Maand: juli 2020

In this particular scene we follow the woodcutter into the woods as he carries his axe over his shoulder. We continue to follow him through the trees as he continues to walk. There are some shots that show the sky through the trees and shots from the ground up to the woodcutter. The camera stays focused on the woodcutter throughout the entire scene.

Shot	Type of Shot	Description of Shot
#1	long shot	We get a worms-eye view medium shot from the ground to the sky. We can see the sun coming through the trees as the camera pans left.
#2	Close up	We get a close up shot at eye level from behind of the axe that the woodcutter is carrying over his shoulders as he continues to walk through the woods. The camera pans along.
#3	Medium shot	We get a medium shot at eye level of the woodcutter himself , front view, as he continues walking. The camera pans along.
#4	Long shot	We get a birds-eye view long shot from through the trees. The camera keeps focused on the woodcutter. The camera pans along.
#5	Long shot	The camera tilts from birds-eye view to eye level. Focused on a tree, in the back we can see the woodcutter walking.
#6	Medium shot	The camera pans from a worms-eye view. Camera focused on woodcutter as he walks over a fallen tree trunk.
#7	Long shot	We get a worms-eye view medium shot from the ground to the sky. We can see the sky through the trees as the camera forward.
#8	Close up	We get a close up at eye level from behind the woodcutter. The camera pans along.
#9	Long shot	We get a long shot at eye level where the camera moves along the woodcutter.
#10	Long shot	We get a worms-eye view medium shot from the ground to the sky. We can see the sky through the trees as the camera forward.
#11	Medium shot	We get a medium shot at eye level where the camera pans from left through the trees over the path where the woodcutter walks to the left. After which the camera stays focused on the woodcutter as he walks along.
#12	Long shot	We get a worms-eye view medium shot from the ground to the sky. We can see the sun coming through the trees as the camera pans left.
#13	Medium shot	We start with a high angle medium shot of the woodcutter and the camera pans along from the right to the left. Then it turns into an eye level medium shot of the woodcutter and the camera moves along and stays focused on the woodcutter who we can see through the trees and leaves.
#14	Close up	We get an eye-level close up from behind the woodcutter.

The American Dream in Death of a Salesman

Consider Willy’s idea of success. Is his definition of success realistic or unrealistic? Does Willy Loman achieve the American Dream, or does the American Dream fail him?

Willy Loman has always thought being well liked and not necessarily hard work and innovation, was the key to success. He wants to make sure his sons are well-liked and popular. When Biff comes home and confesses that he made fun of his teacher’s lisp, Willy is more interested in how his classmates reacted than with the morality of Biff’s action:

“[BIFF:] I Crossed my eyes and talked with a lithp.
[WILLY [laughing]:] You did? The kids like it?
[BIFF:] They nearly died laughing!”[1]

Even though, Biff was popular in schools, he ends up to be unsuccessful from Willy’s view. This shows that Willy’s idea of success through being well-liked is unrealistic and is doomed to fail. Even, when there is so much evidence that Willy’s believes and ideas of success are wrong, he still continues to believe and support his ideas and try to pass them onto his kids.

Biff and Happy are in their old bedroom. As they try to fall asleep, Biff shares his own version of the American Dream with Happy, owning a ranch out West:

“[BIFF:] Sure, maybe we could buy a ranch. Raise cattle, use our muscles. Men built like we are should be working out in the open.
[HAPPY, avidly:] The Loman Brothers, eh?”[2]

The scene shows that both boys know about their father’s optimism about America, as well as his tendency to create unrealistic expectations. His definition of success, being well liked, is also unrealistic. As you simply cannot have everyone to like you. Willy believes that when everyone likes him they buy whatever product he has to sell no matter how dumb or useless it is. The opposite is true however, as people tend to buy the product and not the salesman.

“[Willy:] What’s the mystery? The man knew what he wanted and went out and got it! Walked into a jungle, and comes out, at the age of twenty-one, and he’s rich! The world is an oyster, but you don’t crack it open on a mattress!”[3]

Willy is talking to his son Happy about Ben, Willy’s older brother. Ben, who can be considered as Willy’s hero, fulfilled the American Dream by entering the African jungles and walking out rich of diamonds. Willy believes Ben to be a perfect role model for his sons, a man ready to take risks and work hard toward his goals. However, Ben is just Willy’s imagination, a figment of his memories and fantasies. Ben’s success, real or imagined, allows Willy to keep faith in opportunity, hard work, and success even as he is facing his own failure.

Willy Loman never got the personal satisfaction of the American Dream through “personal attractiveness” and being “well-liked”. Which he believes is the way to achieve success and material, emotional, and even spiritual satisfaction.

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[1] Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1998)

[2] Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1998)

[3] Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman (1998)