4.2.1
In Howard’s Office
In Howard's Office: Capitalism
In Howard's Office: Capitalism
The scene in Howard's office is a comment on the cold, uncaring nature of capitalism and the divisions it creates between men.
Optimism
Optimism
- Willy arrives at Howard’s office full of optimism.
- Moments earlier, we have seen him tell Linda, “I’m gonna knock Howard for a loop, kid”.
- However, Willy is quickly put off his stride by Howard’s demonstration of the wire recorder and his impatience with Willy’s attempted interventions (“Sh, for God’s sake”).
Divisions
Divisions
- Willy is forced to discuss the machine and, keen to please Howard, tells him that he’ll get one for himself.
- Howard’s response (“Sure, they’re only a hundred and a half”) helps to demonstrate the divide between the two men: the audience know that Willy does not have that kind of money to spend.
Lack of sentimentality
Lack of sentimentality
- When Willy does manage to get Howard’s attention, we again see the disconnect between both men.
- Howard’s blunt question, “You didn’t crack up again, did you?” demonstrates his lack of care or concern for his employee.
Cold capitalism
Cold capitalism
- Throughout their exchange, Miller highlights how cold and ruthless modern American capitalism can be, valuing profit over people (“‘Cause you gotta admit, business is business”).
- Howard has no time for sentimentality and rejects Willy’s mentions of his father or of the old days where, according to Willy, “there was respect, and comradeship, and gratitude in it”.
Stage direction
Stage direction
- Miller’s stage directions (“desperately… angrily”) reveal how distressed Willy becomes but again, Howard is unmoved, with Miller describing him as “barely interested”.
In Howard's Office: Values
In Howard's Office: Values
Willy’s speech about his father and Dave Singleman is the vessel for one of Miller’s key ‘messages’ in the play: businesses treat their employees as disposable rather than worthy human beings.
Delusions
Delusions
- Willy’s speech about his father and Dave Singleman is the longest in the play.
- It reveals the delusion at the heart of Willy’s dreams: that the life of a travelling salesman is glamorous and rewarding (“‘Cause what could be more satisfying…?”).
Values
Values
- For Willy, Dave Singleman embodies values such as “friendship” and “personality”.
- However, Howard is motivated by other values. For him, the bottom line is that he “can’t take blood from a stone”.
Demanding respect
Demanding respect
- Willy sums up his predicament in one of the most famous lines in the play: “You can’t eat the orange and throw the peel away - a man is not a piece of fruit!”
- Here, Willy protests against how businesses treat their employees as disposable and asserts his worth as a human being who deserves respect and dignity.
Key 'message'
Key 'message'
- Many critics see this as one of Miller’s key ‘messages’ in the play, linking this line to Linda’s “Attention, attention must be paid” speech in Act One.
In Howard's Office: Lighting and Music
In Howard's Office: Lighting and Music
Miller uses lighting and music to make Willy's ever more disorientating memories clear to the audience.
Lighting
Lighting
- Howard’s exit leaves Willy alone on stage.
- Here, Miller uses lighting to create a “bright and strange” effect around Howard’s chair, signalling Willy’s imagining of Howard’s father sitting there.
Memories
Memories
- This is the first ‘flashback’ or ‘imagined memory’ in Act Two.
- By the end of the Act, Willy will be overwhelmed by them.
Modernity
Modernity
- Willy is quickly brought back to reality after accidentally switching on the tape recorder.
- Willy’s “fright” and panic (“Shut it off! Shut it off!”) has been interpreted as symbolic by many commentators who see it as representing Willy’s inability to cope or function in a modern business environment.
- Willy is instead confused by modernity.
Music
Music
- Howard’s final exit again leaves Willy alone on stage.
- However, Miller’s use of music alerts the audience to Ben’s entrance.
- Miller now uses another memory scene to show Willy’s torment.
1Introduction
1.1Introductions
2Act One
3Act Two
4Extended Passage Analysis
5Character Profiles
5.1Willy & Linda Loman
5.2Biff & Happy Loman
5.3Other Characters
6Key Themes
7Writing Techniques
7.1Structure
7.3Expressionism
8Historical Context
8.1Historical Context
9Literary Context
9.1Tragedy
10Critical Debates
10.1Introduction
10.2The Marxist Reading
10.3The Feminist Reading
10.4The Eco-Critical Reading
10.5Other Debates
Jump to other topics
1Introduction
1.1Introductions
2Act One
3Act Two
4Extended Passage Analysis
5Character Profiles
5.1Willy & Linda Loman
5.2Biff & Happy Loman
5.3Other Characters
6Key Themes
7Writing Techniques
7.1Structure
7.3Expressionism
8Historical Context
8.1Historical Context
9Literary Context
9.1Tragedy
10Critical Debates
10.1Introduction
10.2The Marxist Reading
10.3The Feminist Reading
10.4The Eco-Critical Reading
10.5Other Debates
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