Death of a Salesman: Themes
Abandonment and Betrayal
- Willy makes Biff feel emotionally abandoned because of Biff witnessing Willy's affair. When he found out about his affair, he abandoned his father for many years.
- Willy goes insane, and this causes him to make unrealistic dreams that his sons could not achieve.
- Willy also betrays his wife Linda; he has an affair with another woman.
- Biff is not a business man, but that is what his father wants him to be. Willy has his own dreams of success that he cannot maintain, so he places the expectation on his son.
Important Quotes
- LINDA: "Then make Charley your father, Biff. You can’t do that, can you? I don’t say he’s a great man. Willy Loman never made a lot of money. His name was never in the paper. He’s not the finest character that ever lived. But he’s a human being, and a terrible thing is happening to him. So attention must be paid. He’s not to be allowed to fall into his grave like an old dog. Attention, attention must be finally paid to such a person. You called him crazy— " (Miller, 56)
- Biff decides to abandon his father because of his knowledge of the affair. Linda just wants her sons to be a part of Willy's life because he feels that he is a failure.
- BIFF: "Because I know he’s a fake and he doesn’t like anybody around who knows!" (Miller, 58)
- Biff feels betrayed because of affair between his father and another woman. He doesn't want to tell his mother about the affair, so he is betraying her for not telling her the truth about Willy.
- WILLY: "She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terribly lonely."
- BIFF: "You—you gave her Mama’s stockings!" (Miller, 120-121)
- The stockings that Willy gave to the woman symbolizes the affair between them. During the beginning of the play, Linda was mending stockings, and Willy was extremely mad, because it reminded him of the affair.
The American Dream
How does theme affect the overall meaning of the play?
- Willy was on a hunt to find his American Dream, thinking that if he worked the hardest he would be rewarded.
- In the play, Willy would have dreams about being a business man with his son on the football team and a wife. He pictured this as the perfect lifestyle.
- Willy kind of forgets the reality of everything, while he tries focusing on his American Dream. His life was falling apart: his marriage was failing, and his family was breaking apart.
Important Quotes
Arthur Miller illustrates how through hard work and determination, one can achieve the American Dream. There were many obstacles in achieving the American Dream such as the other themes of this play, betrayal and abandonment. Willy had an affair, which was put in the way of him achieving his American Dream.
- "Biff Loman is lost. In the greatest country in the world a young man with such—personal attractiveness, gets lost. And such a hard worker. There’s one thing about Biff— he’s not lazy." (Miller, 16)
- He sees potential in his son, because he has the mindset that if Biff works hard, that he will succeed.
- HAPPY: "All right, boy. I’m gonna show you and everybody else that Willy Loman did not die in vain. He had a good dream. It’s the only dream you can have—to come out number one man. He fought it out here, and this is where I’m gonna win it for him." (Miller, 138)
- Happy is taking up for his father, because Biff felt that his father had all of the wrong dreams. The story leaves in an happy ending with Happy's reassurance that he will follow in his father's foot steps.