Comparison Between of Mice and Men and Death of a Salesman

Both Miller and Steinbeck present a harsh and hopeless vision of America. To what extent do you agree with this view?

         Miller and Steinbeck portray a negative view of America by showing humanity’s unsuccessful attempts at achieving their dreams, causing them to feel victimised by the society they live in. The deterioration of these dreams causes destructive emotions that overpowers the characters and inevitably causes their downfalls. In this essay, I will explore the effect of society on the characters in ‘Death of a Salesman’ and ‘Of Mice and Men’. Both texts are set between the 1930s - 1950s and tell the tales of men who are unable to accomplish much in life. ‘Death of a Salesman’ is a montage of memories, confrontations and dreams and how Willy’s value as a salesman has degraded, causing a psychological warfare occurring between his dreams and the reality of his life. Similarly, Steinbeck depicts a parable of the meaning to be human; and how their desire for their dreams reveal the inner emotions of loneliness, dignity and sacrifice.

         Loneliness has a large impact on the characters in both texts and both authors portray a world where a solution to loneliness is impossible, even in a married relationship. In ‘Of Mice and Men’, Curley and Curley’s wife are married but they are both still lonely. The only time they are seen together throughout the book is when Curley’s wife has died. Consequently, this means that Curley’s Wife has a dull life because she is unable to have a close relationship with Curley and instead feels imprisoned in the confines of the ranch. This is explored in the quote: “You can talk to people, but I can’t talk to anyone but Curley”. Curley’s wife is shown to be jealous of the other ranch members because they refuse to talk to her, shown when she exclaims the words: “You can talk”. Furthermore, this illustrates that she also believes that the ranch workers are not lonely because they have the free will to talk. However, the truth is that they are actually extremely lonely. Also, Curley’s wife is shown to be an epitome of loneliness and is displayed as a constant reminder of loneliness to the ranch workers. She is the only character who challenges the workers about why she is lonely. Many of the ranch workers realise that they are alone and some understand why this is but Curley’s wife has more resilience with trying to achieve her dream. For instance, she purposely tries to strike a conversation with the men on several occasions.

         Furthermore, Curley’s wife feels entrapped in the ranch as she is not recognised by the other ranch members and finds herself alone with nothing to do. One reason behind Curley’s Wife’s loneliness is because of sexism and how the men avoid her, as she is believed to be the Curley’s property. Women were not viewed as equals in the 1930s and did not have many job options or rights, as they do now. In addition, she is objectified by the men; who also feel superior to women. Curley’s wife feels lonely as she is not allowed to conversations with the men that do not have sexual connotations, such as being called a “tart”. Or conversations that do not involve a mention of Curley. Likewise, the author portrays the attitudes against Curley’s wife as a microcosm for the situation for women in the 1930s, who are objectified and at times neglected by men. Likewise, Steinbeck never gave Curley’s wife a name to show how she has no identity or recognition by others. As she has no recognition, she is ignored by the other ranch members and the ranch becomes a prison. It also serves as a prison for all of the ranch members. Steinbeck emphasises this by never changing the location from the ranch, or in the fields outside. We hear about people leaving but the reader is stuck watching the events within the ranch. This is implied in the quote, said by Whit: "you oughtta come in town with us guys tomorra night". However, the scenes at the town are never presented in the book.

         Similarly, Miller presents isolation in ‘Death of a Salesman’, but instead of illustrating isolation in a ranch, he depicts how the mind can be a destructive form of isolation. Willy forms his own reality where he is successful and loved, causing his actions to become unpredictable. In addition, his isolation is prominently in his memories of the past, thus he disregards those around him. For instance, his loneliness is the cause of his affair; which also causes Biff to neglect his father. Both his vain vision of himself and the melancholy view of America that Miller portrays are reasons for Willy’s loneliness. This is portrayed in the quote, said by Willy: “I don’t know what the hell I’m working for. Sometimes I sit in my apartment—all alone. And I think of the rent I’m paying. And it’s crazy.” Death of a Salesman illustrates the issue of capitalism, where individuals are free to make money without government interference. This meant that the people who were in power, stayed in power. In this quote, Miller presents a view of America where groups of people are unable to earn enough money. This is because of the intense competition of fighting to earn money in a world where advancing to the top of their occupation is difficult. Miller further emphasises this by establishing how Happy is an assistant to an assistant, rather than being an important figure.  Willy often thinks about his financial situation. Consequently, he finds himself in a state of despair when he is alone because he is debating what to do. He understands his financial predicament but is unsure how to solve it, instead he confines himself to his thoughts. From the quote, the word “crazy” has an underlying meaning and illustrates his own emotional effect of his loneliness and the despair caused by his lack of money.

         Willy’s thoughts and disappointment of his own life, causes him to do erratic things, which he later regrets. In contrast to Curley’s wife, she believes that the actions of the ranch members is a cause of her loneliness, instead of her own. However, Willy is the opposite and uses his isolation as an excuse to have an affair with The Woman, thus causing Biff’s respect for his father to decrease. This is demonstrated in the quote: “She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terribly lonely”. Furthermore, this challenges Miller hopeless view of America and instead depicts a man who uses loneliness as vindication for his actions, rather than trying to find the correct means of solving it. He is focused on trying to achieve the American dream instead of talking and improving his relationships with his family or with Charley, which would help him to battle his loneliness. On the other hand, Miller also tries to also present a bleak view of America who has forced a ‘Common Man’ onto the brink of despair and inevitability causes his solitude. Miller’s intentions was to create a character who represented a normal man with a family who is faced with everyday problems. For example, Willy is unable to earn enough money for his family, this suggests that it was a mundane situation at this time. Also, Miller explores expressionism by depicting the psychological effects of his financial situation and how the structure of the book portrays the memories of the past. Particularly, it explores his relationship with Ben and how he feels less alone in the world with his brother to support him.