Death of a Salesman- American Theme

Death of a Salesman- American Theme

By Wade Bradford
Updated August 27, 2016.
What does Willy Loman
sell?
In the play Death of a
Salesman, Arthur Miller avoids
mentioning Willy Loman’s sales
product. The audience never
knows what this poor salesman
sells. Why? Perhaps Willy
Loman represents “Everyman.”
By not specifying the product,
audiences are free to imagine Willy as a seller of auto equipment, building
supplies, paper products, or egg beaters. An audience member might imagine
a career linked with his/her own, and Miller then succeeds in connecting with
the viewer.
Miller’s decision to make Willy Loman a worker broken by a vague, unfeeling
industry stems from the playwright’s socialist leanings. It has often been said
that Death of a Salesman is a harsh criticism of the American Dream.
However, it may be that Miller wanted to clarify our definition: What is the
American Dream? The answer depends on which character you ask.
Willy Loman’s American Dream
To the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, the American Dream is the ability
to become prosperous by mere charisma.
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Willy believes that personality, not hard work and innovation, is the key to
success. Time and again, he wants to make sure his boys are well-liked and
popular. For example, when his son Biff confesses to making fun of his math
teacher’s lisp, Willy is more concerned with how Biff’s classmates react:
BIFF: I Crossed my eyes and talked with a lithp.
WILLY: (Laughing.) You did? The kids like it?
BIFF: They nearly died laughing!
Of course, Willy’s version of the American Dream never pans out. Despite his
son’s popularity in high school, Biff grows up to be a drifter and a ranch-hand.
Willy’s own career falters as his sales ability flat-lines. When he tries to use
“personality” to ask his boss for a raise, he gets fired instead.
Ben’s America Dream
To Willy’s older brother Ben, the American Dream is the ability to start with
nothing and somehow make a fortune:
BEN: William, when I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I
walked out I was twenty-one. And, by God, I was rich!
Willy is envious of his brother’s success and machismo. But Willy’s wife Linda
is frightened and concerned when the Ben stops by for a brief visit. To her, he
represents wildness and danger. This is displayed when Ben horses around
with his nephew Biff. Just as Biff starts to win their sparring match, Ben trips
the boy and stands over him with the “point of his umbrella poised at Biff’s
eye.” Ben’s character signifies that a few people can achieve the “rags to
riches” version of the American Dream, but Miller’s play suggests that one
must be ruthless (or at least a bit wild) in order to achieve it.
Biff’s American Dream
Although he has felt confused and angry since discovering his father’s
infidelity, Biff Loman does have potential to pursue the “right” dream – if only
he could resolve his inner conflict. Biff is pulled by two different dreams. One
dream is his father’s world of business, sales, and capitalism. But another
dream involves nature, the great outdoors, and working with his hands. Biff
explains to his brother both the appeal and the angst of working on a ranch:
BIFF: There’s nothing more inspiring or – beautiful than the sight of a
mare and a new colt. And it’s cool there now, see? Texas is cool now,
and it’s spring. And whenever spring comes to where I am, I suddenly get
the feeling, my God, I’m not getting’ anywhere! What the hell am I doing,
playing around with horses, twenty-eight dollars a week! I’m thirty-four
years old. I oughta be makin’ my future. That’s when I come running
home.
However, by the end of the play, Biff realizes that his father had the “wrong”
dream. Biff understands that his father was great with his hands. Willy built their
garage and put up a new ceiling. Biff believes that his father should have been
a carpenter, or should have lived in another, more rustic part of the country. But
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Arthur Miller's Classic in a Nutshell
instead, Willy pursued an empty life. Willy sold nameless, unidentified
products, and watched his American Dream fall apart.
During the funeral of his father, Biff decides that he will not allow that to happen
to himself. He turns away from Willy’s dream and, presumably, returns to the
countryside, where good, old-fashioned manual labor will ultimately content his
restless soul.
Dramatists Play Service holds the rights to Death of a Salesman.
••
••
By Wade Bradford
Death of a Salesman was written by Arthur Miller in 1949. The play earned
him success and a prominent place in theater history.
For decades, students have been studying Death of a Salesman, exploring
various elements of the play, including:
The Character • of Willy Loman
•
Themes of Death of a Salesman
Criticism of the play
Plot Summary of Death of a Salesman
Setting: New York, the late 1940s
Act One:
Death of a Salesman begins in the evening. Willy Loman, a salesman in his
60s, returns home from a failed business trip. He explains to his wife, Linda,
that he was too distracted to drive, and therefore headed home in defeat. (This
won't earn him any brownie points with his boss.)
Willy's thirty-something sons, Happy and Biff, are staying in their old rooms.
Happy works as an assistant to the assistant buyer at a retail store, but he
dreams of bigger things. Biff was once a high school football star, but he could
never embrace Willy's concept of success. So he has just been drifting from
one manual labor job to the next.
Downstairs, Willy talks to himself. He hallucinates; he visualizes happier times
from his past. During one of the memories, he recalls an encounter with his
long lost older brother, Ben. An adventurous entrepreneur, Ben declares:
"When I walked into the jungle, I was seventeen. When I walked out I was
twenty one. And by God, I was rich." Needless to say, Willy is envious of his
brother's achievements.
Later, when Biff confronts his mother about Willy's unstable behavior, Linda
explains that Willy has been secretly (and perhaps subconsciously) attempting
suicide. Act One ends with the brothers cheering up their father by promising
to meet with a "big shot" business man, Bill Oliver. They plan to pitch a
marketing idea - a concept that fills Willy with hope for the future.
Act Two:
Willy Loman asks his boss, 36 year old Howard Wagner, for 40 dollars a
week. (Recently, Willy has not been making zero dollars on his commissiononly
salary). Somewhat gently (or, depending on the actor's interpretation,
perhaps disrespectfully), Howard fires him:
Howard: I don't want you to represent us. I've been meaning to tell you for
a long time now.
Willy: Howard, are you firing me?
Howard: I think you need a good long rest, Willy.
Willy: Howard -
Howard: And when you feel better, come back, and we'll see if we can
work something out.
Willy tells his troubles to his neighbor and friendly rival, Charley. Out of
sympathy, he offers Willy a job, but the salesman turns Charley down. Despite
this, he still "borrows" money from Charley - and has been doing so for quite
some time.
Meanwhile, Happy and Biff meet at a restaurant, waiting to treat their dad to a
steak dinner. Unfortunately, Biff has bad news. Not only did he fail to meet with
Bill Oliver, but Biff swiped the man's fountain pen. Apparently, Biff has become
a kleptomaniac as a way of rebelling against the cold, corporate world.
•
•
What to Know About Willy Loman from 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur
Miller
How Is the American Dream a Theme of 'Death of a Salesman?'
Death of a Salesman
Quotes from Classic Social Critique ‘Death of a Salesman’
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•
•••
Willy doesn't want to hear Biff's bad news. His memory drifts back to a
tumultuous day: When Biff was a teenager, he discovered that his father was
having an affair. Ever since that day, there has been a rift between father and
son. Willy wants to find a way for his son to stop hating him. (And he's been
considering killing himself just so Biff could do something great with the
insurance money.)
At home, Biff and Willy shout, shove, and argue. Finally, Biff bursts into tears
and kisses his father. Willy is deeply touched, realizing that his son still loves
him. Yet, after everyone goes to bed, Willy speeds away in the family car. The
playwright explains that the "music crashes down in a frenzy of sound"
symbolizing the car crash and Willy's successful suicide.
The Requiem:
This short scene in Death of a Salesman takes place at Willy Loman's grave.
Linda wonders why more people didn't attend his funeral. Biff decides that his
father had the wrong dream. Happy is still intent on pursuing Willy's quest: "He
had a good dream. It's the only dream you can have - to come out number-one
man."
Linda sits by the ground and laments the loss of her husband. She says: "Why
did you do it? I search and search and search, and I can't understand it, Willy. I
made the last payment on the house today. Today, dear. And they'll be nobody
home."
Biff helps her to her feet, and they leave the grave of Willy Loman.

Character Analysis: Willy Loman from "Death of
a Salesman"
By Wade Bradford
Death of a Salesman is a non-linear play. It interweaves the protagonist Willy
Loman's present (the late 1940s) with his memories of a happier past.
Because of Willy's frail mind, the old salesman sometimes doesn't know if he
is living in the realm of today or yesterday.
Playwright Arthur Miller wants to portray Willy Loman as the Common Man.
This notion contrasts much of Greek theater which sought to tell tragic stories
of "great" men. Miller gives us a tragedy about a so-called average man.
Instead of Greek Gods bestowing a cruel fate upon the protagonist, Willy
Loman makes several terrible mistakes that result in a meager, pathetic life.
Willy Loman's Childhood:
Throughout Death of a Salesman, details about Willy Loman's infancy and
adolesence are not fully divulged. However, during the "memory scene"
between Willy and his brother Ben, the audience learns a few bits of
information. Willy Loman was born in the late 1870s. (We learn that he is 63 in
Act One).
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His nomadic father and family roamed across the country in a wagon.
According to Ben, their father was a great inventor, but he doesn't specify what
sort of gadgets he created, with the exception of his hand-crafted flutes. Willy
remembers being a toddler, sitting around a fire and listening to his father play
the flute. It is one of his only memories about his father.
Willy's dad left the family when Willy was three years old. Ben, who seems at
least 15 years older than Willy, departed in search of their father. Instead of
heading north for Alaska, Ben accidentally went south and found himself in
Africa at the age of 17. He made a fortune by the age of 21.
Willy never hears from his father again. When he is much older, Ben visits him
twice -- in between travel destinations. According to Willy, his mother died "a
long time ago," probably sometime after Willy matures into adulthood. Did the
lack of a father negatively affect Willy's character?
Willy is desperate for his brother Ben to extend his visit. He wants to make
certain that his boys are being raised correctly. Aside from being unsure about
his parental abilities, Willy is self-conscious about how others perceive him.
(He once punched a man for calling him a "walrus"). It could be argued that
Willy's character flaws stem from parental abandonment.
Willy Loman: A Poor Role Model
Sometime during Willy's early adulthood, he meets and marries Linda. They
live in Brooklyn and raise two sons, Biff and Happy. As a father, Willy Loman
offers his sons terrible advice. For example, this is what the old salesman tells
teenage Biff about women:
WILLY: Just wanna be careful with those girls, Biff, that's all. Don't make
any promises. No promises of any kind. Because a girl, y'know, they
always believe what you tell 'em.
This attitude is adopted all too well by his sons. During her son's teen years,
Linda notes that Biff is "too rough with the girls." Happy grows up to become a
womanizer who sleeps with women who are engaged to his managers.
Several times during the play, Happy promises that he is going to get married -
- but it is a flimsy lie that no one takes seriously.
Willy also condones Biff's theivery. Biff, who eventually develops a compulsion
to steal things, swipes a football from his coach's locker room. Instead of
disciplining his son about the theft, he laughs about the incident and says,
"Coach'll probably congratulate you on your initiative!" Above all things, Willy
Loman believes that popularity and charisma will outdo hard work and
innovation.
Willy Loman's Affair:
Willy's actions are worse than his words. Throughout the play, Willy mentions
his lonely life on the road. To alleviate his loneliness, he has an affair with a
woman that works at one of his client's offices. While Willy and the nameless
woman rendezvous in a Boston hotel, Biff pays his father a surprise visit. Once
Biff realizes that his father is a "phony little fake," Willy's son becomes
ashamed and distant. His father is no longer his hero. After his role model falls
from grace, Biff starts to drift from one job to the next, stealing petty things to
rebel against authority figures.
Willy's Friends and Neighbors:
"Death of a Salesman" - Plot Summary and Study Guide
How Is the American Dream a Theme of 'Death of a Salesman?'
What to Know About Linda Loman from 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur
Miller
Death of a Salesman

Linda Loman: The Wife in "Death of a Salesman"
Supportive Spouse of Passive Enabler?
Willy Loman belittles his industrious and intelligent neighbors, Charley and his
son Bernard. Willy mocks both individuals when Biff is a high school football
star, but after Biff becomes a jaded drifter, he turns to his neighbors for help.
Charley lends Willy fifty dollars a week, sometimes more, in order to help Willy
pay the bills. However, whenever Charley offers Willy a decent job, Willy
becomes insulted. He is too proud to accept a job from his rival and friend. It
would be an admission of defeat.
Charley might be a surly old man, but Miller has imbued this character with a
great deal of pity and compassion. In every scene, we can see that Charley
hopes to gently steer Willy onto a less self-destructive path. He tells Willy that it
is sometimes best to let go of disappointment. He tries to praise Willy's
accomplishments (especially in regards to putting up the ceiling). He doesn't
boast or brag about his successful son Bernard. Sensing that Willy is
contemplating suicide, Charley tells him, "Nobody's worth nothin' dead."
(Perhaps Charley's double-negative confused the salesman!)
In their last scene together, Willy confesses: "Charley, you're the only friend I
got. Isn't that a remarkable thing." When Willy ultimately commits suicide, it
makes the audience wonder why he could not embrace the friendship that he
knew existed. Too much guilt? Too much self-loathing? Too much pride? Too
much mental instabiliity? Too much of a coldhearted business world? The
motivation of Willy's final action is open to interpretation. What do you think?
•••
•
By Wade Bradford
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman has been described as an American
tragedy. I wholeheartedly agree with that classification, but perhaps it isn’t the
blustery, senile salesman Willy Loman who experiences tragedy. Instead,
maybe the real tragedy befalls his wife, Linda Loman.
Classic tragedies often involve characters who are forced to deal with
circumstances that are beyond their control. Think of poor Oedipus squirming
at the mercy of the Olympian Gods. And how about King Lear? He makes a
very poor character judgment at the beginning of the play; then the old king
spends the next four acts wandering in a storm, enduring the cruelty of his evil
family members.
Linda Loman’s tragedy, on the other hand, is not as bloody as Shakespeare’s
work. Her life, however, is dreary because she always hopes that things will
work out for the better – yet those hopes never blossom. They always wither.
Her one major decision takes place before the action of the play.
She chooses to marry and emotionally support Willy Loman, a man who
wanted to be great – but defined greatness as being “well liked” by others.
Because of Linda’s choice, the rest of her life will be filled with disappointment.
Linda’s Personality:
Her characteristics can be discovered by paying attention to Artur Miller’s
parenthetic stage directions. When she speaks to her sons, Happy and Biff,
she can be very stern, confident, and resolute. However, when Linda
converses with her husband, it’s almost as if she is walking on eggshells. Miller
uses the following descriptions to reveal how the actress should deliver Linda’s
lines:
What’s Wrong with Her Husband?
Linda knows that their son Biff is at least one source of agony for Willy.
Throughout Act One, Linda chastises her son for not being more attentive and
understanding. She explains that whenever Biff wanders the country (usually
working as a ranch-hand), Willy Loman complains that his son isn’t living up to
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“very carefully, delicately”
“with some trepidation”
“resigned”
“sensing the racing of his mind, fearfully”
“trembling with sorrow and joy”
•
•
•
•
•
"Death of a Salesman" - Plot Summary and Study Guide
Death of a Salesman
How Is the American Dream a Theme of 'Death of a Salesman?'
What to Know About Willy Loman from 'Death of a Salesman' by Arthur
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his potential. Then, when Biff decides to return home to rethink his life, Willy
becomes more erratic. His dementia seems to worsen, and he begins talking
to himself.
Linda believes that if her sons become successful then Willy’s fragile psyche
will heal itself. She expects her sons to manifest the corporate dreams of their
father – not because she believes in Willy’s version of the American Dream,
but because she believes her sons (Biff in particular) are the only hope for
Willy’s sanity. She might have a point, by the way, because whenever Biff
applies himself, Linda’s husband cheers up. His dark thoughts evaporate.
These are the brief moments when Linda is finally happy instead of worrisome.
But these moments don’t last long because Biff doesn’t fit into the “business
world.”
Choosing Her Husband Over Her Sons:
When Biff complains about his father’s erratic behavior, Linda proves her
devotion to her husband by telling her son:
LINDA: Biff, dear, if you don’t have any feeling for him, then you don’t
have any feeling for me.
and…
LINDA: He’s the dearest man in the world to me, and I won’t have anyone
making him feel blue.
But why is he the dearest man in the world to her? Willy’s job has steered him
away from his family for weeks at a time. In addition, Willy’s loneliness leads to
at least one infidelity. It’s unclear whether or not Linda suspects Willy’s affair.
But it is clear, from the audience’s perspective, that Willy Loman is deeply
flawed. Yet Linda romanticizes Willy’s agony of an unfulfilled life:
LINDA: He’s only a lonely little boat looking for a harbor.
Reaction to Willy’s Suicide:
Linda realizes that Willy has been contemplating suicide. She knows that his
mind is on the verge of being lost. She also knows that Willy has been hiding a
rubber hose, just the right length for suicide via carbon monoxide poisoning.
Linda never confronts Willy about his suicidal tendencies or his delusional
conversations with ghosts of the past. Instead, she plays the role of the
quintessential housewife of the 40s and 50s. She exhibits patience, loyalty,
and an eternally submissive nature. And for all of these attributes, Linda is left
a widow at the end of the play.
At Willy’s graveside, she explains that she cannot cry. The long, slow tragic
events in her life have drained her of tears. Her husband is dead, her two sons
still hold grudges, and the last payment on their house has been made. But
there’s no one in that house except a lonely old woman named Linda Loman.
••••