Arthur Miller himself was a victim of the capitalist way of life, as in 1956 he was found guilty of communism and trying to undermine the American way of life. The play, however, is not about capitalism or communism as such but more about a tragic character, whose lack of self-knowledge and sudden realisation that time has taken away his dreams and success, leads to his inevitable downfall.

There are three dreams or ideals at work within the play. The first is the 'American Dream'. This dream was and is still a popular one in America; it is a

Biff follows another dream - the concept of 'the Great Outdoors'. This dream is one that focuses on men doing 'what God intended them to do' - living out in the open using their bodies to earn them a living.

belief that through hard work one can achieve wealth and social status - and a position where they work for themselves and not an employer. Both Willy and Happy strive to follow this dream, and in the play we see Willy fall foul of it and Happy following his lead.

We all go through trials and tribulations that make each of us stop and ask one simple life-defining question: 'Who am I?' This question is the shadow that trails every prominent character's thought in this groundbreaking play. Tracing the mind works of every human being, you will find insecurities and glitches that lead to fallouts in life where there seems there is nothing left to do but sulk and gripe. This is the constant attitude Biff Loman felt as a grown man, yet tried to hide. He was quite lost in general while growing up, but only realized later in life that his father had matured him into a dream life of false ideals. "I'm mixed up very bad. Maybe I oughta get married. Maybe I oughta get stuck into something. Maybe that's my trouble. I'm like a boy. I'm not married, I'm not in business, I just - I'm like a boy." Biff's uneasy statement after his return home sums up the cowardliness that consumes him when conflicted with a loss of identity. Biff's home is his ultimate haven; it's the place he runs to when obscure thoughts run rampant in his mind, or when times get too tough to handle. Yet that was not the end of Biff's identity crisis. When approaching a former employer, Biff had the following epiphany: "How the hell did I ever get the idea I was a salesman there? I even believed myself that I'd been a salesman for him! And then he gave me one look and - I realized what a ridiculous lie my whole life has been! We've been talking about a dream for fifteen years. I was a shipping clerk. (Biff P.104)" Biff was so deeply emerged into the lies that Willy passed off as "guidelines" to success. Willy himself believed these false statements, but nevertheless it set Biff off into a path of confusion and distress. Biff has now been travelling this lonesome path looking for his way for years, not knowing if his memories were true or merely ideals to himself and Willy feel at ease. It was a long journey for Biff, but far worth it in the long run. "Pop! I'm a dime a dozen, and so are you (Biff P. 132)." He lost his false ideals and finally found himself amongst the clutter of deceit in his life, he the only Loman who managed develop a true identity and realise the implications of his father's death. Biff reached the end of his journey down that lonesome path, and found the answer for which he was looking; his answer to the life defining question, "Who am I?" the question that the rest of the Loman family failed to even address.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2399
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page double spaced)