Death of Salesmanship and Miller's Death of a Salesman Essay Example

Introduction

America has seen a great deal of historical events and happenings, from the first and second world wars, the cold war, the 9/11 massacre among many others, but the one event that changed the economic, social and political structure of the united states, is the great recession. The aftermath of this economic recession was a massive change in strategies, approaches and techniques towards the economy, as well as the restructuring of the social stratifications. Salesmanship, in particular, underwent a roller coaster of changes, as companies and business adapted to the mass production of goods. It was no longer about the personality of the salesman, or their relationship with the consumer, but rather how much the salesman familiarized with the product he sold. The movement, therefore, sought "to emphasize the salesman's expertise and downplay his personality (Ansarey, 2013). In his book the death of a salesman, Miller presents Willy Loman as the typical man facing a threat moulded through the modern dilemma. For quite a long time, Willy believes that success lies in the likeability of an individual but soon the reality dawns on him, and he realizes that it's more that than. Salesmanship takes a professional turn and requires more from the salesman, including risk-taking, imagination and creativity, sociability (the one thing that Willy had), as well as skills for the vacation.

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The American Dream: Willy Loman and Ronald Reagan

Then there is the American dream. One that the former unites states President Ronald Reagan. It is this very dream that Willy held on to, every single day of his life. He believed that he would be a successful salesman, this was until the pace of the world exceeded his, and he lost his job for being too old to be competent. Being the pioneers of the American dream, a lot of commonalities can be drawn between the former president and Willy Loman.

To begin with, both were salesmen; Willy selling the American dream, while Reagan sold the American dream. However, even with this dream, the two could never seem to come to terms with the reality. Willy could never come to terms with the fact that he was an unsuccessful salesman, and that this failure was gradually translating to his sons. To him, his favourite son Biff was "always about to be a success, about to and a good job" (Shockley, n.d). The reality, however, is that his son could not be accepted in a university for failing his math. Ronald Reagan was the son of a failed alcoholic shoe salesman, and this made Reagan deny the roots of his family continually. To do so, both Willy and Reagan had to fantasize. To Willy, his son, Biff was a Hercules.

The Mythological Illusion of Willy and Hercules

This brings us to the mythological illusion of Willy in regarding his son "like a young god, Hercules- or something like that". It is an illusion that seeks to bring out the confidence that Willy has on his, but on a deeper scale, depicts how he was the core reason for the failure of his son. Born by the king Zeus, Hercules was abandoned by his father the king, in a similar way that Willy often abandoned his family due to his travels as a salesman. The very Hercules, the "strongest man on earth (Thompson, 2003) destroyed his entire lie and family with his hands, living a legendary yet lonely life. The salesman who lived with the belief that he was meant for greatness, at the end of it, slits his own throat, an indication of the elimination of weakness and incompetence's in the new modern economic world.

Conclusion

Modernization, industrialization and technology have turned the world upside down, with the older populations proving an endangered species. From simple activities as salesmanship, normal is not normal at all, as it has gradually metamorphosed from being a simple act of public relations and likeability, to be a complex combination of skills, knowledge and expertise. The very hands that sired life into the mouths of individuals are the same ones that squeeze the life out of them. One can no longer fake it until they make, they have to do things as per the books. The American dream is proving too complicated, and a nightmare to many.

References

Ansarey D. (2013). Death of salesmanship and Miller's death of a salesman. ASA University review. Vol. 7 (1). Pp. 151-160

Thompson T. W. (2003). The ironical Hercules reference in the death of a salesman. English language notes. Georgia Southern University. Pp. 73-77

Shockley J.S. death of a salesman and the American leadership: life imitates art. Journal of American culture. Pp. 49-56