Death Of A Salesman By Arthur Miller

Willy Loman believes in the “American Dream,” which is the belief that anyone can be lifted from humble beginnings to greatness. His belief on this idea is that a man can reach success by selling his

The play, Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, takes issue with those in America who place too much stress upon material gain, at the expense of other, more admirable human values. Miller uses flashbacks to provide exposition, to foreshadow the upcoming tragedy, and most importantly to reveal character traits. An analysis of the main character, Willy Loman, illustrates the underlying theme that the concern over material success breaks down the bonds between men that form the basis of a smooth-functioning society.

Arthur Miller shows the downfall of the American dream through the eyes of Willy Loman. Willy Loman is an all American family man and businessman that would do anything for his family. In the end of the play Willy Loman committed suicide to save his family from going under. Arthur Miler describe Loman’s tragic story as “a man who did believe that he alone was not meeting the qualifications laid down for mankind by those clean-shaven frontiersmen who inhabit the peaks of broadcasting and advertising offices (Isherwood, 2012) “. The thing I find so innovating about this play is that even though some of the events mentioned are controversial the author never down played the events that

Every respectable parent wants what is best for their children, even if that means putting their personal dreams on hold. Unfortunately, parents can negatively affect their children through, not only their actions, but also their beliefs onto how to achieve their dreams. The damaging effects of parents chasing unrealistic dreams, such as the American Dream, can be seen through their children and how they chase their own dreams. Biff Loman of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Walter Younger of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry watch their parents fight for their dreams only to become a failure, Biff is pulled into his father’s delusional dreams of success and Walter lacks the proper role models to shape his dreams around,

For the Loman family, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, the titular man and his family fail to redeem themselves or even learn any valuable lessons. After presenting two acts full of pure human misery and dysfunction, Miller leaves us with little to no hope for the characters or the world they live in. The play is supposed to be a stunning takedown of the “American Dream”– a work made for the common man. Yet it just left me feeling completely bereft of joy or hope. As a person who considers herself a tentative optimist, works like Death of a Salesman upset me immensely– I usually end up throwing the book aside, frustrated at the hopeless situations and dilemmas. While Death of a Salesman is undoubtedly an important work, I failed to make a connection with it because of its bleak pessimism and unrelatable characters.

Since the beginning of its time, America has set a global standard for offering chances at prosperity and career opportunities for qualified adults. Its people have been implicating the idea of the “American Dream” into its culture for many years and has become widely recognized by individuals all across the world. People pack up their lives and families to travel to American soil to try at a chance of a better life, and in doing so, they too venture on a path to achieving this so commonly understood “American Dream.” Arthur Miller, a well-known literary writer in America, seems to disagree with this national phenomena, offering a different view in his play Death of a Salesman. In this play, he demonstrates through the life of an average

The American Dream is a sought after idea sold to Americans and immigrants alike. It promises the opportunity to create a better future for oneself. So long as said individual works hard it promises a happy ending. Arthur Miller reveals the reality of the American Dream in his play Death of a Salesman through the life of Willy Loman and his family. Willy represents the primary target audience as a working class man providing for his family. His pride causes him to be two steps behind in his life-long quest to achieve the American Dream and his family inherit his failures in their own individual quests.

Willy Loman could honestly take no pride in the values he had instilled in his two sons. Case in point: As he preaches that likeability, above all, is the ultimate goal of mankind, he neglects to qualify his statements by adding that one should be liked for being himself, not by adapting like a chameleon to whatever the surrounding circumstances dictate. The following passage superbly demonstrates Willy’s twisted perceptions of what it means to succeed in life.

The tragic fall of an individual is brought about by a tragic flaw. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is seen as a densely flawed human being. Ironically, the flaws that Willy lives off of are what ultimately leads to his demise. The major faults that contribute to his downfall are his compulsive lying, his selfishness, and his unrealistic expectations and perceptions.

As though to recreate the connection in life, literature often shows the relationship between past events and a character’s present actions and values. In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Willy is haunted by memories of his older brother, father, and salesman Dave Singleman. Willy’s character and values are constantly influenced by the memory of the three men, compounding upon his deliria throughout the play. Willy considers these men the epitome of success, thus explaining his dependency on all three. Miller’s view on society, men, and the success of the American Dream are portrayed through Willy’s interactions with the men. The American Dream is synonymous with the phrase “the world is your oyster,” but Miller uses Death of a Salesman to criticize the American Dream through Willy Loman and his interplay between the past and present.

What is the correct definition of tragedy anyways? Many people would define tragedy as a disaster, but according to the book The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre by Martin Banham, the word tragedy is “a word whose meaning changes with time and place” (1002). In Medieval times, “tragedy came to mean the downfall of a person of high degree” (Banham 1002), but in recent times, the meaning of the word tragedy has many definitions. According to Banham, “realists refused to limit tragedy to privileged protagonists” (1002). Two famous tragic plays that I found to have a genre of tragedy are Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl. In both of these plays, the downfall was not of a person of high degree but there was a

One of the central themes related to his essay and play is that the presence of fear in a common man’s life is more prevalent and perhaps draws us closer the character. Willy Loman’s fear of not meeting the standards to the successful people around him, such as his brother and neighbor, and the failure in his job as a father that correlates with his children’s failures is the storyline Miller presents in his play that weights down the

Willy Loman has many traits of a young child. He never really lives outside of his own unrealistic world. When children are young, they think they are able to achieve whatever their imaginations believe. Willy has the same idea as this throughout his whole life. He never lets go of that dream even though he knows its not the smart decision. He knows he would be more successful as a tradesman working with his manly hands but he refuses to follow the wiser choice. Mainly because he is searching for that American Dream that society proclaims to be the best.

Through Ben, Miller’s play suggests that one must be ruthless, sometimes even wild, in order to achieve success. This very dynamic approach towards the American Dream is what makes Willy Loman envious of his brother’s success and machismo. The contrast between a passive approach and dynamic ambition towards the realization of the American Dream is the cause of rift in a brother relationship between Willy and Ben.

More than that, he wanted to become that man that he admired who died “the death of a salesman” in his “green velvet slippers” whose funeral garnered many loving friends and family (Miller 81). Audiences can relate as they too have had an idol in their head that they have aspired to become. Seeing the aspirations of Willy warrants pity in the audience when they see what a failure Willy Loman becomes. Failure is what consumes Willy. He understands that that is his life. But in his deep deluded mind twisted with broken memories and false hopes he can never truly accept it. He never has that point of discovery that a tragic hero does. Willy Loman never realizes the doom waiting for him at the end of his downward spiral. Even his attempts at suicide, and finally his one successful one, were misguided and were attempts to become something greater. No one shows up at the funeral besides his family. He is not great like a tragic hero. Willy Loman is a nobody, he is only a tragic hero to himself, just like everyone in the audience. Everyone sings the song of their own tragedy . That is the American tragedy. Everyone is the American tragic hero with their own tragedy. Arthur Miller captures the Average man with the average family and average dreams, living an average life with no gain in the end.