So, the Death of a Salesman that you read was not the first draft Arthur Miller wrote (duh). In one of the original drafts, Willy says to Biff:
To enjoy yourself is not ambition. A tramp has that. Ambition is things. A man must want thingsl You're lost. You are a lost boy. And I know why now. Because you hate me you turned your back on all your promise. For spite, for spite of me, because I wanted you magnificent.
Clearly, you see a variation of that in the big ol' fight in the kitchen at the end of Act II. Now, it's not clear why Miller changed the script as he did (and elminated that particular tidbit), but Ms. Rouleau thinks it's probably because he didn't want the issue of materialism to be so heavy handed. Part of Miller's genius (and part of why DOAS is so enduring) is that the issue (problem) of American materialism isn't so in-your-face...it's lurking, quietly, in the corner.
So, here's the question: where is materialism apparent in the version of the play that YOU read? Is the materialism in the final play as effective as those abandoned lines? More effective? Less effective?
There are several key instances where you can point out "things," physical, material, tangible "things" that address that issue of materialism, but certainly in a quieter and less obtrusive way.
Sound off in the comments, chickees. And I want textual evidence. Feel free to use the page numbers in the textbook.
