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ZZ AE Death of a salesman 2

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This set of flashcards helps secondary school students explore the themes and historical context of Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman" in English. Focusing on vocabulary and key concepts, it covers themes like the American dream, reality vs. illusion, and historical events such as the Great Depression and the 1920s. Examples include terms like "mass production," "Great Depression," and "American dream." The platform supports backward learning from the target language to the source language, making it ideal for students and theater enthusiasts looking to deepen their understanding of the play and its historical backdrop.
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8
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1
Sprache
Deutsch
Kategorie
Englisch
Stufe
Mittelschule
Erstellt / Aktualisiert
28.07.2022 / 24.09.2022
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Arthur Miller before DOAS

  • 1915 - 2005
  • Moved from NY to Brooklyn during the great depression
    • Financial struggles, poverty
  • Worked as a stock clerk to gain money to attend college
  • Started to write plays while being in college and got rewarded
  • Married back in NY and had two children
  • First success was All my sons in 1947, established him in theatre

Arthur Miller while/after DOAS

  • 1949 he publishes DOAS, which was a huge success
    • won a pulitzer prize, "one of the greatest 20st-century playwriters"
  • During the cold War, he wrote the crucible, which reflected the paranoia and hysteria
    • Was denied to visit Belgium and had to testify in court (telling names of members of the communist activities)
    • Refused, was accused but never sentenced
  • Got a divorce and married Marilyn Monroe (divorced again)
  • Married a third time and had to more children
  • Wrote plays until his death

The 1920`

  • The upcoming massproduction, especially in the automobile industry lead to people being able to afford goods
    • Everyone had a car, a fridge, a radio usw. and they often paid in rates
  • "Golden Twenties", music, movies, theatre, goods ...
  • In october 1929, the stock market crashed although economists predicted continualy high financial stability
    • "Great depression", banks closed, people lived in poverty, suicides
  • Racial tensions as well at that time

The 1930`

  • The country of opportunities and hope turned in one of desperation and fear
  • Great depression caused people to question democracy, capitalism and individualism
  • 1933 Roosevelt announced the New Deal

The 1940`

  • The great depression got overcome because of the productions for WW2
  • This war restored the confidence of the americans
  • The threat of communism was omnipresent
    • House Un-American Activities Committee to prevent those activities

The theme of reality and illusion

  • Loss of identity
  • Inability to accept change in society and life
    • Willy has created a world in his head which is miles apart from reality
      • There he is a successfull salesman and Biff about to be successfull
      • Happy follows his lead and makes things up as well to create a more comfortable "reality
      • Biff used to believe in that too, but throughout the play he realizes the truth
  • Biff then tries to make his family understand what destruction this dreamworld has brought over the family

What main themes are covered in the play?

  • Reality and illusion
  • The American dream

The theme of the American dream

  • American settlers moved west with the aim to find a greater place to live
  • There, only talent, will, perseverance, effort, energy usw. would decide wheter one`s succesfull or not
    • "You can achieve anything if you work hard" (anything as in material wealth)
  • Willy strongly believes in the american dream, even though he is unable to achieve it
    • He cannot see that it is an illusion and that there are structures that prevent some people from becoming very succesfull

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