Cars are mentioned frequently in the Death Of A Salesman, where Willy and Linda discuss driving in the first section and the Chevrolet company is also referenced. This is significant to the setting and invoking the spirit of the era. The play is placed in the 1949 post-war America. During the war, the auto industry was focused on supplying troops with the necessary vehicles for war, but afterward, the public was able to gain access to new and improved cars rather than making do with rationed gasoline and more rudimentary models. Companies such as Chevrolet and Ford were in a tight competition to be the first to sell their improved automobiles to the public. The 1964 Ford ended up being the first to be available with a completely new look and updated engines. The postwar period led to a skyrocketing boom in production rates, with 450,000 new manufactured cars off of the assembly line in a year. This added detail of mentioning cars and different automobile companies at the time is important for setting up the time period and the sentiment towards materialism. Willy Loman and Linda are talking about cars at the beginning of the car, with Willy saying, “I was thinking of the Chevy. Nineteen twenty-eight…when I had that red Chevy today…Remarkable. Ts. Remember those days?” This shows a comparison between the industrialization and modernization of the post-WWII United States and the post WWI. Just this nuanced mentioning of automobiles within the play shows how this epoch is different from others, with new revolutions in capitalism and materialism.
Word Count: 263
No comments:
Post a Comment