Death of a Salesman: A Critique paper

The play Death of a Salesman was written by American playwright Arthur Miller in 1949. The play had its Broadway

premiere in February 1949 and played for 742 performances. It is a two-act tragedy set in 1940s New York and recounted

through a montage of the protagonist Willy Loman's memories, nightmares, and conflicts. Willy Loman is a traveling

salesman who is dissatisfied with his life and looks to be falling into senility. The play shows a variety of theme that is true

to life. it also explores the psychological chaos of the protagonist and the capitalist society's impact on his life.

Death of a Salesman has various themes and struggle and is known as one of the best modern tragedies. Here are the 3

struggles that I grasp from the play. The American dream, willy's idea of the American dream doesn't really have that much

difference from anyone else's. The underlying difference is that Willy is seriously mistaken about his ability to achieve it.

Willy still thinks of himself as a hotshot salesperson, not the washed-up has-been he is. That he puts so much pressure on his

sons to venture out into the world and establish their claim—something he hasn't been able to achieve himself—is a subtle

admission that he can no longer live the dream and that all his ambitions have been dashed.

Reality and illusion, Willy Loman fantasizes about succeeding, or that if he fails, his sons will take over. Despite his

assertions, his desire of accumulating fortune and living in luxury is a delusion that he cannot envision becoming a reality in

his lifetime. In truth, he is unable to confront the reality of his failure, the potential failure of his sons, and the possibility of

going against his ideal. As a result, rather than accepting reality, he commits suicide.

Dangers of Modernity, Modernity that has kicked off during the decades of the 50s was taking firm roots in the United

States, making various professionals entirely obsolete. Willy Loman’s profession was one of them. Willy Loman’s frustration

of his failure in his field costs him his life. The modern objects and their presence in the play, too, points to his increased

frustration.

Furthermore, the struggles and them the play "death of a salesman" is still relevant up to this day. The character of Willy

Loman can be compared to the life of some modern-day high school students, his obsession with success and finding a

sense of importance in the world mimics the feelings of many of them. On the other terms, Many of the students today is

depressed because of this underlying issue, the weight of pressure on their shoulder is becoming heavier. as they worry that

they might cant keep up with the high expectations sets by the parents and society, which are evident in the play through

Biff's conflict between his own dreams and his father's aspiration for him. We can also relate to the dangers of modernity

that is still making a lot of people suffer today. The Increased of globalization has made the foreign competition a tangible

threat to many young people and a harsh economy often makes it feel like anything short of perfection is inadequate.

In conclusion, I've come to realize how important it is to not live in illusion and learn to accept reality as it enables us to

change for the better. Rejecting reality does not change reality. In fact, rejecting reality often turns pain into suffering,

you'll only get stuck in negative emotions such as sadness, anger, shame, or bitterness. the same thing happened to willy.

Another is to not to think about what others think, the weight of other’s thoughts can become a burden for you. It can

inhibit you from living your life because your entire being (your personality, your thoughts, your actions) is controlled by an

idealized standard of what people want to see. When you become so obsessed with other people’s opinion of you, you

forget your own. as Lao Tzu once said " Care about what other people think and you will always be their prisoner."