Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman

The purpose of this brief essay is to examine Arthur Miller's play, Death of a Salesman, with respect to its reflection of the impact of American values and mores as to what constitutes "success" upon individual lives. George Perkins has stated that this play has been described as "possibly the best play ever written by an American (Perkins, p. 710)." The play marks a brilliant fusion of the ideas and problems central to Miller's artistic and creative life; among those problems are the relationship of selfishness to altruism and the need to define an achievable code of morality for oneself (Perkins, p. 710).

Willy Loman, the dominant central character of the play, has defined morality in terms of his capacity to provide financially for his family. Frederick Karl (p. 329) states that Willy Loman is an outgrowth of a "Depression ambiance," which suggests that he defines "success" with respect to income, retaining a job, and fiscal security (all elements of man's work that literally disappeared overnight during the Great Depression). Loman is a "commercial cowboy," whose travels are days and weeks spent "out on the range" in pursuit of one more "big sale." Arthur Miller himself argued that Loman's situation - that of the formerly successful and now unemployed salesman unable to find a reason for continued life - was so general a quality of American life that he (Willy) was victimized "by our being what we are (Karl, p. 330)."

According to Perkins (p. 710), Willy Loman's "fatal flaw" has been variously interpreted as a pitiable blindness to the realities of the American Dream, as the unrealistic hope of a doting father for his son's advancement to levels he himself never achieve, and the bad luck of a salesman working a tough territory. Each interpretation has a certain degree of validity. Taken together, they reflect a critical perception of Willy Loman's life and concerns as typical of a society in which material success is valued over other types of success. Willy may be "an exploited victim of an indifferent capitalist system (Perkins, p. 710)," but he clearly values that very system and has "bought in" to its norms and mores. Thus, when he finds that the one thing which had defined him as a man, a husband, and a father has been taken away from him (e.g., his job), he regards himself as a failure.

When Willy Loman's act of sacrificial suicide is completed, it is Linda Loman who is left to cope with the supposed benefits of his "act of love" meant to redeem his house. The character of Linda Loman reflects Willy's own perception of himself; she recognizes that her husband, Willy, is "only a little boat looking for a harbor (Miller, p. 76)." Her sons and her husband are unable to communicate openly; she serves as the conduit through which they express their emotions, worrying throughout the play about her husband's long slow decline into professional failure. It is her tragedy as well as his. The men with whom she lives (and whom she loves with a desperation that is in and of itself tragic in tone) are hateful to each other (Miller, p. 76), a condition that her best efforts and intentions cannot cure.

It is Willy's tragedy that Linda responds to throughout the play. He is, she tells their son Biff, a "human being and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid (Miller, p. 56)." Willy is, as Linda knows all too well, a small man who, upon losing his salary as a salesman, can no longer understand the terms of his life. Her tragedy (a consequence of his "failure" as a husband) is that in spite of his shortcomings, his failures, his bombosity, and his arrogance, she loves him and her world revolves around him. Linda's fear is that he will go through with a suicide to save their home; this is a legitimate fear, which is realized when Biff and Willy have their final confrontation and Willy is told, once and for all, that he and his son are nothing "but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like all of them (Miller, p. 132)." This confrontation between father and son serves to convince Willy that he has failed as a father - failed to inspire