Sales and Dreams in Death of a Salesman

In Arthur Miller's play "Death of a Salesman," the aspirations of the main characters serve as the backbone of the narrative. The Loman family, especially Willy, grapples with their dreams while simultaneously confronting the fear that these ambitions may be unattainable. This fear, however, is intrinsically linked to their hope; Willy prefers to dream rather than achieve tangible success. It is the shattering of his dreams that ultimately leads to his demise, rather than merely their unfulfillment.

Willy Loman's Quest for Success

Willy Loman, the protagonist of the play, envisions a prosperous career in sales. He believes that being well-liked is the cornerstone of success and harbors aspirations for his sons to emulate his path and achieve popularity. However, as the play unfolds, it becomes evident that Willy's dreams have crumbled. At sixty years old, he is a salesman whose peers have passed away, and he is dismissed from his job midway through the narrative. One son works as a farmhand, while the other is merely an assistant in a corporate setting. Willy often reminisces about his former glory days, mistaking these memories for his current reality. His fixation on dreams blinds him to the wreckage of his life.

Daydreams as an Escape

Willy's reluctance to confront the truth about his life drives him to escape into daydreams. He acts upon these fantasies, refusing to salvage his present circumstances if it means relinquishing his aspirations. In a desperate bid for employment, he pleads with his boss, Howard, for a position, even accepting unreasonably low wages to retain his identity as a salesman, despite not selling anything. After Howard's rejection, Willy stubbornly refuses to accept a generous offer of fifty dollars a week from his pragmatic friend Charley. Accepting this salary would signify defeat, even though it would provide for his family. Charley repeatedly questions Willy, "When are you going to grow up?" while Charley's son, Bernard, a diligent student who ascends to become a successful lawyer, advises Willy that sometimes the best course of action is to walk away from failure. Yet Willy remains steadfast in his pursuit of dreams.

The Influence of Ben and Reality

Willy's doubts about the validity of his dreams manifest in the form of his deceased brother Ben, who amassed wealth through diamond mining and lumber in Alaska. Ben encourages Willy to seek tangible, practical endeavors, suggesting a return to Alaska for real work. However, Ben is an illusion, a figment of Willy's imagination. Unlike other apparitions, he engages Willy in present conversations, highlighting Willy's distress while reinforcing the unattainability of his goals. The successful figures in the play are the grounded characters of Howard, Charley, and Bernard, who embody practicality and realism.

The Impact on Family

Willy's dreams extend to his family, often wreaking havoc in the process. Linda, his wife, seems to lack her own ambitions and continually strives to shield Willy from reality, even urging their sons to fabricate stories about their successes. Happy, the more compliant son, eagerly lies to Willy, despite recognizing that he does not enjoy the rewards of his labor, attributing his dissatisfaction to his "competitive nature." This early awareness suggests that Willy's pursuit of the dream stems from a desire for something to strive for. Charley later confirms this notion, stating that a salesman "has got to dream" because the nature of their work is inherently insubstantial. The elusive virtue of being "well-liked" is vague, existing solely in the realm of fantasy.

Biff's Awakening

Biff, Willy's other son, also comes to grips with the futility of these dreams, albeit less articulately than Charley. He confronts Willy with the painful truth that he feels his father despises him for being a "fake." Biff yearns for a life rooted in farming and physical labor—real, tangible pursuits. He reluctantly engages in Happy and Linda's scheme only under the belief that it is the sole means of salvaging Willy's life. Even then, he strives to inject reality into the conversation, attempting to reveal that their impractical plan to establish a sporting goods chain has failed, partly due to his theft of a pen from his potential investor, Bill Oliver. Biff's history of theft symbolizes his need for authenticity and reveals the destructive impact of Willy's ambitions, as it represents the intrusion of reality into Willy's dreams.

The Tragic Climax

Biff's journey serves as a catalyst for Willy's tragic end, illustrating how his unattainable ambitions have fractured his family. Willy's guilt over betraying his family is palpable; he fears he is responsible for Biff's lack of summer school and reacts with anger when he witnesses Linda mending stockings—a reminder of his infidelity. While Linda seeks to comfort Willy, Biff insists on revealing the truth of his father's failures. Willy's desperation to secure something real—the twenty-thousand-dollar life insurance policy—drives him to believe that achieving it would redeem him in Biff's eyes.

The Final Act of Desperation

Willy's suicide marks the ultimate collapse of his dreams. He envisions a grand funeral attended by many, believing that the insurance payout will elevate Biff above Bernard. In a final act of nostalgia, Willy crashes the car he once cherished. In that moment of obtaining something real, he extinguishes his dreams and his life. Willy has always lived in a state of expectation and hope; the realization of his aspirations becomes his undoing, much like Ben before him.

Conclusion

The insurance money remains absent in the narrative, and Biff's future is left unresolved. Willy's death, a foregone conclusion known to the audience and the characters alike, leaves behind a stark reality devoid of dreams. Once Willy and his dreams—central to the play's narrative—are gone, only the haunting reality of their demise remains.

References

• Miller, Arthur. "Death of a Salesman." Penguin Books, 1998.
• Bigsby, Christopher. "Arthur Miller: A Critical Study." Cambridge University Press, 2005.
• Bloom, Harold, ed. "Death of a Salesman: New Edition." Chelsea House Publications, 2005.