Death of a Salesman

Death of a Salesman – Tariq Batto
The play, The Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, (1949, Viking penguin, Inc., New York) is about the people who dream for the future to become rich and famous. The main character Willy, being a salesman, wanted to be rich and famous, but ironically, his dream had fallen apart. The reason for his downfall is the myth of the American Dream, and his personal weakness.

The play, The Death of a Salesman, talks about the events which took place in Willy’s Lowman’s house and in various places in New York and Boston. The main characters in the play are the father Willy, the mother Linda, and the two sons Biff and Happy. Other characters include: Charley and his son Bernard the neighbors, and Howard Wagner the owner the owner of Wagner’s company. Willy lives in the countryside in Brooklyn in a house he built; financed with a mortgage which is almost paid off. Willy is sixty three-year-old, works as a traveling salesman. His wife Linda is a realistic housewife who always wanted to spread peace and wisdom in the house when she communicates with her husband and her sons. The son Biff, the lazy bum as his father always labeled him, was thirty four-year-old, had no fixed job after the high school and later. His father raised him on the myth of the American Dream to become a rich and important person, but he is frustrated with himself and the hopes of being value and successful. Happy the second son, was thirty two-year-old, had a steady job in New York, and his ambitions is to become an important executive. Charley, Willy’s neighbor, is a successful man, and always Willy is jealous of him and his success.

Bernard, Charley’s son, was Biff’s classmate; he was smart, continued his education and became a lawyer in the Supreme Court. Howard Wagner is the boss of the company where Willy works as a traveling salesman for a long time, from the days of Howard’s father. The mythical American Dream of Willy was being rich and well known in his life, and people respect him even after his death; as it happened with the eighty four-year-old salesman, he became rich and after his death, hundreds of salesman and buyers attended his funeral ceremony. Willy wanted to work in a non-traveling job; he went to Howard Wagner his boss, asking him to find a new job in New York, but Howard refused his demand; instead, he fired him. Willy was disappointed too much he decided to commit suicide which was his third attempt, and he done it to redeem himself for his sins and the sins of his son Biff, who was unable to achieve his potential with the American Dream. In his funeral, only his family and charley were in the ceremony.

At that period of the time, people lived in the myth on the American Dream, in which, Willy began to dream which led to his downfall. Fame and fortune he successes to a certain limit in building his house outside New York, in an open place not surrounded by buildings, and acquiring a range of modern appliances. Furthermore, he took his business as salesman; he believed that his job would, make him famous and rich. He assumed being well-like will lead to success. Among the illusion of Willy, he told his sons Biff and Happy a secret, that same day he will have his own business. He will be bigger than uncle charley, “because charley is not liked. He’s liked he’s not well liked” (30). In addition, Willy liked to realize his hopes by imitation of the successful people, such as the eighty four-year-old salesman Dave Singleman who Willy met in Parker house. Besides, Willy found that his man reached his glories not only in his life, but also after his death when hundreds of salesman and buyers attended his funeral ceremony.

The other factor which contributed to his downfall is the weakness of his personality; for example, he was jealous of his neighbors Charley and his son Bernard. Charley was a successful man in his work; on the other hand, Bernard who was Biff’s classmate was a cleaver boy, he finished his education and became a lawyer in the Supreme Court, while Biff was lazy and he flunked math which deterred him from entering university. Moreover, Willey’s false pride let him to refuse insistently the job offers offered to him by Charley, despite his bad financial situation after he was fired from his job. Ironically his real personality, allowed his illusively to think that he would run his own business, and he will go north to providence, to meet the Mayor and had a coffee with him in the hotel lobby; then he went to Waterbury city to visit its famous clock, and finally he went to Boston.

Since the early 20th century, people of America have been dreaming to become the richest and the most powerful country in the world. This dream is realizing when they put themselves in the shoes of others. The write Arthur Miller in his play describes this dream through the character of Willy and his son Biff. When they were looking forward to achieving their illusions of rich and fame in the society. After he wrote his play, Arthur Miller was accused he was communist because the US in those years deemed every body who did not believe in its idea as a communist. Willy did not realize his hope and illusions when he took the job of a salesman which would permit him to achieve the glories of riches and fame; as he believed that his goal would be reached by imitating the old salesman Dave Singleman. Finally, Willy died without achieving the myth of the American Dream, and also failure is due to his weal personality.