Motifs In Arthur Miller's Death Of A Salesman

Motifs help to convey a deeper meaning within a story in a more discreet way. A recurring motif within the novel Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller is a garden. Willy Loman, the salesman, desires to plant a garden in his backyard. However, he cannot because "the grass don't grow anymore, you can't raise a carrot in the backyard" (Act I). He frets that “nothing’s planted” there (Act I). He is determined to plant a garden, and tries desperately to plant seeds in his backyard at the end of Act I. Willy frets because he simply cannot grow a garden in the space that he has. The motif of the garden reveals Willy’s character by conveying him as a determined, but also defeated man. Willy wishes to grow a garden in the backyard, even though it is

Physically and emotionally, Willy begins to show the stress his life is putting on him. He gets angry with his family very easily. He feels guilty, as if he hasn’t been able to do enough to support them. For instance, he cannot support Biff in an emotional sense. Biff is 34 years old without a job. He wants to become a farmer, but Willy insists that business is the most successful and worthwhile career. Willy tries so hard to make Biff be exactly like him that Biff wastes much of his life doing things he did not want to do, like working in business. Willy is guilty, and rations out that if he kills himself, Biff will earn his inheritance and can afford to carry himself wherever and however he pleases. Willy finally realizes that he just could not give his son the life that he wanted and did not try to help him figure out what he wanted. Willy also lashes out at his wife, who is only trying to help him. She tries to convince her sons, especially Biff, to get along with their father or else it would, literally, kill him. She found rubber pipes attached to the gas heater for Willy to suck gas from. She is also aware that sometimes Willy stops paying attention while driving to try to crash the car. Ironically, this is how Willy dies. Willy feels defeated because he thinks he failed in his job and let down his family, and not