4.2.3
The Requiem
The Requiem: A Fitting Ending?
The Requiem: A Fitting Ending?
Since the first production in 1949, critics and commentators have argued over whether the final scene is a fitting ending to the play.
The final scene
The final scene
- The final scene of the play sees Willy’s family and old neighbours, Charley and Bernard, around Willy’s graveside.
- Since the first production in 1949, critics and commentators have argued on whether this scene is a fitting ending to the play.
Pathos
Pathos
- In some senses, the requiem can be seen as providing a tragic resolution.
- There is an almost unbearable sense of pathos (pity and sadness) created in the scene, particularly through Linda’s lines.
- Linda still cannot understand Willy’s suicide or why so few mourners attended the funeral, still believing in Willy’s boasts of “all the people he knew”.
Charley's insights
Charley's insights
- Charley is able to offer some comfort to Linda (“It was a very nice funeral”) and later, some understanding and justification of Willy’s life as a salesman (“A salesman is got to dream, boy”).
The Requiem: Language
The Requiem: Language
Miller delivers a spectrum of language in this final scene, from Charley's biblical outburst to Biff's statement of forceful finality.
Charley's language
Charley's language
- Charley’s language becomes almost Biblical as he tries to do justice to his neighbour and protect Willy’s reputation in death (“Nobody dast blame this man”).
“Dast”
“Dast”
- The archaic term “dast” may have been intended to provide Willy’s life and death with a sense of grandeur and dignity.
- However some commentators have complained that it strikes a false note when compared with the realistic dialogue spoken throughout the rest of the play.
Biff
Biff
- Biff strikes a very different note, bluntly declaring that, “He had the wrong dreams. All, all wrong.”
- Here, the use of monosyllables and repetition lend Biff’s judgement an air of forcefulness and finality which help to give this final scene its power.
The Requiem: Tragedy
The Requiem: Tragedy
While some critics feel the play ends before everything has been resolved, others argue that the final scene adds another element of tragedy.
Further tragedy
Further tragedy
- Many critics see Biff’s journey to self-knowledge (“I know who I am, kid”, spoken to his brother, almost his final words of the play) and his insight into his father’s failed life as other key elements of tragedy in the play.
- Other critics complain of a lack of resolution at the end of the play.
Further conflict
Further conflict
- Biff and Happy are in conflict, with Happy “almost ready to fight” his brother in order to somehow justify his, and his father’s, dreams of success.
- Here, there is no resolution: Willy’s tragedy seems doomed to be repeated.
The final irony
The final irony
- Linda’s final speech, delivered to Willy, can be seen as demonstrating a similar lack of insight or understanding.
- There is a bitter irony in the final spoken lines of the play (“We’re free… We’re free…”).
- This “freedom” is hollow: the mortgage may have finally been paid on the house, but it has only been bought through a tragically high price – Willy’s life.
Biff's future
Biff's future
- Biff’s future is also uncertain.
- He has gained some insight into his father, and himself, but there is no guarantee that he has escaped the cycle of fulfilment followed by dissatisfaction and a sense of failure will not once again overwhelm him when he returns to ranch-work.
Ending tensions
Ending tensions
- Finally, the play ends with the sound of the flute heard for the last time while “the hard towers” of the surrounding apartment blocks emerge into focus.
- The tension between the pastoral sound of the flute and the harsh cityscape ensures the play ends on a note of conflict between competing visions of America – the mythic frontier land of the past romanticised by Willy and the ruthless urban jungle of modern capitalist America.
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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