Humanity In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Though humanity can never express itself fully, it is never deterred in its quest to do so. Literature brings such light and expression for humanity to communicate across time, space, generations and ever-evolving society. However, no modicum of talent suffices to satisfy people throughout the ages for literature and its ability to communicate directly and indirectly. Arthur Miller stands as a classic American author with his ability to explore the darker and deeper parts of humanity and individuals facing the adversity of a larger society. In Miller’s Death of a Salesman, he demonstrates the struggle of a family with an illusion of the American Dream against new ideas of success and striving for personal happiness rather than wealth or prestige.

“I’ve always made a point of not wasting my life,” he says, “But all I’ve done is waste it.” Near the beginning of the play when Biff is talking to Happy in their room, he tells him that he’d rather be outside with no shirt on his back, working with his hands. He then offers Happy to come with him to the West to start a ranch together—since Happy had been agreeing with him about preferring to work physically, outside in the open air. However, Happy begins talking about showing other people that “they’re made of something,” and becomes wrapped up in prestige over happiness. Biff honestly wants to go after something he legitimately enjoys, and therefore has a glimpse of what perhaps the American Dream truly means, and how one goes about the pursuit of happiness—rather than the pursuit of money. With his statements early in the story, he clearly is beginning to understand how to live a fulfilling life for his personal desires, needs, and passions. Biff also reveals that he fathoms that life is something which can be wasted, and since he always “made a point of not wasting [it],” he evidently knew that he should seize his opportunities when he could—which perhaps may have partly led to his more whimsical lifestyle in which he had a difficult time finding roots and a job he truly enjoyed, because he abandoned his own passions due to personal, familial, and societal expectations, yet simultaneously attempted to a degree to chase after what sincerely cherished in life, causing him to develop into a drifter, becoming uncertain of even his own