K.G.Swarnananda,

Lecturer, English Language Teaching

Unit,

Buddhist and Pali University of Sri

Lanka.

 

Selling or Being Sold?A Reading of Willy Loman of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman from a

Buddhist Standpoint

Buddhist Point of ViewW!fKda f,daflda w;s;af;da lreKdodfida W!Kdj mq;ajdk úm;a;s foayx

rÜGmd, iQ;%hMan is always in need of something, dissatisfied and lives as a slave to the crave And subsequently dies under the same circumstances

Criticism of consumer society and capitalism

Everything has a price, everybody has a price and Everything and everybody is sold one way or the other

Other related issues that motivated Arthur Miller

Failure of American DreamBeing fed up with the situation created

after industrial revolution Impact of second world warFutility of the concept “ Time is money”

Buddhism is very much sought after in America now

Richard GyreTina turnerSteve JobsMadonnaBill Clinton

Drama which came up with the pioneer plays

Caucasian Chalk Circle ( 1945) Death of a salesman (1949) Waiting for Godot (1953)

Willy Loman’s tragedy

Became a “salesman” seeing Dave Singleman

Victim of consumer society

Common tragedy “I don’t say he’s a great man... His name

was never in the paper... But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person‘......’’44

Linda Loman

And he’s exhausted. Instead of walking he talks now. And what goes through a man’s mind, driving seven hundred miles home without having earned a cent. P 45

Linda Loman

How a “price” of a man fluctuates

I.“The kids are all grown up I don’t need much any more if I could take 65 dollars a week, I could swing it,” P 62

Willy Loman

II. “Howard, all I need to set my table is 50 dollars a week.’’

P 62

III. “If I had forty dollars a week – that’s all I’d need. 40 dollars, Howard.’’

Howard replies “Kid, I can’t take blood from a stone.’’

P 64

“I put thirty-four years into this firm, Howard and now I can’t pay my insurance ! You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away – a man is not a piece of fruit.’’

P 64

Willy Loman

Buddhism does not just identify suffering (Dukka) and teach people to face itIt also teaches people how to overcome

suffering

Reference :“Death of a Salesman’’Arthur MillerPenguin Twentieth – Century ClassicsPenguin Books, London, England 1949

Thank you !Questions & comments are

most welcome !!