Instant Access To 100,000+ Essays!

Arthur Miller’s, Death of a Salesman, is a tragic example of a battle, fought by the protagonist Willy Loman, between reality and illusions perpetuated by his pursuit of the American Dream, success. Death of a Salesman was written in 1949 at the dawn of a new era spawned by the ending of World War II in 1945. This play was the catalyst which catapulted Miller to a master of family dramas entrenched with strong social analysis of an individual’s need to recognize his personal responsibilities while wrestling with a multitude of societal injustices. Since the battle is won within ourselves, characters like Willy Loman emerged as a symbolic reminder of the tragedies destined to us who fail to explore and re-evaluate our personal responsibilities to overcome the injustices society forces upon us. Willy Loman is a 60 year traveling salesman who was employed by the Wagner firm for 34 years. He was a lowly salesman, or the “low man” on totem pole, who aspired to be great, but unable to maintain his self proclaimed status, as the “New England Man”, when he lost his salary and was placed on straight commission leaving him unable to provide for his family financially. Willy was finally discarded, like a “piece of fru