Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman

Symbolism  Stockings  Seeds  Alaska, American West, Africa,  Tennis Rackets  Diamonds and the Jungle

Thematic Concepts  Pride  Appearances  Lies, Deceit  Reputation  Dreams, Hopes, and Plans  Betrayal  Success  Know Thyself  Confinement

Message  In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller defines the nature of the American Dream for middle-class Americans in the mid-twentieth century and condemns its effects in shaping—and in destroying—the lives of the Loman family.  Much of the play’s success is attributed to Miller's facility in portraying the universal hopes and fears of middle-class America.

Message  Through his main character, Willy Loman, Miller examines the myth of the American Dream and the shallow promise of happiness through material wealth. He uses Willy as an example of how undivided faith in such a dream can often yield tragic results, especially when it goes largely unfulfilled.

Cautionary Tale  Audiences have continued to respond to this theme because, in some incarnation, the American Dream has persisted; a viewer can watch Death of a Salesman and relate Willy's situation to their own compromised ideals and missed opportunities.

Willy’s “American Dream”  Willy's personal representations of the American Dream are his brother Ben and the salesman Dave Singleman, and he views the success of these two men as proof that he can indeed attain the success he is so desperate to achieve. According to Willy's version of the American Dream, he is a complete failure.