10.4.3

Post-pastoral

Test yourself

Post-Pastoral

It is possible to read Death of a Salesman as a post-pastoral text.

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Post-pastoral

  • Death of a Salesman can perhaps be read as a post-pastoral text in that it (briefly) exposes the economic reality of rural life in the mid-20th Century.
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Making a living

  • Biff admits to only earning “twenty eight dollars a week” on the ranch and, as such, has no realistic hope of raising the “ten thousand dollars” needed to buy a ranch.
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Reality of the countryside

  • As Happy asks Biff, “what can you make out there?”
  • Although the myth of the American countryside appeals to men such as Willy and Biff, the reality remains that, without money, it too can be a harsh environment.

Jump to other topics

1Introduction

2Act One

3Act Two

4Extended Passage Analysis

5Character Profiles

6Key Themes

7Writing Techniques

8Historical Context

9Literary Context

10Critical Debates

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