Death Of A Salesman

A detailed Summary of Death Of A Salesman

"Death of A Salesman," by Arthur Miller, is a play that tells the story of a traveling salesman, Willy Loman, who encounters frustration and failure as he reflects on and experiences his own life. Willy's quest for the American Dream leads to his failure because throughout his life, he pursues the illusion of the American Dream and not the reality of it. His mindset on perfection, his obsession with success, and his constant reminiscence of the past and foretelling of the future, all contribute to his defeat in the end.

The reality of the American Dream is that people are capable of succeeding. Success, though, requires one to work hard and be dedicated to both his/her professional life and family life. Yet, the illusion of the Dream is that attaining material prosperity defines success. Failing to acknowledge the importance of hard work in achieving the American Dream is another aspect of the illusion.

By ignoring the present, Willy fails to deal with reality. He has a tendency of living in the past and thinking of the future. He always thinks that if he had done something differently then this could have happened, or things will get better as time passes. His habit of distorting the past, never allows Willy to realize what is

hard work and dedication required to obtain it. His constant preoccupation with being successful, being well-liked, and attaining that Dream with the "perfect" job, the "perfect" family, and the "perfect" life, never leave his mind.

The unattainable part of Willy's notion of the American Dream is perfection. This illusion shadows Willy as it takes him through his life. He has this set picture in his mind of how everything should be: a good job, a high paying salary, a wonderful family with smart kids and a perfect housewife, being well-liked, being happy, and having no problems at all. Because Willy has this perception of how life should be, any entity that does not fit his viewpoint, turns out as this huge ordeal. This obsession of perfection is a reason for why, in reality, he did not have a happy family. By trying to make his family fit the image of the American Dream, he actually caused their unhappiness. Failing at this attempt of "perfecting" his family is just one example of Willy's many mistakes. Due to the fact that he is a so-called perfectionist, accomplishment is never evident to Willy. Once he reaches any "goal", he never sees the good in it, instead he only sees what he could have done bette!

The success attained by Willy's role models, his father, Dave Singleman, and Ben, is what he envisions to be the American Dream. He only visualizes the end product, being successful, and not the process t

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Approximate Word count = 957
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English