Price and Death of a
Salesman have similar themes that deal with family issues and self-delusion. The
Crucible, however, has a different theme then that of The Price and Death of a
Saleman. The main theme in The Crucible is ideology, which is the body of
ideas reflecting the social needs and aspirations of an individual group, class or
culture (Hayes, 498). All three plays are very different, but all have important
morals and situations that make them come alive.
The theme of imaginative thinking and unrealism is portrayed in all three
plays. In the play Death of a Salesman, the lead character, Willy Loman,
portrays a father and husband who is mentally depressed and has a serious case
of anxiety. He simply wants the best for his son, Biff. Unfortunately, Willy can
only remember what happened in the past, and confuses that with what is
happening in the present. Arthur Miller portrays the Loman family as being out of
touch with reality. Willy's sales ability is by far greater in his imagination then in
real life (Garrison, 1). In act one, Willy continuously talks about his outrageous
plans to go to New York and become successful. In the end, however, he ends
up staying at home because he feels that he has all his life to become successful.
Ironically, he does not realize his life would shortly come to an end (Miller1, 14).
This is why it is difficult for Biff to settle down with a job. He has an underlying
fear that he will be like his father, who has no sense of reality. On the other
hand, Charlie and Bernard, neighbors and family friends of the Loman's, have
made it through life facing the same problems and in the end were successful. In
the play Death of a Salesman, Miller uses a variety of characters to compare and
contrast the difference between success and failure (Garrison, 1). For example,
Happy, the youngest son, attempted to impress his father by...