Critical Examination Of "The Death Of A Salesman"

"Death of A Salesman" is really about how reality and illusion interplay in each and everyone's personality in the context of achieving success in life. All people dream and most consider a dream as a typical example of an illusion--merely a construct of the imagination that extends past and present experiences of one's life into a realm that is not bound by logic. Reality, on the other hand, is what one directly perceives through the basic senses of perception.

The world we live in today demands tangible outputs from each of us that result from skill and perseverance. Hence, success in life becomes an utmost concern. Success usually cloaks in the form of financial prosperity--the more material wealth one has, the more successful society considers him or her to be. This notion of success is what the "American Dream" stands for and this is a salient implication in the play's plot.

Because success is not easy to achieve for many, it becomes a priceless "commodity." Success becomes every person's dream or illusion. Some people respond to such a dream by taking action through the use of one's talents and strengths to grab it little by little along the course of their lives. A few have luck along their side and so are able to grab success on the large scale as a result of their hard work. Yet others choose not to respond and take a step towards the success they are aiming for. These people are the ones who are stuck in the rut and remain to dream their illusion of success.

Another reason why success is so highly sought for is that along with it comes reputation. A more successful person is more respectable in the eyes of many. This respect comes from the fact that people value success so highly, hence, the more who has success the more respect he or she receives. Moreover, in such a materially-oriented society people simply become opportunistic, in part due to competition against many others who are targeting for the same goal in life, because respecting or being nice with a successful person is normally assumed to give something in return. Perhaps, the wealthy person will give you a job or lend you money at some point in the future.

Willy, Linda, Biff and Happy are all unable to separate illusion from reality to some extent. It all runs in the family. But Willy, the main character of the play, suffers the most from such disorder. He is an elderly salesman who lost his lot for success due to false hopes and illusions. Willy's preoccupation with the American Dream remained a preoccupation until his death. He hoped that his sons, Biff and Happy, who are younger and in their prime age could achieve the success that he hadn't. He could not admit that his sons, unfortunately, were as much of a failure as he is.

His favorite son is Biff, the eldest. During his high school years, Biff was almost picture of success. He was a star football player with two scholarships to two major universities. But in his senior year he flunked math and was about to make up the credit during the summer until he caught his father cheating on his mother. Biff's hopes crumbled down and for the rest of his life he drifted. Willy wanted Biff to be a successful businessman whereas Biff wanted to tend a cattle