标题：销售员之死
销售员之死
原著小说  小说封面Death of a Salesman

原著小说 销售员之死档案
Written by
Arthur Miller 作者 亚瑟·米勒
Characters
Willy Loman 
Linda Loman
Biff Loman
Happy Loman
Bernard
Charley
The Woman
Date premiered
10 February 1949 写于1949
Place premiered
Morosco Theatre
New York City
Original language
English 原著语言 英语
Subject
The waning days of a failing salesman 主题：日益落魄的销售员的落魄
Genre
Tragedy 杯具
Setting
Late 1940s; Willy Loman's house; New York City and BarnabyRiver; Boston背景设置：1940年代晚期；willy的家里；纽约；波斯顿

Death of a Salesman is a 1949 play written by American playwright Arthur Miller.
《 销售员之死》由美国剧作家亚瑟·米勒于1949年写成。
The play ran for 745 performances, winning both the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize for drama.此剧上演745场，赢得Tony Award和普利策戏剧奖。
The original production was directed by Elia Kazan with Lee J. Cobb starring in the leading role of Willy Loman.
Elia Kazan导演该部戏剧，Lee J. Cobb主演剧中领衔人物Willy Loman. ，由此，该剧第一次被搬上银屏。
The play attempts to raise a counterexample to Aristotle's characterization of tragedy as the downfall of a great man: though Loman certainly has hamartia, a tragic flaw or error, his downfall is that of an ordinary man. 
亚里士多德以伟人的落败而塑造悲剧人物，该剧试图逆道而行：诚然剧中主人公Willy Loman在某些程度上hamartia，悲剧的弱点， 但是他的落魄时一个凡人的落魄。
In this sense, Miller's play represents a democratization of the ancient form of tragedy;
在这种意义上而言，米勒的喜剧呈现出古代悲剧形式的民主化特点
the play's protagonist is himself obsessed with the question of greatness, and his downfall arises directly from his continued misconception of himself—at age 63—as someone capable of greatness, as well as the unshakable conviction that greatness stems directly from personal charisma or popularity. 
剧中主人翁，在追求伟大的泥塘里挣扎，他最终的落败直接源于自我不断的认识错误---虽年六旬又三---仍可铸就一番事业的伟人，并且义无反顾地沉湎于伟大直接源自个人魅力或者声望的信念
情节概述Willy Loman returns home after an unsuccessful business trip. Willy 在一次失败商业之旅归来，Frustrated at his lack of success, his wife Linda suggests that he ask his boss Howard Wagner to allow him to work in his home city so he will not have to travel. 对丈夫职业失败的沮丧之中，他的妻子琳达建议他向老板瓦格纳要求让他在家里的城市工作，因此免去奔波的辛苦。Willy complains to Linda that their son, Biff, who comes home for the holidays, has yet to make good on his life.但威利却向妻子抱怨他们的儿子---biff，他恰逢假期归来，却只是勉强过活。
Biff and his brother, Happy, who is also visiting, reminiscence about their childhood together. 
Biff和他恰好回家探亲的happy，一同回味童年。
They discuss their father's mental degeneration, which they have witnessed by his constant vacillations and talking to himself. 
目睹父亲持续的踟蹰和自言自语，他们讨论着自己父亲精神状况的恶化的问题。
The two discuss dreams of forming a ranch in the west and establishing their own livestock company and Biff discusses Willy's frustration at his success. 
两个兄弟们，幻想着在西部建立一个农场，然后创建自己的牲畜公司。不过，biff 谈到了父亲对自己的失望。
Willy appears and confides with them with his plans of establishing a business that will eclipse that of his neighbor, Charley.
父亲Willy此时出现，并向他们吐露自己计划干一番事业，好让邻居查理的事业，相形见绌。
Over the next parts of the play, Willy's perception of reality phases in and out of flashbacks. 
戏剧后半部中，Willy通过不断倒叙，现实得以慢慢铺陈展开。
Over the course of the play's first act, during a dreamlike sequence, he meets his brother Ben, who had left to mine diamonds in Africa and thus became rich. 
剧中第一幕中，作何通过意识流慢慢拼凑起现实的碎片：Willy遇见了他的兄弟本，他在南非开钻石而富有了。
In another similar sequence, he encounters his mistress, with whom he flirts and gives gifts of stockings.
而后他又遇见了他的情妇，他调戏她并给她用长筒袜装着的礼物。
Willy's delusional dream-sequences encroach upon reality, and his family is affected by them. Seeing Linda mending stockings, he orders her to throw them out. He also grows furious at Charley's son.
Willy妄想呓语严重干碍了现实，所以他的家庭收到牵累。看见妻子在缝补长筒袜，他就严词要求她把它们扔掉。而且他要对查理的儿子Bernard大发雷霆。小说评论在真正去看《销售员之死》之前，总是把它和意识流、人格解体、悲剧性缺陷等一系列高深的词汇联系在一起。由此产生的敬畏之心，一直使我与这部伟大的作品擦肩而过。直到一天，偶然听到《销售员之死》的一段录音，整个人完全被吸引了进去。一路听下来，为他们曾经执著的梦想而激动，为父子间那暗流涌动的温情而感动，又为美国梦的最终破灭而深深悲痛。
我想，这么一部优秀的作品所吸引我们普通读者的，未必是专家学者们的解析：意识流、父权意识抑或现实主义。至少它所吸引我的，是小人物在社会洪流中的挣扎。这样的小人物与我们共享着一样的人生和梦想：我们的家中也为柴米油盐而争吵，也不乏刀子嘴豆腐心的温情；我们也希望走到社会成功的前台，但辛勤工作却未必能保证梦想的实现。当文末，威利以生命代价去换取最后一丝“成功”的尊严，让人不由沉思：值得吗？
《推销员之死》（Death of a Salesman）是剧作家亚瑟·米勒的剧本，完成于1949年，是一部相当具有影响力的二十世纪戏剧。这部剧作被视为是一场对在资本主义下的美国梦相当严苛的批评，同时也让米勒以及剧中主角“威利·罗曼”（Willy Loman）成为家喻户晓的人物。《推销员之死》在演出之后大受好评，赢得了1949年的普立策奖，让米勒成为美国的全国性作家。
改编电影著作
Adaptations
1951改编成电影。
In 1951, it was adapted by Stanley Roberts into a film which was directed by László Benedek who won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director. 
1961: En Handelsresandes d&ouml;d starring Kolbj&ouml;rn Knudsen - directed by Hans Abramson (in Swedish) 
1968: Der Tod eines Handlungsreisenden starring Heinz Rühmann and directed by Gerhard Klingenberg 
Television 
1966: starring Lee J. Cobb, Gene Wilder, Mildred Dunnock, James Farentino, Karen Steele and George Segal. It was directed by Alex Segal. 
  Dustin Hoffman 主演电影1985: starring Dustin Hoffman, Kate Reid, John Malkovich, Stephen Langand Charles Durning. It was directed by Volker Schl&ouml;ndorff. 

1996: starring Warren Mitchell, Rosemary Harris, Iain Glen and Owen Teale. It was directed by David Thacker. 
2000: starring Brian Dennehy, Elizabeth Franz, Ron Eldard, Ted Koch, Howard Witt and Richard Thompson. It was directed by Kirk Browning.