Death of a Salesman
(Arthur Miller)

The American Dream

Willy fully believes that a man can get anywhere in life with his good looks and a well-liked personality. He pushes his sons to be just like him, a “successful” salesman, and is upset when Biff refuses to conform to what Willy sees as the American Dream. Willy does not understand why anyone would want more than that, but Biff realizes that Willy’s American Dream is not realistic because his family is based on nothing but lies that they are content with believing and his father is a mental disaster. Willy seems to forget that the most important part of the real American Dream is to put in hard work without complaining; a notion that seems foreign to him.

Dreams

Willy’s entire life is based on dreams and the visions that he dwells on because of his obvious mental illness (which is never actually acknowledged). Willy’s dreams are so vivid that he has come to believe them and will believe nothing outside of them. His preoccupation with flashbacks of the past and hopes for the future disallows him to believe or even realize what is going on in the present. Willy is so immersed in his hopes and dreams that he is completely unable to live outside of his own head and eventually it costs him his life in an act that he sees as martyrdom.

Lies

Lies are the foundation of the Loman family. Linda seems perfectly sane, yet she refuses to accept the obvious reality of their situation. Willy lies to Linda about how much money he makes, how well-liked he is by everyone, and he has an affair with another woman. Linda makes no efforts to set Willy’s mind straight about their reality as she seems delusional. Linda wants to imagine the best for her family and so she believes all of the lies; even at Willy’s funeral Linda continues to live the lie, wondering why more people did not show up to mourn Willy’s death. Biff is the only Loman who seems to understand that the family has been based on lies from the start.

Success

Success is an ironic concept in this play. Willy wants Biff to be a successful salesman who is well-liked an attractive, just like him. The irony is that Willy is not successful at all, but he has somehow convinced himself and his family that he is. Willy believes that the only way to be successful in life is to have a job that requires one to wear a business suit and so Biff’s desire to own a ranch cannot possible make him successful. Biff admits to his father that the reason he is not successful is because his father has made him too arrogant to accept authority.

Reputation

Willy thinks that a man can get anywhere on a good reputation. In his flashbacks, he remembers when his sons were in high school and how popular Biff was as a star football player. Willy cannot fathom how Biff could wind up not being successful when he was so attractive and had a winning reputation as a teenager. Willy’s pride in keeping what he thinks is a good reputation is what holds him back from accepting a job from Charley that would likely solve many of his financial problems. Willy does not want to look weak and so he lies to everyone to convince them that everything is fine.