Theme Of Motifs In Death Of A Salesman

Death of a Salesman Motifs A motif is an element in literature that repeats itself and has a significant influence on the theme. Death of a Salesman, written by Arthur Miller, has many motifs which include: reputation, denial, guilt, flashbacks, geographical locations, contradiction, asking for advice, and seeds. All of these elements are repeated throughout the story and support the themes and reveal the true nature of the characters They also show important lessons the characters learned. These motifs give the reader what the tone of the story is. In the play, Willy apprises his boys that it is very important to be well liked and have a good reputation with people because that would create success for them. Evidently, that was not the case in their lives though. As they progressed out of high school, the boy’s lives became stagnant and failure followed them because they did not put work into being successful. They did not have a reliable financial income and they were not content with their lives. They were taught that

Many times he will speak about someone/something and then turn around and say the complete opposite, contradicting his words. In one scene, him and his wife Linda were discussing their son Biff’s life. He says to Linda, “The trouble is, he’s lazy, goddamnit! Biff is a lazy bum” (Miller 1215)! Then a few lines later, he says “There 's one thing about Biff- he’s not lazy” (Miller 1215). He also reminisces about his Chevrolet and how to him they are the best car makers around. Something breaks in the car when he is older, and he immediately claims that Chevy is the worst manufacturer ever, and the production of their vehicles should be discontinued. Willy is so contradicting because of the guilt and denial he carries. He is guilty that he never truly pushed himself or his boys to be successful men, but also can not accept that his view of success is skewed and hurtful towards his