Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller

Death of a Salesman starts with Willy Loman talking about his work and driving to his wife, Linda. Linda is sweet and encouraging, but Willy sometimes will burst out in anger against her. Their sons are also home at this point, Biff and Happy. Biff is the older one, and gets more attention and criticisms from his father. He wants to work on a farm, but Willy does not want this for his son. Biff and Willy continuously fight and bicker about the future and what Biff should do with his life. Throughout the play, there are a number of flashbacks that go back to a time where everyone was happy and friendly with each other. Biff is a football star that will one day play in college, and Willy is doing well with his job. Willy's brother, Ben, is also in Willy's day dreams along with Bernard and his father. Bernard is a smart boy about Biff's age that tutors Biff in math and eventually becomes successful. Later on, to please his father, Biff goes out and tries to get a loan to start a business with Hap, and he knows his father wants him to do it. Willy can not get over the idea, and does not allow Biff to explain that he did not get a job. There is another important flashback of Willy with a mistress in a hotel where he stays when he has to work a lot. Biff walks in and finds out about the mistress, but never tells his mother because he is very protective of her. I believe that this is one of the main reasons there is so much tension between Biff and Willy throughout the play. The piece ends with Biff and Willy getting into a fight, Willy driving away, and getting killed. His family goes to his funeral, but no one else.

Willy is a significant character in this play. He is a father, husband, brother, friend, worker, and owner of a mistress a time or two. He tends to have dreams where he goes back to the old times, when things were happier. I think he does this because he longs to be back in that time, and he longs to be happy and have a good relationship with his sons like he used to. The inclusion of Ben is also something that is rather significant. Ben was a successful man, so I think the use of including him was to show that Willy wanted to be like him, and have a life like him. Willy was obsessed with making sure people liked him. He thought that this was the key to success. He taught his boys this, and tried to make it happen in his own life. This idea is something that is significant about Willy's character. Willy also gets with a mistress behind his wife's back. I think he does this because he is almost not happy with his life back home, and wants to feel like he is needed.

Biff is another significant character, as well as Happy. Biff has his own dreams and ideas of what living a full life is, and it is very different than what his father thinks. His father thinks that to be successful you must make a lot of money and be liked by many people. Biff thinks being happy is living in the countryside, and working on a farm. He does not want what his father does. Biff also has tension because of what he knows about his father cheating on his mother. Happy is a more minor character, but should not be ignored. He is not seen or talked about as much as Biff is by his father. Repeatedly, Happy says to his father things like, "I'm losing weight pop, you notice?" All he wants is attention from his father, but his father does not see it. I think this is one of the reasons that Happy is so involved with women. He does not feel wanted or loved by his father, so he turns to women.

Linda in this story is rather important. The boys both love her dearly and almost try to protect her. When Biff finds out about his father cheating, he does not tell her because he doesn't want to hurt her, but he is also extra protective of her. Linda keeps Willy somewhat sane by talking him through things. When Willy sets up a tube in the basement so he can kill himself, she notices it. She leaves it there so Willy does not feel so dependent, but she is also aware of it herself. Linda also takes care of money and such in the house, because she does not have mental problems like Willy does.

In this piece, we see almost a third person limited in the narrative voice. We see an outsider's view on the family and their situations, yet we see some of Willy's dreams and memories that are played out in his mind. The tone throughout the piece of the narrative voice was pretty objective, giving an unbiased view on the whole scene of events. It is also hard to discuss the tone of the overall play because throughout, characters in different situations will have different underlying tones. There is also not much imagery, because the writing is all conversation between characters. The one place in which I see imagery is in the beginning, when Willy is explaining the drive from work. He talks about the scenery and that he forgets he is driving all together, and comes off the road because he is daydreaming. "I have such strange thoughts, I have such strange thoughts." says Willy after telling linda about his driving. This passage is very detailled.

THEME: Being well liked does not guarantee living the American dream.
This theme is supported by details from the text. in general, all that willy cared about was being well liked, and he thought this would get him the furthest in life when it clearly didn't. He had no one at his funeral. The American dream is not achieved by being well liked or working hard, its about being happy. This is something that Willy never considered, which is the reason why he does not achieve the American dream. His neighbor, Bernard just worked hard and lived his life, and he is not living the American Dream. These to people/families compare and are drastically different from one another.