9.2.6
Revenge
Revenge
Revenge
Revenge may not immediately seem relevant to Death of a Salesman but it does influence the motivations of some characters, Willy's sons especially.
Revenge Tragedy
Revenge Tragedy
- Revenge as a motivation for a character aiming to right a wrong has been an integral part of many tragedies since the early days of Greek drama.
- But Revenge Tragedy is a relatively modern term, used by 20th Century critics to refer to Elizabethan and Jacobean drama at the turn of the 16th century.
Christian societies
Christian societies
- Revenge tragedies explored the dilemma of characters driven to revenge in Christian societies which forbade it and how destructive the impulse to revenge could be.
Happy
Happy
- Happy’s compulsive womanising with the girlfriends and fiancées of the executives in his workplace is, in part, a form of revenge.
- Happy tells Biff, “I gotta show some of those pompous, self-important executives over there that Hap Loman can make the grade”, revealing his bitterness and his need to ‘win one over’ his superiors at work.
Biff
Biff
- Willy also fears that Biff’s lack of success has been a deliberate act of “spite” in order to pay him back for his affair in Boston: “you cut down your life for spite!”
- While the truth of this is never made clear, Willy’s accusation reveals his guilt, and perhaps his deepest fear.
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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