Act II in Death of a Salesman Essay -- essays research papers

Death of a salesman context essay The beginning of act two starts with music â€Å"gay and bright†. This has an optimistic feel and sets the mood for the following scene. Music is used by Miller many times to set the mood, the rural flute music that brings Willy home at the start, the optimistic music we see here and then at the end of act two the frenzied music â€Å"like an unbearable scream† when Willy kills himself. Music is used to introduce the flashbacks and also takes a symbolic role as we see the instrument that takes the lead is the flute. Willy- All I remember is a man with a big beard, and I was in mammas lap, sitting around a fire and some kind of high music. Ben- His flute. He played the flute. Willy- Sure the flute, that’s right It is the flute that introduces us to the play and Willy â€Å"A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine telling of grass and trees and the horizon†. Portraying the dreamlike state of Willy’s mind. Then after the funeral in the requiem, after everyone has left Willy’s graveside â€Å"Only the music of the flute is left†. It lingers, like the remains of Willy’s dreams linger with Happy. The music reflects Willy and his dreams. It is also a subtle, sad reminder of Willy’s father and the type of man he was and the type of man Willy should be, if it weren’t for his dreams deluding him. The flute mourns him at his funeral, at the wasted life of a man who didn’t know who he was. As said, the following passage is one of optimism and hope. It is an upheaval from the heavy tone of the rest of the play. This respite proves the tragedy genre of the play that is much debated and fits in using the Seneca tragedy model. This involves a gradual degeneration in the hero until a point ... ...esembles a homeless boat. To conclude, the beginning of act 2 reflects a great deal of the rest of the play. It’s turn to optimistic and hopeful tone riddled with foreshadowing of death correlates it as a tragedy. It shows the all the connections of family we see in the rest of the play with Linda’s role and Biff’s effect as well as Happy’s lack of a role. The American Dream’s destructive feel is felt through Willy’s misfortunes i.e. long mortgage, short on cash and deceived by the corporate manufacturers. Miller’s techniques of language style are as clear here as everywhere else and the consistencies of the subtle in the passage back up what is vital to the rest of the play. As much as the inconsistency of the tone etc. in this passage helps to convey the causes of Willy’s madness, shown in the reverse for added force in their effect, and to fit the tragedy model