Death of a salesman

A detailed Summary of Death of a salesman


In "Death of a Salesman" by Arthur Miller the American dream is changed more into an American nightmare in many different ways. Before the Depression, America offered promises and offered to the world gifts of success and richness. Willy Loman, the main character of the play, and his son, Biff, both suffered from failing to achieve this American dream. Willy and Biff, now seem to be stuck in a period of history where America is going through out many changes. Willy, who is now in his sixties, worked during both the Depression and World War II. This promise of success from America was broken during the terrible times in the 1930's.

Willy is an elderly, traveling salesman, who is lost in false hopes. One way his American dream has changed more into a nightmare is the simple fact that he is not getting paid. The sales firm he works for is no longer paying Willy his salary. He is working on straight commission, so


therefore he cannot bring home enough money to pay for his and his family's bills. Now, because Willy stops getting paid, he goes to his neighbor Charlie, who owns his own sales firm. Willy borrows money from Charlie so that he does not have to tell Linda, his wife, that he is no longer getting paid. After Willy being at the same firm for the past thirty-four years and trying his best, they have basically just used Willy himself, his hard work and his energy and now just left him in the cold with nothing.

Another American dream in "Death of A Salesman" occurs with Biff. Biff was a star football player in high school, with scholarships to two major universities. He ended up flunking math his senior year and was therefore not allowed to graduate. Biff had planned on making the credit up during the summer, but he caught his father, Willy, being unfaithful to Linda, his wife, to the Woman. This incident had a great impact on Biff and the

Some common words found in the essay are:
Biff Biff, War II, Death Salesman, Willy Loman, Willy Biff, Depression America, Miller American, death salesman, american dream, getting paid, american dream changed, funeral salesman, sales firm, willy's wish, neighbor charlie, linda wife, dream changed,

Approximate Word count = 637
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Novels

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