Death of a Salesman, an Exploration of Major Themes

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Recommended: Major themes and dramatic techniques in the death of a salesman

Death of a Salesman deals with many timeless issues. Though these issues are portrayed through the story of Willy Loman in the nineteen forties or fifties, their presence in today's world is still very prominent. The relationships in Death of a Salesman are riddled with jealousy, hope, love, dreams, hate, disappointment, and many other very human emotions.

The most opposite, but seemingly the strongest relationship in the play seems to be that between Willy and his wife Linda. His wife seems to accept him for who he is despite all his flaws. She seems to want more than anything for everyone to be happy, and she does what she can to make that possible. She is the voice of reason in Willy's life, putting forward a strong effort to keep her husband happy and guide him in the right direction. She loves selflessly, but despite all her efforts Willy's disillusioned beliefs are far beyond repair. Contrasting her selfless love is Willy's love for himself and his dreams. He most likely does not have any idea how much his wife sacrifices for him. He even purchases new stockings for his mistress while his wife mends hers, and not even realizing the wrongdoing until his own son points it out.

The most detrimental relationships in the play are that of Willy and his two sons, Biff and Happy. Not only does he confuse them by forcing his beliefs and half-truths on them, but he also spawns their lives into the same unhappiness that his own life has ended up in. Then by his own making, when their lives do not turn out as glamorous and wonderful as he has hoped, he blames and resents them for their failure. Biff seems to have lost the American dream when he caught his father in the Boston hotel room with his mistress. He has not given up on hard work anymore than Willy has given up on life. They are almost one in the same, they have both lost their dreams and illusions, just at different times in their lives. The three men have created a cycle of unhappiness and resentment, each of them failing the others. In contrast to this, the peak of success lives next door.

As Willy explained to his boys all those years ago, they would be successful because they were well liked. While of course less popular, yet hard working Bernard would perish and never be as great as the Loman boys.

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