The following notes have been generated by Notion as it transcribed my voice notes on this book -

Summary

This reflection captures impressions and observations about Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman."

Plot and Character Observations

The play centers on an aging salesman approaching the end of his career who is losing his mind. He struggles to make sales yet is still required to travel to distant places. His standing in the company deteriorates throughout the play, culminating in poor attendance at his funeral.

The family dynamics reveal significant dysfunction:

• Biff discovers his father's infidelity, which damages their relationship and explains why Biff abandons his college prospects in mathematics to become a drifter
• Both sons are characterized as womanizers approaching 30 who have never settled down
• The mother attempts to hold the family together despite the circumstances

Structural Elements

The play's structure is particularly notable for how it moves between:

• Monologues
• Dialogues
• Flashbacks
• Present-day contemplations that draw comparisons to the past

Audiobook Experience

The reflection notes that experiencing the play as an audiobook was preferable to reading the text, but the audio format failed to fully capture the visual elements that would be present in a live theatrical performance.

Notes

Memorable Quotes

A small man can be just as exhausted as a great man. He works for a company thirty-six years this March, opens up unheard-of territories to their trademark, and now in his old age they take his salary away.

Do you know? When he died—and by the way he died the death of a salesman, in his green velvet slippers in the smoker of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford, going into Boston—when he died, hundreds of salesmen and buyers were at his funeral.

He’s a man way out there in the blue, riding on a smile and a shoeshine. And when they start not smiling back—that’s an earthquake

Willy. I made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And there’ll be nobody home. A sob rises in her throat.

An air of the dream clings to the place, a dream rising out of reality.