견고한 모든 것은 대기 속에 녹아내린다: 바우만의 관점으로 『세일즈맨의 죽음』에 나타난 액체 현대의 징후 읽기

Abstract

This paper examines Arthur Miller’s iconic play, Death of a Salesman, through the lens of Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of liquid modernity. Bauman’s theory suggests that contemporary society is characterized by fluidity, instability, and the erosion of traditional structures. Death of a Salesman serves as a poignant exploration of the consequences of liquid modernity on individual lives, particularly focusing on Willy Loman. The analysis highlights how the play encapsulates the anxieties, disorientations, and sense of displacement experienced by individuals navigating a rapidly changing and uncertain world. The paper also examines the author’s portrayal of Willy and his sons and how their struggles resonate with Bauman’s ideas. The paper suggests Willy’s anxiousness is a metaphor for his psychological situation where he is still searching for and longing for something fixed while living in a fluid modern world, and I consider Biff’s shoplifting as a personalized shopping ritual that satisfies the anxiety about his identity and his final decision as a way of accepting the incomplete state of his identity and trying to find his identity again there. Based on the premise of Bauman’s connection to the work, the paper analyzes the meaning of the sense of fear in Willy’s inner world depicted. The paper examines the implications of the conflict between the fluid nature of the salesman’s profession and Willy’s perception of the world through a specific case analysis. As a result, I argue that Death of a Salesman is a work that is deeply imbued with the signs of Bauman’s fluid modernity.