Critical Analysis Of Death Of A Salesman

Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman starts out as a simple play. However, quickly turns into a struggle of Willy Loman trying to escape the falsehood of the American Dream. Miller uses Willy as a tragic example of what would happen to the common man if they fail to depict what is achievable. “ Tragedy arises when we are in the presence of a man who has missed accomplishing his joy.” It is evident that Willy has opportunities to escape from his false reality, but he is so brainwashed and focused on becoming important he cannot change. Miller uses Willy and his eldest son Biff to demonstrate how having the struggle to gain power over others can destroy the common man.

Throughout the play, Miller idealizes Ben, Willy’s older brother, to depict Willy’s motive for becoming an influential and successful salesman. In reality, it is safe to say that Willy is a hugely unsuccessful salesman. Willy clouds this truth by lying to himself and his family, “I’m vital in New England,”

Willy trapped his mind around the fact that the only way to be successful is to be a salesman. For example, Willy is good with his hands and would make an excellent carpenter, but he doesn’t value that job as successful. He tries to raise his kids the same way. One of them decides to follow his father, Happy. The other, Biff has an epiphany one day and says to himself, “Why am I trying to become something I am not.” This realization that Biff has taunts Willy and puts him in a world of hurt, as once again he struggles to free his mind from the one cookie cutter way to success. He's trapped in this idea that when he goes to talk to his boss, Howard, about getting a job closer to home; he gets fired. Willy is in denial and keeps bringing up that fact that Willy named Howard and he was good friends with his dad as if companies genuinely cared about their