Theme Of Death In Death Of A Salesman

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Salesmen who Died for the wrong Reasons

In the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller the title itself can be seen by the audience as a foreshadowing idea to either the actual death or the metaphorical death of a salesman. When a reader first sees this title that is what they think of. Arthur Miller uses this title to say that there is a death of a character in this piece of literature, but it is up to the reader to decide to whom or what the title refers to, and how it contrasts the real from the ideal.
Within the play the reader sees that the time period that the play is set in is the 1940’s which is right after the depression, and the economy is booming for those who take advantage of it to become financially fit that was the American dream at the time. Living during this time period the author describes many salesmen. Willy Loman, Howard, Richard Singleman, Ben, Charley. Now the difference between these characters is that some of them are successful, while others are not. The main character that we need to look at is Willy. He is an ordinary salesman that has extraordinary thoughts. He believes that he is well liked and for those that are well liked the world will just revolve around them, and everything will just happen correctly for them. The reader can sense the irony to this statement when they see what happens to Will and his family in the play. Willy’s upbringing of his children was not as positive as Willy thought it would be. He preached to his children that being well liked was the only thing that was needed in the real world. What Willy didn’t grasp was the the world changes, and when it changes ideas change as well. An idea from one time period will not be compatible with another time period. ...

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... is the ideal salesman. Willy can never be like him. Richard doesn’t have a family to take care of so business is his life he lives it. Willy on the other hand has a family and other factors that puts Willy in a different environment totally different from that of Richard. Seeing Richards environment and wanting to be in that environment will bring Willy to a point in his life were it will crumble. The price that Willy sees fit to pay for the damages caused by his actions is his own life. This seems very fit, but Willy should have tried to live through it instead of running away from the problem like a coward. Richard Singleman died with dignity and honor. Willy died for the sake of saving his family and extreme stubbornness to resist change and living with the fact that he was wrong about his ideas. Here is the death of a salesman who lost his own life.

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