Masculinity And Capitalism In Arthur Millers Death Of A...

This essay will explore the link between masculinity and capitalism and how it is represented and internalized by the character of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman, and analyze how Willy views success in business as his only means of retaining his masculinity. In Contradictions of Capital and Care, Nancy Fraser says that social reproduction is the work of females while a man’s role is financial (Fraser, 55); if a man cannot be a provider- such is the case with Willy- then by definition of capitalism, he is not a man. Miller wrote the play in 1949, and it is set in the hyper patriarchal society of the mid twentieth century in which gender roles were a necessity, and any man who did not meet the criteria of masculinity (including†¦show more content†¦According to Karl Marx in his essay on estranged labour, the proletariat worker is a commodity (Marx, 69, 71), something to be bought, used, and easily replaced. Willy has experienced the full cycle of the capitalistic wo rkforce, from his very first day as a salesman to his last, when he was disposed of by his superior despite his years of faithful service. This brings to mind an analogy: If you had owned a laptop for ten years and it no longer worked correctly, would you hesitate to replace it? The answer is likely no, and the same viewpoint is held by Willy’s superiors (412) and most other bigshot bosses in the world, fictional or otherwise. Willy is a tool, something the company uses to produce sales. His paycheck is the battery that keeps him going and inspires him to do good work, but eventually he gets old and inefficient, just like any other appliance. Another key point from Marx on estranged labour is that the worker must stay detached from their labour, lest they experience self-estrangement (Marx, 74), which causes a distance from their animal instincts (76), the everyday things that sustain a person, such as eating, drinking, and having sex, that function outside of any economic system. We see this self-estrangement in Willy throughout the play. He is wholly absorbed in his work and has internalized his objectification at the hands of capitalism, and has subsequentlyShow MoreRelatedDeath Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller1573 Words   |  7 Pagesrepresents a character with a tragic flaw leading to his downfall. In addition, in traditional tragedy, the main character falls from high authority and often it is predetermined by fate, while the audience experiences catharsis (Bloom 2). Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is considered to be a tragedy because this literary work has some of the main characteristics of the t ragedy genre. In this play, the main character Willy Loman possesses such traits and behaviors that lead to his downfall, and theRead MoreArthur Miller s Death Of A Salesman Essay1567 Words   |  7 Pagescharacter with a tragic flaw leading to his downfall. In addition, in traditional tragedy, the main character falls from high authority and often it is predetermined by fate, while the audience experiences catharsis (Irving 247). Arthur Miller’s play Death of a Salesman is considered to be a tragedy because this literary work has some of the main characteristics of the tragedy genre. In this play, the main character Willy Loman possesses such traits and behaviors that lead to his downfall, and theRead MoreThe Changing Relationship Between Individual and Society in Modern Drama3272 Words   |  14 Pagesnonentity without rights outside the role of motherhood or marriage; In the 1930s and 40s, German-born writer Bertolt Brecht, produced a series of plays following ideologies common of Nihilist and later Marxist values; Following the second world war, Arthur Miller wrote to American audiences that individuals and their society are equally damning forces on one another. By following Ibsen, Brecht and Miller, three authors from three different countries, backgrounds and time frames, it is possible to witnessRead MoreEssay on Death of a Salesman and Street Car Named Desire4007 Words   |  17 PagesBiff: â€Å"will you take that phony dream and burn it before something happens† Compare how the authors of Death of a salesman and â€Å"street car named desire explore the conflict between truth and illusion Truth and illusion are utilized in Tennessee Williams â€Å"Streetcar Named Desire† and Arthur Millers â€Å"Death of a salesman† through the use of the character; to lead the reader to a possible conclusion on the beliefs that went into the American dream that prompted people to work hard was that america