The Prominent Theme in the Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Introduction

Death of a Salesman is a play by Arthur Miller which addresses the loss of identity as well as the inability of a man to accept the changes he is experiencing within himself and those within the society. Death of a Salesman is a montage of dreams, memories, arguments, and confrontations which are confined in the last twenty-four hours of the life of Willy Loman. The play revolves around Willy Loman, who is a salesman in New York City during the late 1940s and focuses on several themes such as the American dream, abandonment, betrayal, and other minor themes. Among these three themes, the American dream proves to be more prominent as it is the center of what Willy believes wholeheartedly in, and it is what drives him as a salesman since he considers being a well-liked and personal attraction as some of his key strengths in the business world (Miller 16).

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The American Dream as the Driving Force in Death of a Salesman

The desires of Willy to acquire the material comforts offered by modern American life has also driven him to consider his sons, Happy and Biff, as failures in the business world. Happy is jobless and lives by himself in his apartment while Biff, is rambling from job to job and is not making much money as Willy would have expected him to make. Surprisingly, the fixations of Willy with these superficial qualities of attractiveness and likability of a businessman in his American dream is at odds with grit. A rewarding understanding of the American dream often identifies hard work as one of the critical pillars of success. However, the Willy's American dream is filled with complaints and lack of hard work which saw him demoted from a salaried employee to a commission employee (Miller 39).

On the other hand, Willy's interpretation of likability is not also in line with the ethical standards in the business world. Willy is seen to dislike Bernard simply because he considers him a nerd childishly. His blind faith in his delusional version of the American Dream is draining him and has rapidly led him to a psychological decline making him unable to differentiate between the Dream and his life. His inability to differentiate a dream from the real-life events have made him have trouble in concentrating when driving and he is seen making minor but deadly mistakes such as crossing the white line, running red lights, driving off the road, and stopping for green lights. His situation is getting worse as he starts speaking to himself in most occasions making his wife, Linda to be more concerned.

The Cost of Willy Loman's Obsession with the American Dream

Throughout the play, Willy is portrayed as a man of mission. His main life mission is achieving the American Dream which he is not working towards. In the play, Arthur Miller analyzes the American Dream by portraying the last twenty-four hours of Willy Loman on earth. Like any other patriotic American, Willy prioritizes the American Dream which is carried by many people. However, his version of the American Dream is based more on monitory success rather than focusing on his happiness.

Throughout the play, Willy never follows his true dreams, thus failing to become part of the American Dream. According to his wife Linda, Willy who has worked for his company for close to thirty-six years has nothing to live for at the end. Willy has been working his entire life to achieve a delusional American Dream making him miss the entire journey in between. His ideas of the American Dream is incorrect as his Dream is based on the material as well as monitory success one can achieve in his lifetime. His American Dream is also partly based on the number of friends that one makes as illustrated when he said "...Its who you know and the smile on your face!... and that's the wonder, the wonder of this country, that a man can end with diamonds here based on being liked!" (Miller 62).

Success is often considered as an integral component of the American Dream. Oddly, Willy emphasizes the needs of becoming successful to an extent he forgets to work. Throughout the play, Willy is seen to neglect his primary responsibility which is to provide for his family. And instead, chooses to remain in the delusional belief and mindset that as long as he is liked by many, success will automatically come as evident in his conversation with Ben where he insinuates that doors will be opening for anyone famous when he said "... when he walks into a business office his name will sound out like a bell, and all the doors will open to him.." (Miller 62).

Willy continues to carry this mentality with him even after losing his ability to sell. He continues to believe that as long as he is working hard at whatever he does, good things will miraculously happen to him and his family. Linda realizes the loss in her husband's key parameters of his perfect American Dream which are being likable and success and breaks the news to her sons when she said "he drives seven hundred miles, and when he gets there no one knows him anymore... what goes through a man's mind, driving seven hundred miles home without earning a cent?" (Miller 40).

Secondary Characters and Their Versions of the American Dream

Various secondary characters in the play achieve the American Dream in various ways. Ben chases his American Dream by going off to the wilderness of Africa and Alaska here he lucks into wealth by discovering a diamond mine. Howard Wagner achieves his Dream by inheriting his father's company, while Bernard, who was considered to be a nerd by Willy stood out to be studious bore from childhood and consequently became a successful lawyer through his hard work and dedication.

Willy's version of the American Dream which majorly draws its qualities from his Brother Ben's success is however delusional and unrealistic. Throughout his lifetime, Willy, as well as his sons, suffer from the inadequacy of the standards of an American Dream. However, the real tragedy of the Death of a Salesman play is not the failure of Willy to achieve his financial success as per his American Dream but his obsession with the dream to the extent that he ignores the tangible things surrounding him such as his responsibilities as a parent. For instance, when his son Biff confesses of being guilty of making fun of the lisp of his math teacher, instead of taking responsibility as a parent and correcting his son by showing him it is not right to make fun of teacher, Willy is seen to be more concerned about the reactions of his sons classmates. In this instance, he continues to focus his energy on one of his key elements of achieving the American Dream which is being likable as evidence from the extract below:

BIFF: I crossed my eyes and talked with a lithp.

WILLY: (Laughing.) You did? The kids like it?

BIFF: They nearly died laughing! (Miller 87).

Conclusion

His obsession drives him to sacrifice himself at the end of the play to get his family the money from his life insurance policy demonstrating that, even though the American Dream is considered to be one of the most powerful vehicles of inspiration to many, it can also turn humans into a commodity whose sole value throughout his lifetime is his financial worth.

Works Cited

Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller. , 2014. Print.