Death of a Salesman读后感锦集

《Death of a Salesman》是一本由Arthur Miller著作，Penguin Books出版的Paperback图书，本书定价：USD 13.00，页数：144，特精心收集的读后感，希望对大家能有帮助。

《Death of a Salesman》读后感(一)：事与期盼有落差，请不必惊怕

willie最后，是否die a hero？我感觉他是为了自己的梦想死去的，不管这梦想是否虚幻。他不是怯懦，不是因为生活捉襟见肘交不起贷款（已经付完了啊），只是想给儿子留一笔启动资金。

能不能得到家人的理解？从书里看happy这个从小被忽略的小儿子是要秉承他的遗志的（不一定不成功），而大儿子认为父亲到死都没有正视自己和大儿子。

想起大鱼，也是父亲去世之后父子的和解，没有人是完美的，为什么要让一个装睡的人承认自己在做梦呢？

关于willie是不是被爸爸毁了，一半一半吧。成年前的教育的确影响太深，但作为一个成年人不能主宰自己的命运控制自己的思维也只能归结为个人性格的不健全。

父子间，很浓厚的情感，有多少爱和崇拜就有多少恨和鄙视。仇恨都是相互的，恨他的原因其实是你更恨自己罢了。而父子都在坚持自己的原则不愿一点退让。从我的角度，做儿子的对父亲基本的尊重应该就是不评判他的对错吧。（虽然我知道儿子的内心极其痛苦）

又沉重又难过。

话剧剧本读起来比小说快很多，语言有力且情感丰富到让我不用看演员的表演都能体会到力道。（相比哈利波特话剧，尽管有小说作为基石还如此不痛不痒，真的是功力欠缺）。里面由于父亲精神疾病过去和现在交替的对话场景也挺别出心裁的。作者真的很厉害！

《Death of a Salesman》读后感(二)：推销员之死

英美文学课上学到过， 就找来看了， 是个剧本。

感觉应该是话剧剧本， 跟情景喜剧布景什么的都差不多， 主要区别是 推销员之死 是个悲剧。推销员，其实就是销售， 现在中国也就这个岗位招聘会上一抓一大把。书中的销售员是一个业务上不错的销售， 有车，有房， 在那个年代还买了冰箱， 可以说是美国中产了。

他的两个儿子中，我印象最深的就是大儿子，那个学校里的STAR， 叱咤风云， 何等威风， 但是他却离家出走了很长一段时间， 他出走的原因就是想干自己喜欢的事儿。最终，他还是回来了， 回家了。 一无所有成。这个时候， 他跟她兄弟的谈话中透露出了一个信息， 有一个大人物曾经在他巅峰时期跟他说过，有事情可以去找他， 这位昔日的POPULAR STAR，就找了过去， 那位大人物貌似记不起来他了。

同时，父亲的工作也出现了问题， 由于年事已高， 经常在外出差的销售工作， 他已经吃不消了， 当他跟老板谈判时，谈判破裂， 父亲也丢了工作。。。

父亲在重重打击之下，遭遇了意外。。。。。

这种书籍，不适合天天喊着需要正能量， 学习成功学的人看。 这里面没有正能量， 有的只是冰冷的现实，有的只是人可能遇到的不幸， 有的只是作者在身处“美国梦”中，独立的思考精神，和一个让人心情 沉重的故事，高质量的故事。

《Death of a Salesman》读后感(三)：自知之明

“What is the answer？ How did you do it？”在Arthur Miller的剧本“Death of a Salesman”中,米勒描写了一个郁郁不得志的年过花甲的销售员如何在家庭与事业的泥潭中奋力挣扎,又如何最终选择了自杀的故事.开头的这句台词就是Willy最喜欢问的问题.关于这个剧本的评析已经遍布了互联网,其中大多以剧本影射“美国梦”为主.我恰好读过米勒的另一篇更负盛名的剧本 “The Crucible”,影射了什么的观点我是赞同的.可是作为一篇评论,我尝试把目光更加集中在戏剧人物之上,剧情之中,而是不空泛的谈论美国体制.在我看来,美国梦从没有在某一时刻终结过. 工业,金融,到现在的科技,美国梦并非消亡了,失去了生命力.而是以另一种方式推动着世界的发展.所以,就这篇剧本而言,我更想谈一谈Willy的家庭与梦想.

从小仰慕自己的儿子,如今变为了一事无成的流浪汉. 每逢父子见面,都是吵得鸡飞狗跳.当然,Willy对此有自己的看法. “Spite!”(pg131)他如此评价Biff的行为. 这里有必要解释一下,在英文中spite的一个意思是: 以伤害自己为手段来伤害别人. 想必大多数读者如我一样也是认同Willy的看法的.起码就第一次阅读这个剧本而言.而Willy的梦想,成为Dave Singleman那样被人尊敬受人爱戴的销售员,只穿着拖鞋坐在旅馆里就有生意源源不断的上门.葬礼更是热闹非凡. Willy一直以此为目标要求自己与孩子.

以上,想必基本就是大部分浅层阅读所得到的结论了.

当我第三次阅读这个剧本的时候,我发现有些事情并非看起来的那样简单.首先一点是Biff的变化.他真的是因为发现了父亲的奸情而选择堕落的吗？做个假设,如果他永远不知道这件事,是否代表着他会青云直上,在大学内成为明星,步入社会后成为Willy期待的那种成功人士呢？不,不可能.原因有两点.一是Biff那些未被培养的美德,Willy太过于纵容Biff了,不可否认Biff被培养出了一股领袖气息,但是他同样也养成了不爱学习,手不干净的毛病.到了后来他甚至不能控制自己偷东西,他本想找Oliver谈生意,却顺手偷了他的钢笔.这样的人格缺陷可能会令Biff在社会上寸步难行.其二,Willy从未考虑过Biff的真实感受.成为一个商人,一个领导,一个有钱人,这真的是Biff想要的吗？ “I’m not blaming it on you!”(pg130) “Why am I trying to become what I don’t want to be？ What am I doing in an office, making a contemptuous, begging fool of myself, when all I want is out there, waiting for me the minute I say I know WHO I AM!”(pg132) 当父亲的期望变为沉重的枷锁,Biff必须有所反抗,情妇事件只是一个导火索罢了.

而Willy的梦想,则更加残忍.无须有任何的语言学基础,只要能看懂这部剧本的人,一定知道singleman的字面意思是什么---独身的人. Dave Singleman并没有他表面看起来的那么风光,想想他去世的时候,一个人坐在火车的吸烟室里,就这么死去了.没有家人的陪伴,没有朋友的照顾,就这么如同一个无关紧要的人一般死在了吸烟室里.Willy显然瞄错了靶子,他瞄得越仔细,只会打的越偏.Willy的梦想,不单单是一个普通的美国梦所能描述的了.他的梦想已经成为了这个家庭的梦魇,压着家里的每一个人.最关键的是,他从来没有了解过 “Who he was.”他根本不是当销售员的料.在书的97页,Charley说道:”The only thing you got in this world is what you can sell.” 但是Willy认为:”If a man was impressive, and well liked….”这也许便从侧面反映出了Willy失败的本质, 过多看重客观条件.谁喜欢JP摩根？当他脱光了挺着大肚子的时候就像个屠夫.

可惜的是Willy从来就不明白自己是谁,当Biff提出他将要离开的时候.Willy选择了用死亡来留住他.只要保险金到了Biff手上,他就再也没有借口推卸父亲的遗志了. Biff知道自己是谁,也知道自己想要什么,换句话说,他过得比他父亲更加自由,也更加聪明.有个更加适合他的词汇, Jack Kerouac提出的 “垮掉的一代”.Kerouac的名著 “在路上”正是描写了一群这样向往自由向往无忧无虑的年轻人.他们横跨美国各州,赚上一点散钱就上路, 永远年轻,永远热泪盈眶.

《Death of a Salesman》读后感(四)：A Trauma Shared by All

Being a little child, I became quite familiar with my father’s footsteps. When he came back from work, I had already rushed towards the door and opened it for him. I suppose I just got very happy to see him after a long while. But when I grew up, what I felt for him gradually changed. Sometimes he really pissed me off. I still love him, but I don’t idolize him any more. I guess it’s just that I got to know him as a flawed human being, like myself.

Willy Loman built his own life on a fantasy and tried to instill it into his son Biff. The tipping point came when Biff learned the fact that his dad was cheating on his mom. This moment was horrendous. But when Biff passed it, everything became clear to him. His father was no longer a successful, popular and loving person. He just got by with the commission he earned after a long travel. Sadly, before that, Biff was poisoned with the hollow dream and had to suffer the consequences. He was so flamboyant at the time that he flunked the math and failed to graduate from the high school. And thus, there was even a slimmer possibility of him living up to the expectations of his father.

While Biff got to taste the bitterness of failure, failure at maintaining the relationship with his father, failure at making any achievements, Willy still dwelled on the past glories. They became irreconcilable, with both sides refusing to compromise any further. A great despair was rooted in Willy’s hope. Life got tougher with him as time passed. He was still a travelling salesman in his old age, and at the brink of getting fired. His neighbor, who he used to look down on, offered him a job. He lived on the money he brought from his neighbor, but he firmly refused the kindness, as if it were the last straw. Pathetic as Willy was, there was something heroically tragic in his character. The firmness in what he believed was admiring, but the question is when reality and fantasy diverged, he chose to ignore the truth and stick with the shadow of a false self.

Willy’s wife understood his pain, but she had no way to fix it. "I don't say he's a great man. Willie Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He's not the finest character that ever lived. But he's a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He's not to be allowed to fall in his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must finally be paid to such a person." It’s like a cry from deep in side, full of despair. Ironically, they were free at last, but what was “free” and where was it？ Before the night he died, Willy looked so eargerly for seeds to plant in the house. I was wondering what did seeds represent, contribution to the family？ Somehow I feel I understand what Willy had thought about. He was deprived of the last drip to hold his faith. And when the belief ceased to exist, the life was gone as well.

This masterpiece is known to reveal the failure of the American Dream, in every way Arther Miller can tell us. But as far as I am concerned, it’s a trauma shared by every race, every gender, and every society.

《Death of a Salesman》读后感(五)：Ben: The Representation of Willy Loman’s Ideal

In Arthur Miller’s Death of A Salesman, the protagonist Willy Loman is in a constantly unstable condition, becoming insane now and then. So “Willy Loman's life teems with ghosts” (Harrington 59) who are quite important in understanding the changes happened in his mind.

Ben, Willy’s elder brother, appears in the play for four times, one time in Act One and three times in Act Two. He already died in Africa, thus appearing only in Willy’s imagination or illusion. According to the stage direction on his first appearance, Ben is “a stolid man” with “a mustache and an authoritative air”. Besides, “he is utterly certain of his destiny, and there is an aura of far places about him”. (Miller 44) Therefore, Ben represents the ideal, at least part of the ideal, in Willy’s mind and serves as a guiding star in Willy’s destiny.

This dissertation discusses the character Ben from three aspects: 1) symbolic meanings of Ben’s imagine and life experiences, 2) Ben’s relationship with Willy and 3) Ben’s conflicts with Linda, Willy’s wife.

1. Four Appearances of Ben

In Act One, Ben appears when Willy is playing cards with his old neighbor, Charley. A fierce argument has been going on since Charley tried to offer Willy a job. The brothers chat mainly about the old days, including Ben’s experiences and memory of their father, and some past moments flash back. Ben ends the conversation with his experience in the jungle as a response to Willy’s question about how to teach kids.

The next scene of Ben is in Howard’s office when Willy has just been fired. Ben tries to persuade Willy to get out of the city and pursue a new career. A brief piece of memory regarding Biff is recalled as well.

Approaching the end of the play, Ben’s interaction with Willy becomes more frequent and crucial. In the garden, Willy for the first time in the play begins to discuss the idea of committing suicide for premium. Ben tries, with limited efforts, to eliminate the idea and fails.

Last appearance of Ben is right before Willy’s suicide. Seemingly, his words are all about his jungle adventure and he is pushing Willy to follow his footsteps. At last, Willy becomes insanely assured and chooses to end his life.

2. Symbolic Meaning of Ben and His Life Experience

First of all, in the play Ben is one of the three embodiments of the American Dream which obsesses Willy a lot. Among the three, Ben’s success is the most striking one: he became rich from scratch. He went into the jungle in Africa at the age of seventeen and when he went out at twenty-one, he was rich because he found some diamond mines. This is not an overnight success, yet every time it is mentioned, it sounds like an overnight success: no details are provided, except the phrase “by God”. This kind of unified deｓｃｒｉｐｔion is an intended repetition, stressing the end and the verification of the American Dream which demands only of hard work. The more it is mentioned, the more strongly Willy believes in his potential of becoming rich; but the American Dream in itself is no more than an elating propaganda. Therefore, it is fair to say that Ben, to Willy, is an ideal that can never be achieved (though from the information in the play we can’t tell whether the story of Ben is true or made-up).

Nevertheless, not for his special role, Ben’s words or success may not be so overwhelming. Though he is Willy’s elder brother, he is a father-like figure, or a combination of father and elder brother. In this way, a family education passing from one generation to another is neatly demonstrated. However, as time is different from then and family members can have different personalities, conflicts within the family are created and explained. Biff is disillusioned and Happy is hedonic, both as rebel against the unachievable American Dream. Willy can understand neither, because he is burdened with the examples set by his father and brother who are self-sufficient and adventurous. Not only does he need to follow Ben’s example to become wealthy, but also his father’s example of being the sole bread winner of the family. When Ben appears in his mind, Willy feels the two kinds of pressure that reinforce his desire and are mutually reinforced by the desire.

Because of the two reasons mentioned above, Ben, in a sense, is the concrete representation of a strong force that pulls Willy to his goal and the choice to die. This is especially clear in the last scene before the suicide, for another time, Ben appears talking about his own experience of becoming rich, which is at the same time Willy’s ideal life. Obviously, this mistimed but uncontrollable illusion is the last straw. This force can also be seen in a very curious and repetitive action of Ben which is looking at his watch. Time seems to be an important element during the brothers’ conversation. Almost every time Ben appears, he would say something related to time: “but I’ve only a few minutes” (Miller 48), “haven’t the time, William” (Miller 85), “I still have a little time” (Miller 127), and “time, William, time!” (Miller 135) The changes are worth discussing of, for they reveal the thoughts of Willy. After all, Ben is dead and created as an illusion by Willy’s own mind. The harder Ben presses, the harder Willy’s own desire presses. At the last time, Ben or Willy’s desire presses so hard that even a complete sentence is not formed, and the doomed destiny is predictable.

3. Ben and Willy

There’s no doubt that the imaginary Ben exerts great influence on Willy, so the interaction between the two brothers are very noteworthy.

In addition to the symbolic meaning of Ben and his experiences, the contrast formed between the two brothers is one effect to be examined. Ben is a stolid and confident man, but from the beginning to the end Willy appears to be irrepressibly frustrated and unstable. This difference can account for the different positions they take in their conversations. Ben is a more dominant figure, while Willy is more submissive. The relationship much resembles a father-and-son or teacher-and-student relationship. In Act One, Ben “strolls, inspecting the place”. (Miller 45) This better explains the “authoritative air” of Ben and the inequality of this relationship. In this way, Ben’s words gain an air of command rather than advice.

Due to a similar reason - Ben is stronger and more capable than Willy, Willy tends to turn to Ben when in need. The timing of Ben’s first two appearances expressively make the point. At the first time, Willy feels insulted because Charles offers him a job and indicates that he should give up on his unrealistic dream. In his defense of the American Dream, Willy imagines to have a meeting with Ben. At the second time, it is a more desperate situation in which Willy is fired and does not know what to do then. This time, Ben is imagined to tell him what to do. Ben, in these two cases, functions as someone upon whom Willy can depend. In his family, he is always to be depended on, but has no one to depend on. It is impossible for any one to bear all the responsibilities and pressure in his or her life – somehow he or she needs to shift part to others, and for Willy, Ben is the best choice. Willy once comments “there was the only man I ever met who knew the answers”. (Miller 45)

However, Ben is a character more complicated than a mentor for Willy; he is a competitor or even rival as well. Although Willy never talks anything against Ben, Ben sometimes slightly shows scorn or indifference to Willy. A repetitive expression of Ben is “laughing”. This is not offensive, but it is not serious either. He does not know what his brother has been working on for decades, but doubts the future of his career. Willy can sense the scorn, but dare not to challenge Ben who is both the ideal and the authority. Furthermore, it seems that both brothers are the disciples of the American Dream, yet the approaches are quite different. Willy emphasizes on good interpersonal relationship, while Ben talks about boldness – in his words, “never fight fair with a stranger”. (Miller 49) The unfair competition between the two inevitably results in the failure of the former one and the Willy’s submission to Ben’s advice.

4. Ben and Linda

Ben and Linda do not have much conversation, but it is interesting to note that in Willy’s illusion, they often appear together with opposite attitudes. Their underneath conflicts visualize the struggle in Willy’s mind as regards whether or not to commit suicide.

In Act One, their discrepancy lies in the way to teach Biff which can result from their discrepancy in the best way to succeed. Ben supports “jungle law”, but Linda asks “why must he fight” which means that fierce competition, if possible, should be avoided. Although Ben’s success happened in a place very different from industrialized modern society, his way to success is the same with the one in this society (namely, the way Ben and Howard become successful).

In the next scene of Ben’s appearance, their argument concerns with whether Willy has done well or not. Linda obviously is satisfied with current situation, but Ben makes no effort to hide his scorn. Linda, a genial woman for most of the time, becomes “frightened of Ben and angry at him”. (Miller 85) However, the reason why she is nervous and irritated is because she is about to lose the competition against Ben and the ideal.

As for the scene before the suicide, real Linda replaces imaginary Linda to argue against imaginary Ben, but this is no use. Linda, who now is out of Willy’s mind, cannot possibly pose any threat to Ben, who is still in Willy’s mind. In another word, the idea of compromising to reality is excluded by the idea of pursuing the ideal. This is the time when Willy makes up his mind to commit suicide.

In short, Ben, in the conflicts with Linda, represents Willy’s desire for his dream and Linda represents the compromise to reality. They respectively function as the push force and pull force in Willy’s decision of committing suicide.

5. Conclusion

Ben, though a ghost-like figure in Death of A Salesman, is a crucial character, especially in understanding Willy’s ideal and thoughts.

His image and life experiences are symbolic of the American Dream, so as to serve as a model. He is also a father-like figure for Willy, commanding him what to do and offering a sense of security for him. However, since Ben holds some different views concerning success, there’s slight rivalry between the brothers as well. This is most expressively demonstrated in Ben’s interaction with Linda, who represents the submission to reality.

Careful scrutiny into the features of Ben makes it possible to predict the doomed end of Willy’s life, because he is after all an idealist who is reluctant to kneel down before reality.

Works Cited:

Harrington, Gary. "Galloping Ghosts In "Death Of A Salesman." Anq 19.1 (2006): 58-59. Academic Search Complete. Nankai Univ., Tianjin, Nankai University Library. 7 Dec. 2012 .

Miller, Arthur. Death of A Salesman. New York: Penguin Books, 1979.