The Meaning of the Title in The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

557 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: themes and symbols in death of a salesman

Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman criticizes the American Dream and the means some (i.e. Willy Loman) use to achieve the Dream through many different symbol and motifs; however, the title Miller selected for his play is an overlooked aspect of his criticism towards the Dream. He uses the title to build layers of understanding for his denunciation of the American Dream. On the base level, the title represents exactly what it sounds like—the death of a Willy, a salesman. Peculiarly, Miller never tells the readers what exactly Willy sells. Nonetheless, we can infer that Willy basically sells “himself”; after all, while part of being a salesman is having a dream, another aspect that is often neglected is the need for a salesman able to sell himself or herself. In that sense, the title becomes “Death of ‘Himself’,” the literal death of Willy. If we go a layer deeper, we can use this idea to contrast the sense of real versus ideal outcomes. We know that Willy “realized that selling was the greatest career” (Miller 81) when he met Dave Singleman. In spite of wanting to be a salesman for ...

Show More
Related

  • Dreams in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

    867 Words  | 2 Pages

    Do you ever have a dream? What is your dream? Having a dream is crucial for people to work hard to make the dream come true. In Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman, the main character, had a dream— to be a well-liked salesman—and had strived for this dream throughout his whole life. But he committed suicide to end his life. He was not happy in the process of achieving his dream. Arthur Miller, the author, reveals a negative attitude towards Willy’s behavior and beliefs. Willy is a man with flaws that leads to his downfall. I share the same attitude with Miller. Yet, I pity the tragedy of Willy.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman And The Piano Lesson Essay

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    The phenomenon of the American Dream has been engraved into the American culture since perhaps the beginning of post-revolutionary America itself. The classic belief that if you work hard, you would be able to reap the material benefits of what you sowed, at least enough to live comfortably is a myth that has been propagated in many literary works, deconstructed in many American literary works as a mere myth. And in Arthur Miller’s The Death of a Salesman and August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, we see such deconstruction of the American Dream take place through both plays’ showcasing of the many complexities of the American life, complexities that are not taken into consideration with the black-and-white narrowing of the American Dream. While hard work does make up a part of the equation, it does not make up the entire equation of a comfortable lifestyle. That manifestation of the many facets of the American Dream is shown in both Miller’s The Death of a Salesman and Wilson’s The Piano Lesson.

    Read More

  • Analyzing The American Dream In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

    436 Words  | 1 Pages

    "We've been talking in a dream for fifteen years,” (Arthur Miller). Death of a Salesman, by Arthur Miller is a play about a man named Willy Loman, Arthur Miller, who explores the American dream and what happens to a family when the dream is not fulfilled. In the late 1940s, after World War II, things don’t turn out the way people want it to be. Most men were unemployed, economical and financial issues regarding lack of payments for workers and families.

    Read More

  • Willy Lowman’s Tragic Misinterpretation of the American Dream in Death of a Salesman

    1178 Words  | 3 Pages

    Barack Obama made history by being elected President of the United States, twice. This is just one more example that the American Dream is without a doubt achievable. Its pursuit is not easy; it requires undeniable hard work, modesty and optimism. Armed with these characteristics, seekers of this lifestyle will undeniably succeed. Success, though, is an interesting concept, for it can entail many superficial qualities. Willy Loman, the tragic hero of the play Death of a Salesman, sees only the superficial qualities of this dream. He views success solely as likeability (linked with attractiveness), and wealth. Ignoring all methods to honorably achieve these, Arthur Miller demonstrates how Willy’s search for the superficial qualities of the American Dream lead him to his own despair.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Question: One thing I would like to know is if Happy is genuinely satisfied with his life and job. He fulfilled his dad’s dream, by becoming a salesman, but I think this caused him to stop chasing the dream he truly wanted. Through the first act, he carries himself in a very joyous manner, but I definitely feel like Happy has a more dismal side that he hides from everyone.

    Read More

  • Death of a Salesman: The Flaws and Failures of Willy Loman

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arthur Miller’s play “Death of a Salesman”, primarily focuses on the flaws and failures of Willy Loman, Millers’ main character in this story. Willy’s distorted and backward views of the American Dream, paired with his inability to let go of the past lead him down a road of regret and in the end his biggest failure which was his wasted life.

    Read More

  • Death of a Salesman

    857 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The American dream is, in part, responsible for a great deal of crime and violence because people feel that the country owes them not only a living but a good living.” Said David Abrahansen. This is true and appropriate in the case of Willy Loman, and his son Biff Loman. Both are eager to obtain their American dream, even though both have completely different views of what that dream should be. The play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller shows the typical lives of typical Americans in the 1940’s. Miller’s choice of a salesman to be the main character in this play was not a coincidence, since it represents the typical middle-class working American, some of which have no technical skills what so ever. Miller’s play gives us insides on the daily lives of many Americans, this through the eyes of Willy and Biff Loman, he also shows what kind of personalities, what dreams they have, and their different points of view of what the American dream means.

    Read More

  • The Internal and External Conflicts of Willy Loman

    1177 Words  | 3 Pages

    Eisinger, Chester E. "Critical Readings: Focus on Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman: The Wrong Dreams." Critical Insights: Death of a Salesman (2010): 93-105.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman Analysis

    1097 Words  | 3 Pages

    Moseley, Merritt. "The American Dream in Arthur Miller 's Death of a Salesman." In Bloom, Harold, ed. The American Dream, Bloom 's Literary Themes. New York: Chelsea Publishing House, 2009. Bloom 's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 30 Nov. 2015

    Read More

  • Failure of the American Dream in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

    933 Words  | 2 Pages

    Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman is a story about the dark side of the "American Dream".  Willy Loman's obsession with the dream directly causes his failure in life, which, in turn, leads to his eventual suicide.  The pursuit of the dream also destroys the lives of Willy's family, as well.  Through the Lomans, Arthur Miller attempts to create a typical American family of the time, and, in doing so, the reader can relate to the crises that the family is faced with and realize that everyone has problems.

    Read More

  • Destruction of the American Dream in Arthur Miller's Death of A Salesman

    822 Words  | 2 Pages

    A white picket fence surrounds the tangible icons of the American Dreams in the middle 1900's: a mortgage, an automobile, a kitchen appliance paid for on the monthly - installment - plan, and a silver trophy representative of high school football triumph. A pathetic tale examining the consequences of man's harmartias, Arthur Miller's "Death of A Salesman" satisfies many, but not all, of the essential elements of a tragedy. Reality peels away the thin layers of Willy Loman's American Dream; a dream built on a lifetime of poor choices and false values.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman American Dream Essay

    1297 Words  | 3 Pages

    An American dream is a dream that can only be achieved by passion and hard work towards your goals. People are chasing their dreams of better future for themselves and their children. The author Arthur Miller in Death of a Salesman has displayed a struggle of a common man to achieve the American dream. Willy Loman the protagonist of the play has spent his whole life in chasing the American dream. He was a successful salesman who has got old and unable to travel for his work, and no one at work gives him importance anymore. He is unhappy with his sons Happy and Biff because both of them are not successful in their lives. Moreover, Biff and Happy are also not happy with their father Willy because they don’t want to live a life that Willy wants them to live. The heated discussions of Willy and his older son Biff affect the family and the family starts to fall apart. However, Willy is unable to achieve the American dream and does not want to face the reality that his decisions for himself and his family have lead him to be a failure in the society. In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman spends his whole life to achieve the American Dream by his own perception and denies facing the reality, just like nowadays people are selling themselves and attempting to find success in life.

    Read More

  • Death Of A Salesman American Dream Essay

    762 Words  | 2 Pages

    One major theme in Death of a Salesman is the pursuit of the American dream. Playwright Arthur Miller details main character Willy Loman’s misguided quest of this dream. Death of a Salesman was written in postwar America, when the idea of the American Dream was a way of life. The United States was flourishing economically, and the idea of wealth was the base of the American Dream. Capitalism was alive and well, and by living in a capitalist society, everyone in America was supposed to have a chance to become rich and successful. Miller makes the reader realize this dream is a falsehood, because it doesn’t always work for everyone as planned. In the play Death of a Salesman, Willy Loman is a prime example of someone trying desperately, yet unsuccessfully, to pursue the false hope of the American Dream, directly resulting from capitalism’s effects.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    Symbolism in Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller’s play, Death of a Salesman, is wrought with symbolism from the opening scene. Many symbols illustrate the themes of success and failure. They include the apartment buildings, the rubber hose, Willy’s brother Ben, the tape recorder, and the seeds for the garden. These symbols represent Willy’s attempts to be successful and his impending failure.

    Read More

  • The Importance of the Requiem in Death of a Salesman

    2319 Words  | 5 Pages

    Eisinger, Chester E. "Focus on Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman': The Wrong Dreams," in American Dreams, American Nightmares,

    Read More

More about The Meaning of the Title in The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Open Document