Appearance vs. Reality

Discrepancies between inner and outer realities:

1984 versus Death of a Salesman

Both George Orwell's dystopian classic novel 1984 and Arthur Miller's realist stage drama Death of a Salesman create a contrast between appearances and reality in order to criticize the political and social structure that exists in society and its negative effects on the protagonists. In Orwell's novel, the world within Winston Smith's head is far more real than the propaganda manufactured by Big Brother. In contrast, the dramatic techniques used by Miller illustrate how Willy Loman lives in a fantasy world of his own making that stands in sharp contrast to the reality of the world inhabited by his loved ones. Orwell's novel is a critique of idealized socialism, a world where everyone is supposedly equal but where people have no freedom, even the freedom to think. Miller scathingly critiques the American Dream that it...
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