Previous
Style
Definition of Tone
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical, and so on. For instance... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical or mournful, praising or critical... read full definition
The tone of a piece of writing is its general character or attitude, which might be cheerful or depressive, sarcastic or sincere, comical... read full definition
Tone
Explanation and Analysis:
The tone of Death of a Salesman is bleakly despairing. Somberness is written all over its plot: realizing that his career as a traveling salesman is over, Willy dies in a pathetic attempt to secure an uncertain fortune for his family. He leaves behind a widow who remains oblivious about his infidelities and two sons who are equally left behind by corporate America.
While much of the characters’ dialogue is colloquial and even collegial, Death of a Salesman expresses itself through other means. Stage cues perhaps offer the most direct insight into Miller’s sympathetic investment in the characters. As though trying to elicit the audience’s empathy, his instructions introduce Biff as a character who “bears a worn air” and whose “dreams are stronger and less accessible” than his brothers. The forlorn, poetic stage directions at the play’s opening similarly observe that “an air of the dream clings to the place, a dream rising out of reality.” A desperate, if tragic, earnestness hangs over the play, contributing to a deeply dispiriting take on the American Dream. In hanging onto “the air of night and a dream,” Death of a Salesman takes issue with the fictions of social mobility and the self-made man.
Related Themes:
