Reading Response~anything #3

Death of a Salesmam

By Arthur Miller

In Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, the protagonist Willy Loman is a salesman, and he has been out of luck all his life but always dreams that his two sons, Biff and Happy, may become successful business men. The reality is that Biff has never had a decent job and Happy is a playboy. One day, when the two sons finally decide to start a business under the encouragement of their mother, Linda, they plan to meet at a restaurant with Willy to discuss their business plan in the evening. Unfortunately, after having worked for a company for 35 years, poor Willy is fired in the morning of the same day.  When he walks into the restaurant with the expectation of getting some good news from the sons, he hears that Biff not only failed to borrow the capital from his old boss, Oliver, to start their imaginary business, he stole Oliver’s valuable fountain pen because Biff has been a chronic thief since he was young. The hopeless old Willy is really disappointed with all of the things that are happening to him.  So he decides to end his life by staging an intentional car crash, leaving his family members and friend, Charley, in great sorrow.

I think the book tells us about three main themes:

The first one is the American Dream----It tells us that Willy Loman has options. He has a lot of opportunities. Arthur Miller seems to be criticizing the American Dream, claiming that Corporate America drains the life out of people and casts them away when they are no further use. Yet, Willy Loman’s successful neighbor continually offers him a job! Willy Loman declines the job without ever explaining why. He has a chance to pursue a new life, but he won't let himself give up his old, soured dreams. Instead of taking the decent paying job, he chooses suicide. Arthur Miller would claim that the dysfunctional values of American society killed him. However, I believe that Willy Loman suffered from senility. He exhibits many of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. 

The second one is abandonment. There is constant abandonment in the play. Willy's father leaves him and Ben when they are very young with no money. Ben departs for Alaska, abandoning Willy after Willy declines the offer to go with him. Biff abandons Willy after discovering his adultery. Happy abandons his deluded father in the washroom in a restaurant at his hour of need so that he can impress a lady.

The third one is betrayal. Willy believes Biff to have betrayed his ambitions for him. Willy has an affair and betrays his wife's love. Biff feels that Willy has betrayed him with his lies of personal attractiveness.

Personally, I feel that Death of a Salesman is a very well written play, an intelligent criticism of the American dream that effectively uses many respected literary devices. Although there is no suspense in the play, the end is concern-provoking.  All in all, I feel like reading this play. My life has been influenced by the book.