"Death of the Salesman" by Arthur Miller: Analysis

Throughout the centuries, literature has been the main tool in shaping people’s opinion and consciousness as its main purpose was to teach a person how to behave in different situations. Also, a special attention has been drawn to the role a human plays in life and whether the world can change people and make them lose their identification what is up-to-date even nowadays. A lot of masterpieces on this theme have been written, and one of them is the play the Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller which won the Award for Best Revival on Broadway. The story is about Willy Loman who is a representative of the job of salesmen and who suffers some contradictions on his way to achieving the American Dream. Despite having been written in 1949, the play is of prior importance for modern people as it draws attention to such vital issues as losing identity, the problem of suicide, keeping silent in difficult situations as well as represents the world of tough business that needs a special discussion.  

First of all, the author posed the problem of losing one’s identity in the play. The main character of the play is Willy Loman, a 60-year-old man who has been pursuing his American Dream since his young age being desperate to become affluent and recognizable. He is a spectacular example of how a person who does not listen to his/her inner voice may lose the identity and devote the whole life to the job that will never bring benefit. Having chosen the salesman career as long as he considers himself to be a well-liked person, Willy refuses to admit the fact that he is not as successful in real life as he thinks of himself. He makes up a lot of stories about him being a conquer in the market of New England and, finally, makes his family as well as himself believe in those escapists yarns. The main problem is that Willy Loman lives in his imaginative world what finally leads him to the condition when he does not distinguish the reality from flashbacks of previous situations. As a result, he becomes confused with his own personality not realizing that he does not possess all the necessary skills to be a salesman. Even his own son finally concludes during the funeral that Willy has never actually knew who he was and the whole life was following the wrong dreams (Miller, 104). Thus, by the example of Willy Loman, the author shows how ignoring of one’s own identical personality may led a person to the crash.

On the other hand, when one takes into account the natural abilities of the personality, a lot of mistakes can be avoided. For example, despite the fact that Biff has experienced some contradictions concerning what he needs to do with his life, he has finally reached the point when he realizes his identity and will never step into his father’s shoes. Moreover, Biff is the demonstrative example of a person who has his own opinion and who believes that self-realization is the essential part in life. After failing to pass his exam and revealing his father’s affair, Biff is not afraid to call his beloved dad a fake and tries to find a job that will suit his inner desires. However, in order to help his family, particularly Willy, he still is trying to pursue the salesman career. As a result, the experience of seeking money for his business idea appears to be not successful and Biff, on the contrary to Willy, realizes that this job is the wrong choice. Finally, Biff admits that he is an ordinary person and decides to choose his own path in life (Miller, 76). Thus, by the role of Biff, the author represents the idea that it is never too late to make a right choice and follow the voice of heart.

Another problem brought up by Miller is whether a suicide is the right way out in difficult situations and whether a person actually has a choice. In fact, the author lets the readers decide on their own whether to support or not the main character’s solution to kill himself. However, it has been quite obvious throughout the play that Willy’s suicide is an irreversible process. The play starts with the scene where Willy hardly avoids the death in his car. Later, the readers get to know from his wife Linda that it is not the first time her husband tries to kill himself. Even Willy expresses the idea that the dead person is better and more recognizable among people than an alive one (Miller, 71). Finally, at the end of the play, Willy’s brother Ben, who is the imagination of the main character, approves his decision to commit suicide. Hence, the model of narration is similar to ancient drama where the main character cannot avoid the death predetermined by fatum. Consequently, Willy is a tragic hero who has not seen the other solution but to kill himself, and this idea has been constant during the whole play. Moreover, it appeared at the end of the story that the Lomans finally became free from their debts, and the house they have been living in became their property. Thus, there appears the question whether it was necessary for Willy to commit suicide in terms of financial condition. Obviously, there is no chance that Willy will achieve his American Dream as the changes in his personality have been irreversible and he cannot accept the differences between the reality and imagination as well as realize his own real ego; this is the main drama in his life. Therefore, the author demonstrates by this example that it is always possible to find a way out in such a situation; however, it is not always easy to overcome the inability to face the reality and mismatch the world.

In addition, another message for the readership recognizable in this play is the problem of whether it is necessary to tell a person the bitter truth or it is better to keep silent in order not to offend one’s feelings. The example of this situation is illustrated by Willy’s wife Linda who has always been supportive towards her husband even when she saw his unstable psychological condition. Despite the fact that she was aware of Willy’s intention to commit suicide, she never argues with him and commits to his confidence by supporting all his illusions. What is more, she even makes her sons appreciate Willy’s condition and approve his behavior as well. She always finds him an excuse saying that he is just tired and closes the eyes on the problem. As a result, Willy has become even more confident that his stories are true. Linda just loves her husband and does not want him suffer, though. Thus, the play demonstrates how a person may commit to the crash of personality by being silent and keeping passive.

Apart from the above, except drawing the reader’s attention to the problems mentioned above, the creation of Miller plays a vital role in modern society nowadays as it represents the model of behavior that is evident now. For example, the author demonstrates the world of tough business similar to what we have in modern times. It cannot be denied that nowadays all people try to achieve success, and most of them decide to start their own business. Therefore, a situation when a person is fired after a dozens of years working for a company is still relevant currently. Modern business is changing rapidly, and there is no place for those who cannot go in hand with it. Also, everyone might be replaced by someone else despite being useful for the company in the past. The sample of this situation is the behavior of Howard who fired Willy although he even named his boss as he was a best friend of Howard’s father (Miller, 57). Thus, the readers may recognize the modern society in this play that makes the very creation up-to-the-time and can teach people some lessons.

To sum up, Arthur Miller’s play brings up such important problems as what role plays the identity in people’s life, whether or not to avoid the bitter truth, and whether passiveness is harmful, not to mention such vital issue as the reasons and consequences of committing suicide. Modern people may observe the tough rules of business in this play and make some conclusions. Generally, it may be of use to take any piece of advice from this play as there are a lot of issues that are of primary importance for society nowadays as Arthur Miller created the play which cannot be forgotten as the time passes. Also, it is not difficult to recognize the message the author left for the next generations as the play is open to discussion.