Joseph Hirsch "The New Masses", following the July 1946 lynching of two black men and their wives in Monroe, Georgia. "The Burden" (1947) depicts a hollow-eyed American GI installing white cross gravemarkers in a military cemetery, while in the background a second GI unloads yet another jeep-full. Hirsch's poster for the original 1949 Broadway production of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" depicts a beaten-down Willy Loman trudging onward with his heavy suitcases. Hirsch was of German-Jewish heritage, but occasionally explored Christian themes. In "The Crucifixion" (1945), we see a close-up of the cross from behind, and the thick timbers block any
Willy Loman gives way to the belief that his inability to be a successful man and father is condemning. The marriage is described as "symbolic". Linda is a devoted wife who understands that he has issues. Linda has emotional scenes as she attempts to manage Willy's emotional collapse and deals with her two adult sons whose lives have been wasted following the easy road of pursuing popularity as guided by their father. She breaks down as she confides in her sons about Willy's disintegration and reveals his attempts at suicide. Willy has always made the point to his sons that being popular