Module 7: Death of a Salesman

Section 1: Death of a Salesman: Act 1

Lesson A: Arthur Miller and 20th Century American Drama

Charles Dickens
The Dickens Page. Everything you might ever want to know about Charles Dickens can be found through this site.
http://www.lang.nagoya-u.ac.jp/~matsuoka/Dickens.html

Emile Zola
Zola, a French novelist and critic, founded the naturalist movement in literature.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/ezola.htm

Upton Sinclair
Deeply committed to social justice, Upton Sinclair believed in the power of literature to improve the human condition. He wrote more than 90 novels but is best remembered for "The Jungle" (1906), in which he describes the wretched sanitary and working conditions in the Chicago meat-packing industry.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/sinclair.htm

Van Gogh
Home Page of the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.
http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/

Marc Chagall
Marc Chagall Gallery, with links to Galleries and Museum shops offering fine art, books, posters, and gift items by Chagall and other museum artists. An interesting site.
http://www.chagallgallery.com/

Munch Museet
Museum dedicated to Edward Munch’s works, located in Oslo, Norway.
http://www.munch.museum.no/?id=&mid=&lang=en

Lesson B: Setting the Scene

A Brief Chronology of Arthur Miller’s Life and Works
http://www.ibiblio.org/miller/life.html

Wikipedia: The Great Depression
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression

Section 2: A Length of Rubber Hose

Lesson E: Character is Action

Death of a Salesman: Context
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/salesman/context.html

Section 3: Looking for a Harbour

Lesson D: Ben, Am I Right?

Wikipedia: House Committee on Un-American Activities
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee

Lesson E: What Happened in Boston, Willy?

“McCarthyism”—Webster’s Dictionary
http://www.webster-dictionary.org/definition/McCarthyism

Arthur Miller, “Are You Now Or Were You Ever?”
http://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/miller-mccarthyism.html

Section 4: Dinner at Frank's Chop House

Lesson B: Don't Try Honey, Try Hard
1958: Arthur Miller Cleared of Contempt
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/august/7/newsid_2946000/2946420.stm

Lesson D: You're No Good for Anything

Wikipedia: Cultural Revolution
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cultural_Revolution

“Willy Loman Gets China Territory”—New York Times, May 7, 1983
http://partners.nytimes.com/books/00/11/12/specials/miller-china.html

Lesson E: You Promised Me Stockings, Willy

Online NewsHour: Death of a Salesman—February 10, 1999
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/entertainment/jan-june99/miller_2-10.html

Section 5: A Perfect Proposition All Around

Lesson B: He Loves You, Willy

On Politics and the Art of Acting by Arthur Miller
Transcript of the 30th Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, March 26, 2001
http://www.neh.gov/whoweare/miller/lecture.html

Lesson C: It's Dark There, But Full of Diamonds

BBC News Entertainment—Connecting with Arthur Miller
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/851330.stm

Lesson D: It Was a Very Nice Funeral

American Masters: Arthur Miller: None Without Sin
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/arthur-miller/none-without-sin/56/

Lesson E: Critical Pespectives

The following selection of five Death of a Salesman quizzes should keep you busy! The first three links are pure trivia fun, designed by readers of the play like yourself, the fourth is from a university, and the last is a general overview of the plot. Enjoy!

“Death of a Salesman” quiz
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz.cfm?qid=44565

“Death of a Salesman” quiz
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz.cfm?qid=66435

“Death of a Salesman” quiz
http://www.funtrivia.com/playquiz.cfm?qid=118837

Test Yourself: Death of a Salesman
http://www.wsu.edu/~campbelld/amlit/quiz/dsquiz.htm>

SparkNotes: Death of a Salesman: Quiz
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/salesman/quiz.html