Critical Essay on Flashbacks in the Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Introduction

Arthur Miller's novel entitled The Death of a Salesman is an educative, brilliant, and classic literary work relevant for the professional world today. The novel narrates the story of a burned out 63-year-old salesperson called Willy Loman. Notably, in the entire story, Loman is consumed with imaginative desires and delusions (Bloom, 25). In his late stages of life, at around sixty exhausted with no future to dream about, he faces crushing disappointments of his past. He decides to take a brave action, but is the action wise or an act of self-deluding foolishness? Therefore, this paper seeks to underscore a critical review and analysis of the author's use of flashback technique to tell the story.

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Use of the Flashbacks to Develop Character and Highlight Themes

In the three Acts play, the author Miller uses flashbacks as a dramatic analytical technique to highlight past actions and events while in current events. Moreover, he uses the technique to develop character as well as providing background for both information and foundation for the current narration. With the trend of expansionism, Miller's play highlights imaginary sequences and presents for the audience to grasp the content of the character's mind and emotions. In this scenario, Miller uses the flashback technique to reveal the relationship between Loman's past and his current memories. The primary effect of the meticulously applied flashback makes the play becomes dreamlike when the action is set on the history and more realistic both emotionally and psychologically when actions are set in the present.

First Flashback

From the onset, Miller launches his flashback technique right in Act 1, and it happens when reality meets delusions. The author uses flashback in this case to communicate the theme of dreams, hopes, and plans. The author portrays the character of Willy Loman as a dreamer of epic proportions. In this flashback story, Loman hopes and plans to be a business father, through the delightful pretence of becoming a merchandise manager in the future. However, he wakes up from his slumber to reality in his late days with intense memory workings.

In the same scene, the author uses flashback to reveal yet another real-time and tangible theme that affects not only the Americans but also the global society, the theme of "America Dream" or "Visions of America". The belief and a superstition embraced by majority across the world that America is dreamland and a land of opportunity describe Willy's naughty behaviour and delusions. Throughout the story, Loman thoughts about America, the cities there and people have been impressive and magnificent. He even promised to take his boys with him on a business trip during summer. As the flashback scene ends, Willy's dream of America being the land of opportunities gone with smoke or thwarted (Hays et al., 38).

Second Flashback

In the second flashback, Miller presents both the past and the present events simultaneously in the mind of Willy Loman, portraying the works of double exposure. The scene opens when two friends Charlie and Willy playing a card game. The flashback here is in Willy's memories in a gradual and up staring manner; Willy remembers his two friends Ben and Charlie simultaneously. Afterwards, Carlie realizes Willy is absent-minded, he exits, leaving him wallowing in too much obsession of the past over the present. The flashback reveals the personality and the tendency of the main character to deny reality and truth. Back then as the flash play shows, even though he knew better his earning more than any other person, he exaggerates his sales to his wife Linda and only admits after a confrontation

Subsequently, the flashback reveals the theme of conflict especially domestic conflict and tensions. The relationship between Willy and his son is terrible due to the inability of his son to cope with his unrealistic demands and delusions. The son idealized him a bookworm. Furthermore, his inability to accept the truth as revealed by his back and forth memories makes majority criticize him and he realizes that people are no longer receptive to him.

Third Flashback

Notably, Arthur employs this flashback method in his written work to articulate these issues, ideas and create a vivid visual impression to the audience. Furthermore, he uses different literal styles and techniques but mainly flashback to develop character and highlight his main ideas throughout the story ((Hays et al., 40). In the scene, Willy is troubling the experience with Howard at the same time reverting his attention to Ben. It appears he is trying to seek advice from Ben on the way forward. Instead ben offers him a job in the state of Alaska.

In the process, Willy gets confused and cannot distinguish between the present from the past since to him they blend. Moreover, out of his foolishness and faced personality that the author did everything to reveal he declines the offer, despite being a breadwinner of the family due to his obsessive dream of being a sales manager (Marino 22).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Miller's techniques of flashback and forth between the past and the current events in the play as well as between the realistic and the imaginary reveal to the audience the facets of character that would not have been seen if only the present events were portrayed. Willy Loman, the main character is a victim of contemporary professional tragedy and life dilemmas in his last days.

Works Cited

Bloom, Harold. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2004. Internet resource.Hays, Peter L, and Kent Nicholson. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. London: Continuum, 2008. Print.

Marino, Stephen A. Arthur Miller: "death of a Salesman, the Crucible". London: Palgrave, 2015. Print.