Death of a Saleman; general Vision

Towards the end Willy talks of planting a garden. His flashbacks provide a fundamental structure and understanding of the play. I think this is some sort of motif provided by Miller, the idea of leaving something behind. It will also ultimately result in Willy’s downfall. It ends with Will believing that a man is “worth more dead than alive”.

Miller seems to criticize the subject of capitalism. Willy was someone who worked all his life by the machine of “democracy” and “commercialism” that is modern America, only to be then spit mercilessly out like a “piece of fruit”.

Willy has lost at trying to live the American Dream and the play can be viewed as commentary about society. Willy has yearned to make a difference in his life. Miller uses Willy Loman as a demonstration of a common man who is defeated by society’s demands. This is in fact the real key to success and is demonstrated by Miller through the likes of Bernard. Life is seen as a competition where one must “get ahead of the next fella” and force yourself to conform to white-collar success.

It is his version of the American Dream, which causes his psychological decline, unwilling to accept the disparity between the American Dream and his own life.