity. The rubber hose symbolized Willy's attempts of suicide.