DISCOURSE CLOZE
The following is taken from the textbook. Read the passage and fill in the numbered spaces (there are more suggested answers than necessary).

     Miller uses the techniques of the modern theatre to the full. He is not satisfied with simply employing the devices of lights and sound as an addition to the acting, . This is a deliberate attempt to make the theatre as a whole, not merely the actors, express the messages of the play. Mechanical devices assume, then, a symbolic significance—they represent an essential meaning or idea in the play in physical terms. They express a meaning — .
     Miller was writing for a middle-class audience. His plays were performed on Broadway, . Therefore they reached only a small proportion of the population Miller uses this fact (that the plays reached only a relatively small proportion of the population) to advantage in Death of a Salesman, where he examines American middle-class ideas and beliefs. He was able to place before his audience Willy Loman, , ones which have been summed up by the phrase "the American Dream". The American Dream is a combination of beliefs in the unity of the family, the healthiness of competition in society, the need for success and money, and the view that . Some of these are connected: America seemed at one stage in history to offer alternatives to the European way of life; she seemed to be the New World, vast, having plenty of land and riches for all of its people, all of whom could share in the wealth of the nation. America was a land of opportunity. This belief is still apparent, even in twentieth-century America, with its large urban population, and Miller uses it in his plays, in order to state something significant about American society. In such a land, where all people have a great deal of opportunity, success should come fairly easily, . To become successful in the American Dream means to believe in competition, to reach the top as quickly as possible by proving oneself better than others. Success is judged by the amount of wealth which can be acquired by an individual. . Money and success mean stability; and stability can be seen in the family unit. The family is a guideline to success. . These ideas should always be kept in mind when Death of a Salesman is considered.
     Another point to consider is Miller's conception of what the theatre should do. He is both a psychological and a social dramatist.. Often, these people are ordinary, everyday types, but ones whose actions are made significant by the dramatist. For example, the lives of ordinary citizens going about their daily business in their homes may not obviously appear interesting, but the dramatist can indicate that their daily lives are important, that they are interesting or unusual as people and that the audience may see their own situations and psychological states reflected in the characters the dramatist has created. Death of a Salesman is a good example of this. Of course, all dramatists and novelists try to make the actions of their characters relevant to other people, and most analyze closely the minds of the characters they have created in order to establish what makes them function as individuals. Where Miller differs from many of the others is . Most of his heroes are ordinary people: they do not seem to be different from anyone who can be met in any street; and this, it might be argued, adds force to his plays, since none of the characters are remote—we share their feelings, and understand their difficulties. Also, Miller is able to show that everyday people can rise above the ordinary when challenged.
(From Miller's Theatre and Miller's Ideas)