The Death of a Salesman Review

I've already made reference to "The Death of a Salesman" in a previous post, but, in that blog, I was mainly making reference to the American Dream in regard to the story. Here, I want to discuss the story in much greater detail.

The main Characters:
Willy Loman - Willy is in his early sixties and has been striving for success for years. He believes in his sales ability, but, he is failing and losing confidence in himself on a daily basis. He never really has reached the level of success he has always wanted. Willy is depressed because he feels like a complete failure. He is also angry with his two sons for not living up to the expectiations he has for them.

Linda Loman - Linda is Willy's long suffereing, devoted wife. Linda is portrayed as somewhat weak in the play, but, I think she is really a very strong character. She loves Willy very much and worries about him. She also chastizes her two sons for not being more courteous to their father.

Biff Loman - The eldest of Linda and Willy's two sons. Biff is 34 years old and still trying to find his way in the world. Life could have been different for Biff as he had the opportunity to go to college on a football scholarship, but, failed high school math and lost that opportunity. Biff has dreams of working outside on a farm and his father wants him to be part of the corporate world.

Happy Loman - The youngest of the two sons, Happy is 32 years old and not much of a success either, although he does have a job as an assistant buyer for a department store. He always presents himself as more than what he actually is to others. He has an inflated ego and is a ruthless womanizer, even sleeping with the girlfriends of his bosses.

Charley - Willy's next door neighbor and friend. Charley is a successful business man who often loans Willy money. He has one son who is an attorney.

Bernard - Charley's son and former school classmate of Willy's son Biff.

Ben - Willy's older brother who died previously. Ben was a great success and Willy almost seems haunted by his brothers ability to achieve success.

Howard Wagner - Willy's boss who eventually fires him.

Setting and Plot:
The play is set in Brooklyn, N.Y. and much of the story centers around Willy and Linda's family home. It opens with Willy's arrival from work. He shares with Linda how he just can't seem to concentrate on his driving anymore. Linda urges Willy to eat something and go to bed. She is obviously concerned. Then, the couple begins to discuss their 34 year old son, Biff, who after 14 years, has returned home from working out West.

Biff wants to return to the West to work outside on a ranch, but, Willy wants him to join corporate America. Biff and Happy discuss a plan for Biff to ask his former boss, Mr. Oliver for ten thousand dollars to start a business. Willy thinks it's a great idea! This idea gives Willy so much hope! Biff plans a day to go see Mr. Oliver in NYC and Happy and Willy make plans to meet Biff in the city for dinner to discuss the wonderful outcome of the meeting.

Biff's meeting didn't even happen. Mr. Oliver didn't even remember him. Needless to say, the dinner "celebration" meeting did not go well for Biff, Happy, and Willy. The dinner was a fiasco as Happy and Biff picked up some women and left their father at the restaurant alone.

Linda became infuriated when she found out how her sons had left their father at the restaurant. Soon thereafter, a family argument broke out between Willy and his sons and then the reader learns that Willy is in his car and a crash happens. Willy is then killed and the final scene is at his funeral where his son Happy makes a promise to become a success for his father.


Personal thoughts and observations:

One of my favorite quotes from the play is Willy stating, "After all the highways, and the trains, and the appointments, and the years, you end up worth more dead than alive." It's terrible to think, but, I imagine there are many, many people who come to this realization.


The play is very sad, but, extremely interesting. Willy's situation is a terrible one as he has nothing but unfullfilled dreams to look back on his life with. I had a lot of sympathy for Willy and Linda.

When reading the play it is very easy to imagine the scenes from "back in the day." Willy and Linda's home put in my mind a vision of the set of the "Jackie Gleason Show" and "The Honeymooners."

If I could learn more about any character in the play it would be Linda. She seemed to just live for Willy and one could only wonder what her interests, hopes, and dreams were.

About the author:
Arthur Miller grew up and graduated from high school in Brooklyn, N.Y. He worked in a warehous to save money to attend college. Miller soon became a journalism student at the University of Michigan where he began to write plays. He enjoyed his initial Broadway success at the age of 32 in 1947. Miller was also married to Marilyn Monroe for a brief period.

My review and recommendation:
I loved this play! I could barely wait to see what would happen next, although, I could tell by the title that Willy would ultimately meet his demise. I loved all the characters and the scenes as they played out in my mind. Would I recommend this to anyone else to read? Absolutely!

What is the American Dream?

Death of a Salesman such a sad story about a man who was seeking the American dream. He really had it, but, didn't realize it. He had an ideal about what life should be that was truly an unrealistic expectation. He never fully appreciated what he had and spent his time laser focused on everything that was wrong in his life. His wife even mentioned that their home was nearly paid off and he put a negative spin on that. He badgered his sons and had extremely high expecations of them that they could not live up to.

I did feel for Willy Loman, though, as he seemed to view himself and his sons, mainly Biff as total failures. He lived his life always looking for that big break, the one thing that would make him rich. He was a dreamer very unrealistic expectations, even down to who would attend his funeral. Of course at his funeral, there was no crowd of people he had done business with. It was essentially his family.

So, what is the American dream? Traditionally it is thought to be owning ones home, having a car, and a good job. The American dream is a thought that here in the United States we can be who ever we want to be and accomplish anything we really put our minds to. I believe the true American dream is living the kind of life that we choose without judgement from others. In this story, Biff would have lived the American dream if he would have pursued his dream of living out West and working outdoors.

What is the Black Aesthetic?

For me, the black aesthetic represents the true experiences of what black people have experienced over the years in society and it provided them with an outlet of expression. The black aesthetic is an artistic expression as to what the "black experience" was from their perspective as a group. It provides them a voice where there perhaps was no voice. It provides a creative outlet where they could express the feelings that were otherwise greatly oppressed.

The black aesthetic provided a way of gaining freedom from abusive behavior, racism, and inequality. It is a window into the soul of the many experiences that set them apart from the white majority. It allowed for self expression where no self expression was allowed.

What is Modernism?

In reading Gertrude Stein's Tender Buttons and A.R. Ammons' Easter Morning, I've concluded that modernistic literature is a kind of house of mirrors where things are not always what they initially appear to be. Modernism takes the very familiar and mundane and turns it into something quite different and complicated. It examines the most insignificant aspects of life and makes them of greater importance than originally thought.

For me, modernism represents free writing where the author continually writes anything and everything that comes to mind. In modernistic literature, nothing is truly absolute and nearly everything is symbolic of something else. Everything holds greater meaning that what is visible on the surface. Mistrust and illustion are deeply imbedded in modernism.

When reading this type of literature, I am reminded of some artwork I recently had the opportunity to see. The artist built crooked tables and chairs, and made furniture and household accessories with human and animal faces. For instance, a lamp was in the shape of a human woman and the lamp shade was made to look like her hat. Modernism forces the reader to expect the unexpected. Modernism can be very confusing and it places everything is a new context.